New Ukulele Day! (Mini review KA-KTG-CT)

mikeg0232

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I just received a beautiful new Kala Koa Gloss Cedar top tenor (KA-KTG-CT) from Mim!

Well, it was actually last week Friday, but it has felt like Christmas every day waking up to it.

Will try to add pics later today.

Sound:

I had asked for it to be shipped with a reentrant tuning, but immediately decided it needed a low G.

The intonation is right on. The notes from the cedar top have a slightly softer attack than koa, but a sustain that goes on for days. The overtones are incredible and will only get better with time. The range of sounds from bass to treble are very well balanced. This is a very loud uke. I would say it is slightly more forward than the spruce top model, but with a warmer tone.


Fit and Finish:

While this is a factory made uke, it is obvious this is the flagship of the Kala line. The fit and finish are top notch. No glue spots whatsoever looking through the sound hole. The gloss finish is somewhat wavy (compared to a flat mirror, is that fair?) but no obvious dents or blemishes. There are no lacquer drips, runs or buildup to be seen anywhere. The body lines are crisp and squared with a slight rounding across the maple portion of the binding. Mim did a great job setting this up, the action is perfect.

It has the Paua shell / maple binding and sound hole is a great detail which complements the cedar and koa very well. I was afraid it would be a bit too 'blingy', but the Paua has a nice low luster green/blue/gold hue that is beautiful to see in person. The head stock has a paua/maple/koa face that matches the beautifully figured Koa (laminate) sides and back.

Overall Impression:

This one is a keeper. Excellent tone, volume, sustain and playability. As an added bonus, it is very pretty to look at. Kala has done an excellent job with this one. Recommend ++!!

I am not being paid to rave about this. Just another satisfied customer.
 
Very nice. :)
 
Happy New Uke Day! Congrats, looks very pretty :D

Mim is THE best! I brought my Eleuke from her and love it so very much :D
 
That is a beautiful looking uke! You will get much pleasure from it! Congrats

Roberta
 
The Kala KTG-CT is indeed a wonderful tenor - I got mine from MusicGuyMic last December/January. it's loud, it rings, and it feels nice to play. I left mine as re-entrant tuning.

I don't play it as much as I did then - especially now that I have the Sceptre - but do try and play it at least an hour a month. It sounds a marvelous today as it did the day I unpacked it.

I hope you enjoy your new Kala as much as I've enjoyed mine!

-Kurt
 
Oh hey that looks familiar, of course that is the same as my first uke! You got good taste buddy. It is most definitely a beautiful object and plays really well. Mine is LOUD, I have tamed it slightly with Worth Browns and out of my 2 ukes it is the most err,,, Ukey! What I mean is it has that Uke 'ring' when strummed (although I don't really strum)

Perhaps it will interest you to see mine in action against the mucho expensive Kanilea K2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uFwPH2eRLU

The comments I had about this vid were pretty much 50/50 in favour of each so I congratulate you on a great choice.

All the best, and power to your playing. Ken
 
Thaks for the review Mike and man you take good pics!!! Too bad you live across country. I need some photog skills bad!

Though I sold him this uke, so I may seem bias, I truly love the look and the sound of these ukes. They all have such a great, full, and yes, LOUD tone! Pretty Pretty!
 
Love me some cedar!

Nice looking uke. Enjoy!
 
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