Kanilea Konundrum

Hello awesome UU forum people! First post here

I'm in the market for a new Kanilea; I've been wanting to get my hands on one since I started playing the uke, but I have hit a roadblock.

My first uke is a Pono Acacia Concert, and my second is the Pono Ebony Tenor. Now that I've tried both sizes, I can comfortably say that my small hands are better suited to a concert. It's not that I can't play a tenor, but I find that I have much better control with the concert and I can reach those stretchy chords much better.

The problem is that I really much prefer the sound of the tenor. I love the deeper bass notes and the generally richer and more complex melodies that the tenor produces. From my experience Concerts are punchier and brighter, and as I primarily favor fingerstyle over strumming, the tenor sound would suit me a lot more I think.

I would really appreciate anyone's advice on this. I'm not sure how much more my fingers can learn to stretch, and I'm not sure which I should sacrifice: sound or playability. There is no where I can get my hands on a kanilea to try either model where I live, so I'm relying on second-hand experience, vids and reviews.

Thank you in advance! Aloha!

You may find a Kanilea concert has a fuller sound than many others, including some tenors. Talk to HMS about it. I had one. When I first got it, I played my Pono mahogany concert, laid it down, then played the Kanilea.....not even close. Love my Pono, but, the Kanilea was amazing.

It's been my experience that "stretchy-ness" can be practiced and improved over time. When I'm learning a song that has scary big stretches, I take it slow and find that in a couple of weeks they're not so scary any more.

If you really think you are not going to be able to stretch your fingers on a tenor, then you will have to go with a concert but it's clear you really want the tenor.

However, I suggest you don't rush to buy another uke just yet. You should work on your existing ukes, especially the tenor and see if you can make it work for you. Only if you are sure you are not able to work for you should you go with a concert. You often find, with practice you can improve your reach but you shouldn't strain your hand in the process. Take it gently.

How does a super-concert stack up to the tenor in this case?

Have you considered a low G strung concert.

AirCanuck said:

How does a super-concert stack up to the tenor in this case?

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Probably the sound of a concert with the stretches of a tenor.

Or go custom and have one built with a concert neck and a tenor body. The right size neck with a bigger sound.

Very good thread going. I also like the feel of a concert body and neck...but want the full tenor sound....Some concerts do have more volume and range, I think..... I am still searching myself for the "perfect" sound and fit.... maybe others have suggestions....

If I were you I'd get a tenor. You're fingers will end up adjusting to whatever size you play most. But if you really like the concert size more try to find somewhere you can play a kanilea because like philusafret said a kanilea concert could sound more like your pono tenor

Tune the tenor to Bb and then capo it on the 2nd fret. Now you have a C tuned tenor uke with concert scale.

Sashmic,

PM'd you.

Another issue to consider - my understanding is that the Kanilea ukes have a different neck shape than a Pono. I've got an Islander (Kanilea's import line) and they both have a great feel, bit it is different. The Islander is a wider fingerboard with neck that feels shallower/lower volume underneath it, while the Pono is narrower on the fingerboard and taller through the neck.

I don't know if one of the other makes it easier for the small of hand, but it might make a difference. Does anybody with experience on both have an opinion?

Jim Hanks said:

Tune the tenor to Bb and then capo it on the 2nd fret. Now you have a C tuned tenor uke with concert scale.

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That's a pretty good bit of advice! Much simpler and cheaper than trying to custom order a tenor body with concert neck. I think that idea sounds a bit strange, and would also be difficult to re-sell.

One other idea might be to try out a pineapple shaped concert uke. The pineapples usually sound a bit bigger than their traditional shaped counterparts. Pineapples aren't for everyone, though.

-Steve

I have a Kanile'a concert (not super concert) and a Pono MT tenor. If I could only have one, which may happen one of these days, it would be the Kanile'a. I too prefer the sound of the tenor in general and a Kanile'a in particular, but the Kanile'a concert sound is great, rich, complex, just what I wanted from a Kanile'a. Yes, it would be a little deeper if it were a tenor but I'm not sure I can hear much difference between the 2. I'm honestly not sure whether I would go with a tenor or a concert Kanile'a if I could do it over. I don't have a recording setup but have been thinking of trying to record the 2 I have with my Galaxy Tab to see if I can hear the difference. Can't do that for a few days and have to figure out how and how to post so please don't sit on the edge of your seat waiting.

Playing is easier on the Kanile'a. It didn't come from HMS but the Pono did so the setup is not the issue. I don't notice the wider fretboard on the Kanile'a but I do notice, and am a little bothered by, the thicker neck on the Pono. Remember folks, it's just personal experience. I think concert size tends to have lower tension on the strings. Think I've read that Pono tenors are high tension. I can't compare with a Kanile'a tenor as I've never played one. What I do know is that the lower tension on the Kanile'a strings feels better and makes playing easier.

