jollyboy
Well-known member
Hello,
Well I broke a promise to myself and spent some of the money I was planning to put toward a new mid-price tenor (next year) on a Kala bari instead.
I've been wanting to dip another toe in baritone waters for a while now (I briefly owned a cheap one but it pretty much never left its box). I was thinking about going in as cheaply as possible and getting the Kala gloss spruce top. But then I listened to a comparison demo that Mim did - which pretty much convinced me that there was a big sound difference between a solid top bari and an all solid bari. But... I didn't like the looks of the Kala solid acacia she demo'd - I'm not a fan of the fretboard inlay at all. But then... I spotted the Kala all hog bari being offered at a discount by an online vendor. And, y'know, UAS did the rest...
So now the uke is mine. I broke the cardinal rule and didn't buy from a specialist retailer, so no set up included. The action is just about okay - it will need some attention at some point. The nut especially needs taking down a little - atm I need to apply more pressure when fretting than I would normally. And if I forget then there's a hint of buzz.
Some random thoughts:
It came with Aquila strings (two nylgut, two wound). They actually sound okay but I've still ordered a Martin M630 set. I think the Martins will provide a little extra tension - the Aquilas feel a little floppy.
This particular model comes with an ebony nut and saddle. They look pretty cool but I'm not sure how durable they will prove to be. Also, the tone is a little muddy. I spotted a black tusq xl nut blank that looks like it could be fashioned into a workable uke saddle - that may be a little project for me
Anyway - I like it. It sounds really nice - deep and full. I'm using all my old tenor chord shapes atm so all those songs I used to play in C are now in G. I'm still trying to work out which of those keys I prefer to sing in. Anyone hearing me would probably say that neither one is doing me any real favours
Well I broke a promise to myself and spent some of the money I was planning to put toward a new mid-price tenor (next year) on a Kala bari instead.
I've been wanting to dip another toe in baritone waters for a while now (I briefly owned a cheap one but it pretty much never left its box). I was thinking about going in as cheaply as possible and getting the Kala gloss spruce top. But then I listened to a comparison demo that Mim did - which pretty much convinced me that there was a big sound difference between a solid top bari and an all solid bari. But... I didn't like the looks of the Kala solid acacia she demo'd - I'm not a fan of the fretboard inlay at all. But then... I spotted the Kala all hog bari being offered at a discount by an online vendor. And, y'know, UAS did the rest...
So now the uke is mine. I broke the cardinal rule and didn't buy from a specialist retailer, so no set up included. The action is just about okay - it will need some attention at some point. The nut especially needs taking down a little - atm I need to apply more pressure when fretting than I would normally. And if I forget then there's a hint of buzz.
Some random thoughts:
It came with Aquila strings (two nylgut, two wound). They actually sound okay but I've still ordered a Martin M630 set. I think the Martins will provide a little extra tension - the Aquilas feel a little floppy.
This particular model comes with an ebony nut and saddle. They look pretty cool but I'm not sure how durable they will prove to be. Also, the tone is a little muddy. I spotted a black tusq xl nut blank that looks like it could be fashioned into a workable uke saddle - that may be a little project for me
Anyway - I like it. It sounds really nice - deep and full. I'm using all my old tenor chord shapes atm so all those songs I used to play in C are now in G. I'm still trying to work out which of those keys I prefer to sing in. Anyone hearing me would probably say that neither one is doing me any real favours