NUD: Kala KA-SMHB All Solid Mahogany Baritone

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

Congrats! I am toying with the idea of getting a baritone as my next ukulele, keep us informed of your experience as you progress.

Congratulations on a really good baritone. Solorule owns the same one and I have played it and enjoyed the sound. They are well reviewed and worthy of the praise.

The Martin strings are my favorite for increasing the brightness of any baritone.

On the ebony nut/saddle, I doubt you have much to fear there if it is real ebony. That's one of the hardest woods there is which is why it gets used for nuts and saddles. If you try to sand it down to improve your action, you'll see what I mean. If the tone is "muddy", I seriously doubt it is the fault of the saddle. To try new strings, wise you are. (Sorry, slipped into Yoda voice there )

Congrats Jollyboy! Hope you enjoy your new Baritone!

Congratulations!

You might try tuning to up to G# or A. Some baritones sound better a bit higher than G. Might help with the muddiness and the string tension you noted.

Congrats, Jolly! Those Kala baritones seem to be excellent value! My favorite baritone strings were the Aquila Reds with two woubds (by far), followed by a set from D'Addario.

Yeah, JB, congrats. I hope you enjoy your new Baritone. I like mine a lot. I have the Kala spruce top one with the spalted maple (?) body. I use Aquila strings on all my Ukes, but I don't use the reds.

I love the deeper tones of a baritone. ld:

Congratulations! Change is good. I love the way a bari sounds when fingerpicked, especially clawhammer style. Show us some pics!

I strung them with Aquila Red.
Very nice sound !

Happy new uke day! Never had a baritone. Maybe one day!

Good for you, a bari just has a totally different sound, & I don't just mean the tuning, I have the cedar top Kala, & love its sound.
(Also just got a Lani spruce top as a 'beater', so that I can keep the cedar top for 'best'. )

I own one too, and its my favorite baritone. out of my Pono custom, Kanilea, kamaka baris. for some reason I just love the sound of it. needs a good setup tho

Nickie said:

Congratulations! Change is good. I love the way a bari sounds when fingerpicked, especially clawhammer style. Show us some pics!

Click to expand...

Yea show us some pics, it's not a proper NUD without pics. It's all about the pics!

No pictures, didn't happen

Congrats Jollyboy ! I recently entered the "baritone club" too (a Kala too... I'm becoming really a Kala fan) and I am very happy. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.
And I totally agree with your view of the stock aquila strings. Too floppy... and on 2nd week the G string was so damaged it buzzed as hell.

+1 on new strings. I put Worth Browns on mine and like the sound and feel. I want to try Martins next but haven't been able to find them here. I switched the D string out for a Brown high G from the Fat Tenor set and really like re-entrant on a bari.

Here's a pic - it'll have to do Looks quite a bit like a lot of other Kala baritones, apart from the untidy string ends and the Snark.



So, end-of-week update:

I put the Martin strings on. The tension is much better and there is more clarity and separation when picking.

I ended up taking about 0.75mm off the bottom of the nut. The ebony is quite a bit easier to sand than bone. The action is pretty much spot on now at the nut end and playability has improved a good deal. I'm actually thinking of raising the saddle slightly as I'm measuring 2.5mm at the 12th fret and I kind of like it just a little higher (2.75-ish ideally). I'm still into the idea of trying out a tusq xl saddle - I just like to tinker and tweak I guess

I'm still mostly playing stuff that I would play in C normally, but now in G. I think I'm going to get a capo to play around with (mostly so I can use my C shapes to play in F) - DownUpDave recommended the Kyser quick release so I will probably grab one of those.

Songs I'm mostly playing at the moment (in G):

Both Sides Now
Moon River
Wild Mountain Thyme
Who Knows Where The Time Goes

I've never made a secret of the fact that I am firmly in the 'small guitar' camp of ukulele players and I'm really loving the baritone sound at the moment Seriously thinking of selling my tenor.

Enjoy the Kala I can personally attest to the fact they make a great product. Each time I practice on my Kala low ends (all laminates) nothing of the uke itself hinders me from proper practice and enjoyment of the sound and playability besides the shortage of frets (not kala's fault, just I need at least fifteen frets for some of the classical transcriptions. I practice). Kalas are keepers imo. Im very picky in deciding what I want yeah I dont really have UAS so it takes me awhile to research and buy something bc I dont want to deal w buyers remorse weeks or months later. I know for these Kala, ill never stop practicing on these.

Since you recently got your kala bari, check in the sound hole and see if you see an Allen-key socket where one would normally find a truss rod. I was looking at some kala bari’s the other day and one had the Allen key socket. I have not been able to find anything about if it’s truly a truss rod or not.

Hi, jollyboy! I think this thread will continue until your next purchase.

I use same chord shape use in both uku and bari. I think it is same as you. I do same thing on guitar and guitalele. Hence my keys are different between uku and bari. I sing Amazing grace on C with my uku and on G with my bari. I don't remember new chord chart in bari.

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