Ai Ki-Wa-Wa! New Kiwaya Concert

brokenwing

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Just a quick overview of my new Kiwaya KTC-3. I would've added it the review area but there's no category for Kiwaya so...

Very happy with this one. Clear, singing tone. Punchy... Musical... all those oft-used adjectives that you probably get tired of hearing, but they apply. Came strung with black Worths(?). Pretty thin guage but they match the instrument very nicely.

All-mahogany body. Non-radius'd rosewood fingerboard, shallow neck, intonated bone saddle. Simple, vintage Martinesque appointments which I love (not a bling guy). Deluxe nickel Grover friction tuners which work great - don't know why I had reservations about these over geared tuners - I'd just never experienced them. Great look to 'em as well, IMO.

Arrived snug in a Ko'olau hardshell case. Great protection.

Don't foresee needing anything better than this sweet little Concert. It's a better instrument than I am a player. So, I'm set as far as this size goes. I'd consider a Kiwaya Tenor and Soprano in the future. These folks know how to make a nice ukulele, and if the Martin template appeals to you, you couldn't go wrong with a KT series Kiwaya.
 

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I would've added it the review area but there's no category for Kiwaya so...
On the review page it says you can mail them and someone will add the category for you, the brands that are in there are just an arbitrary selection of the most popular brands. Please do post there as well, this thread will fall into oblivion at some point in time...

Nice clean ukulele, me likes the simple styling best as well.
 
On the review page it says you can mail them and someone will add the category for you
yea, I tried that last week but it hasn't shown up yet - I'll re-post a review if it does. There are a lot of brands not in the review section, but then again, there are a LOT of brands. It would be nice if the review area really took off. It would bring in outside players researching models who might not know about UU.
 
how much $?!
 
Normally I leave it up to inquiring minds to find pricing on their own since the info is readily available, but since 2 people asked I'll outline Kiwaya's KT line and how it's positioned.

Kiwaya offers the neck option of 12 or 19 frets and those extra frets cost you approximately $100 more on a given model. So the concert KTC-1 (12 frets) sells around the internet in the neighborhood of $500. The KTC-2 with 14 frets to the body and 19 frets overall boosts it up to about $600. The slightly fancier KTC-3 adds Whitew (wood?) binding on top and back which bumps it up another $85.

I would have gone with the KTC-2 if it had been offered at the time my fever pushed me to the brink of purchase, but as it turns out the binding on the KTC-3 really is a nice visual contrast and I'm happy it's there. The extra $85 is just a faded memory now and I have, IMO, an elegant-looking uke that will last me many years.

MGM includes the Ko'olau hardshell case in the price so that should be taken into consideration. In my mind, a case like that is important to have. It's not only excellent protection when you're leaving the house but in dry winter months it seals up nice and tight and lets a humidifier work better than a permeable gig bag or semi-rigid foam case.
 
Unfortunately it makes the UAS start to itch.
Sure is nice. Fortunately for me it isn't a tenor. I don't get itchy over other sizes.

Yet.
 
That's a great looking ukulele! I've been eyeballing this same model for a while now. I think something in Mahogany would be a nice addittion. Anything else you can tell us about it since you've had it for a few days now?
 
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