pulelehua
Well-known member
Got my first ukulele on Boxing Day! I've been playing the ones I bought for my school Music Department in October, and borrowing others, but now have one of my own. So, it's my first proper ukulele. So, forgive what will be the fairly amateurish comments to follow.
I've thus far played some Brunswick sopranos, a Lanikai tenor, a Makala Dolphin, and some real duds. So, my basis for all comparisons is limited, though I try to glean what I can playing with others, and listening on YT.
FEATURES
It's a 2009 Kala Solid Acacia Concert all-acoustic (ser.#908), made in China (like the vast majority of the world's manufactured goods). It has 20 frets, with the body join at the 14th. The solid body has a really lovely grain. Very colourful, with a lot of variation. Herringbone purfling. Geared tuners with black buttons. Bought from MGM, it came with a case from Uke Crazy, which fits snug as a bug. Also came with a pitch pipe (ever notice how pitch pipes are never in tune with themselves?).
The sound hole looks small to me. Proportional to its body. The only flaw I've found is that the neck has a bit of unevenness on the A string side at about the 5th fret. Don't know if that's the cause of it, but the frets are cheated EVER so slightly toward the G string, so if I stop the strings sloppily, I sometimes pull the A off the fret. It's not a big problem, and makes me brush up my technique!
Lovely markings on the fretboard, as has been mentioned about these acacia Kalas.
SOUND
Not sure exactly what my style is. I've played guitar for about 20 years (along with other non-stringed instruments), but am new to the ukulele. Eclectic, I suppose. The Coral, Patience & Prudence, Bach, Jake, Iz, whatever I can manage to get my fingers around that day.
The sound is more delicate than I imagined. You can really hear the individual elements of a chord. It's bright, but not brittle. It's nice for finger-picking. Strumming it doesn't QUITE have that traditional ukulele boxiness, but I suppose that's the wood and the extra size. It's still very nice.
I haven't amped it in any way yet. I'm really a stick-it-in-front-of-a-mic kind of guy.
MGM has obviously set it up. It plays great. Intonation seems spot on. Action isn't incredibly low, but I like action a bit higher on guitars, so that suits me. I suppose that's a style consideration. I use lots of rasqueados and rolls, and the few ukulele strokes I can manage (I will master the fan stroke... I WILL). I imagine if the action was too low, I'd get all kinds of noise.
RELIABILITY
It stays in tune pretty nicely, and in its short life has migrated from the mild winter of California to the small snow drifts of Kent. (Not to mention it's time in Hawaii... and China) So, I'm pleased with it's adaptability thus far.
OVERALL
I went into this purchase not knowing too much, and not having played the ukulele too much. As a guitarist, I had an instinct against tenors. I know I know. I just thought, get something different. More different. My experience from playing sopranos was that they were a bit small, and I tended to want more frets. The concert size seems to fit pretty well (I have long fingers - I'm 6'3" tall), and I'm glad to have retained some of that traditional ukulele sound.
Given my budget, I feel pretty happy with it. Had I paid the same for an acoustic guitar, I would have expected more problems, and a sloppier finish. It's a lovely, little ukulele, and has a bright sound with just enough warmth. I can tell already that I'll be able to get a decent range of tones out of it, and some pretty good volume (which matters when you're leading a group of 20+ teenage boys!). As mentioned, it's got a nice sound for fingerpicking, and it's also nice to just grab and strum.
Many thanks to MGM for taking the stress out of sight-unseen purchasing. As everyone knows and most people have said, he's great to deal with. Would definitely do it that way again. In spite of having to go to California to pick the thing up. There are worse things in life than going to California...
Would I buy it again? Yes.
Assuming I stick with the ukulele, I will hopefully someday move up the ladder to the next level of craftsmanship, but I see this ukulele lasting me until that stage. I own 1 Martin D18, and 1 Les Paul Standard, and no other guitars any more. So, I'm hoping UAS will pass me by, and I'll just save up for something nice.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I've thus far played some Brunswick sopranos, a Lanikai tenor, a Makala Dolphin, and some real duds. So, my basis for all comparisons is limited, though I try to glean what I can playing with others, and listening on YT.
FEATURES
It's a 2009 Kala Solid Acacia Concert all-acoustic (ser.#908), made in China (like the vast majority of the world's manufactured goods). It has 20 frets, with the body join at the 14th. The solid body has a really lovely grain. Very colourful, with a lot of variation. Herringbone purfling. Geared tuners with black buttons. Bought from MGM, it came with a case from Uke Crazy, which fits snug as a bug. Also came with a pitch pipe (ever notice how pitch pipes are never in tune with themselves?).
The sound hole looks small to me. Proportional to its body. The only flaw I've found is that the neck has a bit of unevenness on the A string side at about the 5th fret. Don't know if that's the cause of it, but the frets are cheated EVER so slightly toward the G string, so if I stop the strings sloppily, I sometimes pull the A off the fret. It's not a big problem, and makes me brush up my technique!
Lovely markings on the fretboard, as has been mentioned about these acacia Kalas.
SOUND
Not sure exactly what my style is. I've played guitar for about 20 years (along with other non-stringed instruments), but am new to the ukulele. Eclectic, I suppose. The Coral, Patience & Prudence, Bach, Jake, Iz, whatever I can manage to get my fingers around that day.
The sound is more delicate than I imagined. You can really hear the individual elements of a chord. It's bright, but not brittle. It's nice for finger-picking. Strumming it doesn't QUITE have that traditional ukulele boxiness, but I suppose that's the wood and the extra size. It's still very nice.
I haven't amped it in any way yet. I'm really a stick-it-in-front-of-a-mic kind of guy.
MGM has obviously set it up. It plays great. Intonation seems spot on. Action isn't incredibly low, but I like action a bit higher on guitars, so that suits me. I suppose that's a style consideration. I use lots of rasqueados and rolls, and the few ukulele strokes I can manage (I will master the fan stroke... I WILL). I imagine if the action was too low, I'd get all kinds of noise.
RELIABILITY
It stays in tune pretty nicely, and in its short life has migrated from the mild winter of California to the small snow drifts of Kent. (Not to mention it's time in Hawaii... and China) So, I'm pleased with it's adaptability thus far.
OVERALL
I went into this purchase not knowing too much, and not having played the ukulele too much. As a guitarist, I had an instinct against tenors. I know I know. I just thought, get something different. More different. My experience from playing sopranos was that they were a bit small, and I tended to want more frets. The concert size seems to fit pretty well (I have long fingers - I'm 6'3" tall), and I'm glad to have retained some of that traditional ukulele sound.
Given my budget, I feel pretty happy with it. Had I paid the same for an acoustic guitar, I would have expected more problems, and a sloppier finish. It's a lovely, little ukulele, and has a bright sound with just enough warmth. I can tell already that I'll be able to get a decent range of tones out of it, and some pretty good volume (which matters when you're leading a group of 20+ teenage boys!). As mentioned, it's got a nice sound for fingerpicking, and it's also nice to just grab and strum.
Many thanks to MGM for taking the stress out of sight-unseen purchasing. As everyone knows and most people have said, he's great to deal with. Would definitely do it that way again. In spite of having to go to California to pick the thing up. There are worse things in life than going to California...
Would I buy it again? Yes.
Assuming I stick with the ukulele, I will hopefully someday move up the ladder to the next level of craftsmanship, but I see this ukulele lasting me until that stage. I own 1 Martin D18, and 1 Les Paul Standard, and no other guitars any more. So, I'm hoping UAS will pass me by, and I'll just save up for something nice.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.