I’ve had an Islander MSC-4 for a while now, got a Kanile’a K-1 concert yesterday, and spent the evening comparing them. Both are concerts with Aquila strings and reentrant tuning. I've only been playing for six months, so take this with a grain of salt.
First, the Kanile’a K-1 is clearly the better instrument. It’s not quite as loud as the Islander, but it’s got a richer, fuller sound. The notes are clear and distinct, and even the strumming sounds cleaner. I thought the action was perfect on the Islander until I played the K-1; it’s so easy to play that this was my wife’s first comment about it after about 10 seconds of playing. In fact, I had a hard time getting it out of her hands last night. But despite the low action, I couldn’t produce a single buzz anywhere on the neck, and the clarity and sustain up and down the neck were amazing. Overall I would describe the sound as rich and warm and full, but still clean: pure is a good word for it.
The surprising thing about the Islander MSC-4 is how well it stands up the K-1. The K-1 is better, but not by miles. I’d say 30-40% better, and even that might be stretching it. The MSC-4 is louder and has a slightly raunchier, muddier sound. It’s not quite as warm as the K-1, and a littler “janglier.” Let me emphasize the word “slightly” here, and that raunchy sound is actually kind of nice. I began to think of it as my rock and roll uke, while the K-1 has a more classical guitar feel. At the end of the evening, I was still madly in love with the MSC-4, and I plan to restring it low-G this weekend and play it as much as ever.
So I’m very happy with the K-1. I think it’s worth every penny of the $800 I paid for it. But the MSC-4 feels like a like heck of a lot more uke than the $215 it cost. The K-1 is sort of like a classy movie star, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, while the MSC-4 is the hot chick at the bar with the husky cigarette voice. I’ll take one of each.
First, the Kanile’a K-1 is clearly the better instrument. It’s not quite as loud as the Islander, but it’s got a richer, fuller sound. The notes are clear and distinct, and even the strumming sounds cleaner. I thought the action was perfect on the Islander until I played the K-1; it’s so easy to play that this was my wife’s first comment about it after about 10 seconds of playing. In fact, I had a hard time getting it out of her hands last night. But despite the low action, I couldn’t produce a single buzz anywhere on the neck, and the clarity and sustain up and down the neck were amazing. Overall I would describe the sound as rich and warm and full, but still clean: pure is a good word for it.
The surprising thing about the Islander MSC-4 is how well it stands up the K-1. The K-1 is better, but not by miles. I’d say 30-40% better, and even that might be stretching it. The MSC-4 is louder and has a slightly raunchier, muddier sound. It’s not quite as warm as the K-1, and a littler “janglier.” Let me emphasize the word “slightly” here, and that raunchy sound is actually kind of nice. I began to think of it as my rock and roll uke, while the K-1 has a more classical guitar feel. At the end of the evening, I was still madly in love with the MSC-4, and I plan to restring it low-G this weekend and play it as much as ever.
So I’m very happy with the K-1. I think it’s worth every penny of the $800 I paid for it. But the MSC-4 feels like a like heck of a lot more uke than the $215 it cost. The K-1 is sort of like a classy movie star, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, while the MSC-4 is the hot chick at the bar with the husky cigarette voice. I’ll take one of each.
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