Kauai KUC-70B Concert Ukulele

M

Manalishi

Guest
I am looking for anyones opinion on this instrument, positive or negative! I got my first uke,a Mahalo,and having set up the nut and saddle,changed strings and other faffery,I wanted something a little better. Scouted around the woefully inadequate local music shops,and came across the Kauai KUC-70B.
The Mahalo is a soprano, whilst this is a concert size. First thing that really impressed me,was the solid top (cedar) compared to the half dozen laminates I was able to check out.It has a plastic soundbowl, which was okay by me as I own an Ovation guitar,so am comfortable with it.It came with Aquila strings ready fitted, prompting me to order some more for the Mahalo (and some spares for the Kauai!) I just love the rich tone of this one,compared to the 'thin' sound of the Mahalo. The acoustic tone and reverberation,in such a small body are most impressive! I have learned that this is virtually identical to a model marketed as the 'Clearwater',which is an electro/acoustic model. Mine is strictly acoustic,and I hear that the Clearwater sounds okay unplugged but pretty grim through an amp? So, is anyone familiar with this little beast? Okay I am biased,I absolutely love it, have hardly put it down in the past week or so,since getting it; but I would like any opinions,as I said for or against. I have read a discussion too,about the merits of mahogany vs cedar,but as a newbie,I can only judge what I know about,right? And I know about this one, and am loving it!
 
Never heard of either of those brands, but a quick googling suggests that your uke might be the same thing as the Ohana roundback. Ohana has a great reputation in these parts!

What matters most is if you like it, though. :D
 
haole,just checked out the Ohana roundback via Google and from the picture it does look like basically the same instrument.Theirs is advertised with a spruce top,mine is cedar,but hey,what do I know? I know that a solid,even only a solid top,will often sound better than a laminate,and will improve with playing.
So,Ohana,Kauai and Clearwater all produce a model that is near-identical!
Translating the $200 price tag on the Ohana though, I got a good deal at £49.95 on the Kauai.Don't know the exact conversion but according to Google $200 U.S comes out at £135.60 so mine was only just over one third of the price!
 
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