If you feel like you're stretching more than is comfortable with the tenor, I don't think that a super concert is the answer for you. It's still a concert body and sound but a tenor neck.

As mentioned you could consider low g to get the deeper sound from the concert. Have thought about it but not tried yet. Another good suggestion was to talk with the folks at HMS. They are experts and can help. They could play both for you over the phone so that you don't have to switch back and forth between videos.

Good luck on your choice. I don't think you can go wrong with a Kanile'a regardless of which size you choose, well maybe not soprano.

AirCanuck said:

How does a super-concert stack up to the tenor in this case?

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That would probably be just the opposite of what the OP needs - i.e. the super concert has closer to the sound of a concert but has the "stretchy" of a tenor.

I don't think anybody makes a tenor body with a concert neck...though there would probably be at least some market for it.

To the OP - unless you have really tiny hands a tenor shouldn't be out of the question for you but it make take a year to get your hands up to the stretch. Since you really prefer the sound of the tenor I'd just play the one you have almost exclusively to work up that stretch and not even think about getting another uke until you've tried that for a year.

John

Thanks!

Hey guys,

thanks for the great advice and suggestions! I did not think of getting a low-G concert... after hearing one on Youtube it's definitely getting on my options list! But I think I'll do what several of you here suggested and continue to work on my tenor to see if my small hands can learn to stretch more. If I'm still struggling after a few months, then I'll guess I'll have to go with a concert.

I'd love to have a custom-made concert-neck with tenor size uke! I think it may look funny, although it would definitely be a great combo for me. When I finally save up for a custom it will be consideration

I do like the sound of the Kanilea concert! Like some have said here, it's already pretty rich and complex despite it's size (from what I can tell on the vids anyway). I also think they have better projection than the tenors, which sometimes sound like they swallow up rather than project the sound. And I think they definitely strum better. But I really really love the complexity and deeper bass sounds of the tenor that I think the concert can't quite achieve.

I'd love to call HMS but I live on the other side of the world, and so with the time difference and the costs, I'm a little reluctant. Emails sometimes go unanswered, but I don't blame them a bit as they must be super-busy. They have awesome customer-service though, so if I get desperate enough in my dilemma, I'll definitely stay up late one night and give them a call.

Thanks once again for the sound advice and suggestions guys (in such a short span of time as well)! UU is one awesome forum.

I'm in a similar situation, but I don't have a tenor uke. I'm looking for a low G instrument, and not sure if I want to get another concert or go up to the tenor size. The concert feels so big to me sometimes. I don't know that a few minutes of noodling on a tenor in Guitar Center will give me a good idea of how it would feel. I am really considering a concert pineapple, but they're hard to find or look cheesy. If I had $1200 (or if I had money that isn't earmarked for a car down payment), I'd buy the Compass Rose nano jumbo at Gryphon Strings.

I do know that my stretches are getting longer on my concert, with some practice. I've had the concert for four months, after 2 years of strictly soprano.

wayfarer75 said:

I'm in a similar situation, but I don't have a tenor uke. I'm looking for a low G instrument, and not sure if I want to get another concert or go up to the tenor size. The concert feels so big to me sometimes. I don't know that a few minutes of noodling on a tenor in Guitar Center will give me a good idea of how it would feel. I am really considering a concert pineapple, but they're hard to find or look cheesy. If I had $1200 (or if I had money that isn't earmarked for a car down payment), I'd buy the Compass Rose nano jumbo at Gryphon Strings.

I do know that my stretches are getting longer on my concert, with some practice. I've had the concert for four months, after 2 years of strictly soprano.

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I've played that nano jumbo at Gryphon. It's a really nice instrument. (I'm a tenor guy, though.)

To the OP: My own experience is that my first uke was a concert, and then I migrated to tenors. My first baritone felt big, but now I'm completely comfortable with baritones and sometimes my tenors feel small. My takeaway is that unless one has a physiological limitation, one's hands should be able to acclimate from concert to tenor, even if it feels a little spacious right now.

POne thing you could do for now is buy a "beater" tenor and play it a lot. You may adapt to the fretboard spacing, or you may decide that even if your hand acclimates, the smaller fretboard is just more comfortable for you. As others have suggested, if you really prefer the sound of a tenor, maybe you should take some time to assess your feel for it before committing to a Kanile'a.

Boat Paddle has the ML line. An ML concert would be a concert neck on a tenor body. They also have the TL line which has a traditional look with a larger body on smaller scale neck. However, Jerry says the concert still sound like a concert, just more of it.