Kanile'a Super Tenor (Koa Custom K5)

wearymicrobe

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
647
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Location
San Diego
Features

  • Made by Joe and Kristan Suza
  • www.kanileaukulele.com
  • MasterGrade Koa Body, Sides, Back. Rosewood Neck, Koa Top Plate, Gold tuners, Open Headstock, old logo in MOP
  • UV Spray
  • (Super Tenor)
  • Compensated Pin Bridge.
  • Neck Old Style Kanile'a, chunky but fast
  • Comes with a case, humidifier, cards.
  • Buy a custom case please at this price level
Action, Fit & Finish

  • Its a Kanile'a built to the same quialty of there standard instruments. No better, no worse.
  • It is not as good in construction as the custom one off's like Moore/Glyph, or the custom Ko'olau's.
  • Its also no where near the price the above builders. In terms of value for build quality from a major manufacture it is the sweet spot. If you take the tone into account then its even a better deal. I do most of my recording gigging with the ukulele and that's saying something because I have a lot of ukes.

  • Polish is done correctly for UV, which is no small feat. All frets level and action set correctly as I requested. All purfling done correctly, tuners are great. The string spacing is perfect for almost all hand sizes.
  • I had the ukulele compensated for the strings that I like.
Personal Opinion

  • I had two made one for low G and one for high the one in the pictures is the high G saddle so it has a small extension on it to maintain break angel. Mine was a few points out but I wanted it perfect.

  • For the cost these are amazing, the ability to get one is pretty easy and the timelines are acceptable. Be very clear when ordering exactly what you want. If you ask for something out of the ordenary it can be done just expect a higher price tag.
Reliability/Durability

  • Will this ukulele withstand live playing?
    • YES
  • Does the hardware seem like it will last?
    • YES
  • It's UV I GIG with this regularly while drinking in with lots of people.
  • Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
    • Yes I do it all the time.

Customer Support

  • Check the website for the war. but I have never heard of a one going back for anything other then humidity issues. Bill does a great job checking these things out and setting them up. The original collectible ones from way way back, like pre-UV thin headstock first label, had some string spacing issues but these had serial numbers in the 10's, but if you collect them like I do its something to consider.

Overall Rating

  • How long have you been playing?
    • A while
  • What other gear do you own?
    • Almost every major modern builder
  • Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this ukulele?
    • I wanted Waverly tuners with MOP but they were unavailable at the time
  • If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
    • Yes exactly as it is currently made.
  • What do you love about it?
    • Tone, Price point, durability, fast playability.
  • What do you hate?
    • I dislike the tuners but its unavodable and not due to the builders.
  • What is your favorite feature?
    • open headstock and increased lower bout.
  • Did you compare it to other ukuleles? Which ones?
    • All the major K's
Personal Opinion

The short answer is if you like the modern style, and you want the best modern tone for the money in a larger builder this is what you want.

I personally think that the new bracing style benefits 99.9% of the players 100% of the time. There is a small amount of tone lost at extremely low volume playing with the new bracing. I have A/B them back to back in the same size with the same woods.

I also think that the UV stuff compared with the matte finish are almost identical. In terms of tone, not in terms of how they will wear. The UV is amazing at taking knocks. I can wear through a french polished/oil/Mitro instrument in a year on the top plate. Two years of heavy strumming and not a nick or scratch in the top plate of any of my Koa Kanile'a.

Spruce topped different discussion.

Overall

Kanile'a ukuleles are very beginners tolerant, at the same time they are extremely sensitive to playing style and technique if you let them. This is a instrument that you can grow into, record with and knock them aound at the pub.

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Thanks for the review. I must say those are two beautiful 'ukuleles.
 
Yeah, I have a K-5 like yours, but with a sold headstock. It's a few years old, with the previously offered "Kanile'a" set in the headstock in MOP. It's had some problems with the bridge separating, and the bridge holes AND the pins were both slotted, which is pretty dumb. The strings would just slip through. I have to use a bead in front of the knot now and make sure the slots don;'t align. No big deal. It's sure a looker. Also, I don't like the shape of the back of the neck much. See mine in my photos or in the Kanile'a Club members here.
 
Beautiful instrument with a very thorough review. Thanks for taking the time so that the rest can benefit.
 
The Kanile'a super tenor does pump out some great sound. I think the pricepoint in the review might be incorrect though. A K-5 super tenor is every bit as expensive as a Moorebettah, Glyph, and comparable Ko'olau custom. A K-1 is a much better value but of course you don't get any bling with the K-1.
 
The Kanile'a super tenor does pump out some great sound. I think the pricepoint in the review might be incorrect though. A K-5 super tenor is every bit as expensive as a Moorebettah, Glyph, and comparable Ko'olau custom. A K-1 is a much better value but of course you don't get any bling with the K-1.

That's a difficult point to argue, but I must. It is no way shape or form as expensive as the ones listed. For a example the closest ko'olau that I have had in terms of woods, non custom, was off the shelf 4,700$. My Moore was more then the custom though the glyph I will admit is cheaper but not in terms of my personal time waiting for the order.

What I really like about kanile'a is that k1-Full custom they all have the same great tone. Now the fact that I get bling and great tone in the same instrument that's unusual.
 
I don't know why you hid the Glyph website in the Kanile'a link. You might want to look into that. It took me a bit to figure out where I was and why I couldn't see what I was looking for.
 
I don't know why you hid the Glyph website in the Kanile'a link. You might want to look into that. It took me a bit to figure out where I was and why I couldn't see what I was looking for.


Think it came out of typing up all the reviews. Should be fixed now.
 
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