rmcnelly
Well-known member
I had been looking for a KTS-4 after hearing the folks speak so highly of it on the Martin forum, but found a used KTS-5 for a fair price and it came in yesterday. The previous owner had it strung up as a low G (Aquilas I think), and I immediately replaced the strings with some Worth CL's. I have Worth CM's on a Royal Aloha and that uke just rings!
The KTS-5 is super light, and is so smoothly finished the wood doesn't seem real. But it is very light solid mahogany. The frets and neck are so smooth and the action is lower than any other uke I have, which combined with the Worth CL's results in very little finger pressure needed to fret the strings (hope I described that right). The friction tuners are also super smooth, I wish I could purchase these somewhere and put them on the rest of my ukes.
I almost didn't buy the uke, having just bought the KoAloha Concert and I already had a mahogany soprano in the Royal Aloha (an older Japanese made uke) which is a super player and surprisingly lightweight. But I have no regrets as the KTS-5 is wonderful, very loud and resonant with a sweet tone that is so nice even when played very softly.
The Kiwaya KTS-5 is a keeper!
The KTS-5 is super light, and is so smoothly finished the wood doesn't seem real. But it is very light solid mahogany. The frets and neck are so smooth and the action is lower than any other uke I have, which combined with the Worth CL's results in very little finger pressure needed to fret the strings (hope I described that right). The friction tuners are also super smooth, I wish I could purchase these somewhere and put them on the rest of my ukes.
I almost didn't buy the uke, having just bought the KoAloha Concert and I already had a mahogany soprano in the Royal Aloha (an older Japanese made uke) which is a super player and surprisingly lightweight. But I have no regrets as the KTS-5 is wonderful, very loud and resonant with a sweet tone that is so nice even when played very softly.
The Kiwaya KTS-5 is a keeper!