My office is near Kaye's Music Scene in Northridge, and I knew the new Kanilea Islanders were coming in today with UPS. I was there to watch George Kaye take them out of the box and had a chance to play all of them.
1. Spruce Rosewood. The wood is a satin finish. I'm kind of disappointed that the Spruce top is laminated. I went there thinking I would buy the Spruce Rosewood Concert. I didn't love it; to my ear the Spruce Rosewood was a little dull.
2. Acacia. The acacia looks almost like Koa. I tried all three and liked all of them. The soprano has 14 frets to the body, making it like a longneck. I thought the sound was a tiny bit boxy. At some point I might still get the 14 fret soprano as I like the longer neck and wider fret board, but I like sound of my Anuenue long neck better.
3. Mahogany Tenor Electric. I liked this model a lot. It was the loudest of the bunch. The Mahogany finish has a kind of curl to it and it is nicely matched. I'll note that the body on this and all the tenors was a bit smaller than the older Islanders and the Kanilea. I liked this and thought all the tenors were comfortable.
4. Spalted maple. The spalted maple is really pretty and each one is different. I like the sound the best - it is a bit brighter than the mahogany, not quite as loud. Good sustain for a laminate. To my surprise I liked the tenor more than the concert because it had a bit more resonance.
Ended up leaving with a new spalted maple tenor.
1. Spruce Rosewood. The wood is a satin finish. I'm kind of disappointed that the Spruce top is laminated. I went there thinking I would buy the Spruce Rosewood Concert. I didn't love it; to my ear the Spruce Rosewood was a little dull.
2. Acacia. The acacia looks almost like Koa. I tried all three and liked all of them. The soprano has 14 frets to the body, making it like a longneck. I thought the sound was a tiny bit boxy. At some point I might still get the 14 fret soprano as I like the longer neck and wider fret board, but I like sound of my Anuenue long neck better.
3. Mahogany Tenor Electric. I liked this model a lot. It was the loudest of the bunch. The Mahogany finish has a kind of curl to it and it is nicely matched. I'll note that the body on this and all the tenors was a bit smaller than the older Islanders and the Kanilea. I liked this and thought all the tenors were comfortable.
4. Spalted maple. The spalted maple is really pretty and each one is different. I like the sound the best - it is a bit brighter than the mahogany, not quite as loud. Good sustain for a laminate. To my surprise I liked the tenor more than the concert because it had a bit more resonance.
Ended up leaving with a new spalted maple tenor.
