Kala Curly Mango Ukulele - Laminate or Solid?

UKISOCIETY · Oct 28, 2009

I seem to remember some people saying the Kala Curly Mango ukes were laminates, but a search did no good. Some web sites say they're solid, but from the look of my KA-MT it seems to be a laminate. I'm so confused....

Anybody know the truth? Thanks!

ukuleG · Oct 28, 2009

UKISOCIETY said:
I seem to remember some people saying the Kala Curly Mango ukes were laminates, but a search did no good. Some web sites say they're solid, but from the look of my KA-MT it seems to be a laminate. I'm so confused....

Anybody know the truth? Thanks!

mine also seems to be laminate.

Lori · Oct 28, 2009

I am pretty certain it is laminate. You could drop Mike Upton an email from the Kala website
http://www.kalaukulele.com/contact.html
He has been very helpful in the past.

It is all about the sound though, as shown in MGM's blind sound test. So, I wouldn't rule out a uke because it had laminated wood.

My mango tenor has a very different sound from the other ukes I have. So, it depends on what you're looking for. And I love the look of it too!

–Lori

psesinkclee · Oct 28, 2009

The soprano I had was a laminate. Sold it a few months ago though.

haolejohn · Oct 28, 2009

The tenor I had was a laminate. Very nice but it was a laminate so I let it go. I'm a solid wood snob

wfwhitson · Oct 28, 2009

UKISOCIETY said:
I seem to remember some people saying the Kala Curly Mango ukes were laminates, but a search did no good. Some web sites say they're solid, but from the look of my KA-MT it seems to be a laminate. I'm so confused....

Anybody know the truth? Thanks!

Unless it is stated that it is solid, it is a laminate. Look at the sound hole edge you should be able to tell.

haolejohn · Oct 28, 2009

wfwhitson said:
Unless it is stated that it is solid, it is a laminate. Look at the sound hole edge you should be able to tell.

Normally yes but it was hard to tell with my kala mango. The vintage yamaha guitars that are all laminate that most people think are solid were difficult to tell. It was the way that they used wood around the sound hole. The best way to tell is unless it mentions solid wood it isn't.

mailman · Oct 28, 2009

It has been my experience that MGM always says solid, if indeed the uke is solid, and never says solid if the uke is a laminate.

I just searched his web store, and found two ads for Kala mango ukes....

neither of which said solid. I think it's a laminate (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

HaileISela · Oct 29, 2009

Curly Mango Ukulele More known for its delicious fruit than its wood, these Mango trees contain Curly, striped, multi-color grain wood that make these sweet sounding ukuleles. These ukes have a solid Mahogany neck and bindings, Rosewood fingerboard, synthetic bone nut and saddle and custom amber tuners.

taken off here:
http://www.kalaukulele.com/Kala Ukulele Curly Mango Product.html

doesn't say solid. their solid instruments always have the word "solid" on the main page.

UKISOCIETY · Oct 29, 2009

Thanks, everybody.

I thought it was a laminate, due to the grain inside not matching the grain on the outside.

It's a great player and I'm very happy with it.

kissing · Oct 29, 2009

I guess I'm the only one here who sold an All-solid uke to buy a solid top, then sold that to buy an all-laminate

But that's because I consider amplified sound more important than acoustic sound, so I went with something durable. And laminate acoustic sound isn't terrible..

MGM · Oct 29, 2009

i'd love to see the website that claimed they were solid LOL sound good though. Now how about those claims Made in Hawaii....hmmmm looks chinese to me or Solid hawaiian koa.......hmmm looks like Blackwood or Chinese Acacia

Kala Curly Mango Ukulele - Laminate or Solid?

UKISOCIETY

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