NUD: Kinnard

Slade said:

I do have it, but it’s being returned. Not because of the zero fret. It just doesn’t sound that great. I purchased two ukuleles and they both arrived the same day. The other uke is a TyDe. The Kinnard was double the price but the TyDe blew it away in tone. I just couldn’t see spending that much on a ukulele and it sounding that bad. And I’m not trying to bag on Kinnard. It’s a beautiful instrument but not for me.

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Wow...I sure didn't see that one coming.

Maybe it was just that particular wood combination, since all of the Kinnard's I've ever heard have such a consistent, high quality in tone and sound. (Equally responsive across the tonal spectrum...rich low tones and sweet mid to high tones) This is just my personal preference in a nicely balanced ukulele. I look for these very same qualities in my guitars.

Define "high quality in tone and sound". Maybe it's a question of different tastes. I'm mostly looking for a full, deep, guitar-like sound, and the two Kinnard ukes which passed my hands didn't completely satisfy me in this category. Again, this may be totally up to personal preferences, I know there are plenty of others who are utterly happy with theirs.

Slade, you might want to look at longer scale tenors: 18", 19" with slightly deeper bodies If you want a deeper more guitar-like sound. Or even a baritone strung GCEA.

Kerneltime has an 18" Ono for sale here on UU Marketplace. https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?138942-Ukes-to-sell
There are some links to information about the Ono on his listing. And I am sure he'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Also, I've been talking with Mike Pereira about a custom tenor he is going to do for me. He tells me that he made a Padauk/Spruce tenor that had a classical guitar-like sound that he liked very much. He's an easy guy to talk to as well.
mpukuleles.com

No, I have not owned longer-scale tenors. But, I've listened to videos and sound clips and to me they sound more guitar-like than most standard 17" tenors.

Best of luck on your quest. I enjoy my 17" Kinnard Series 2 tenor very much. Different strokes and all that.

Yes tonal preference is all very personal. Saying the Kinnard sounded "bad" might have been a little strong, to someone else it will sound great. But I get it, I have sold many high end custom ukes that did not suit my ears, they ended up being someones else's holy grail uke.

DownUpDave said:

Yes tonal preference is all very personal. Saying the Kinnard sounded "bad" might have been a little strong, to someone else it will sound great. But I get it, I have sold many high end custom ukes that did not suit my ears, they ended up being someones else's holy grail uke.

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First, I'm glad one of your two new arrivals was to your liking. Congrats!

Regarding the Kinnard, Kimo Hussey is an exceptional musician and knows a thing or two about fine instruments. That doesn't mean that you will like the same tone. But if he owned it, it would be by most people's standards, a wonderful instrument. I've played three dozen Kinnards, owned four including the Series 3 tenor I still own and based on what *I* like, they are among the very best in tone, playability, aesthetics and build execution.

I can understand not to your liking, but "bad" is not something one hears when people discuss Kinnards. I'd be very curious if something was amiss. Like a bad string, or mis-tuned, etc.

Funny story to share. The first Kinnard I ever played was a Road Trip uke (passed on from person to person to try and spread awareness about Kinnard). I was a completely NOOB and could barely play (the latter is still true, but I have owned 70 ukes over the last 6 years). I let Kevin know that I was not impressed. He drove up from where he lives and brought 4-5 other Kinnards. They were amazing. It turns out that one of the prior people who got to try out the Road Trip uke changed the strings and they simply did not work well on that uke. Kevin changed the strings back to what he and John prefer and sent a sound sample that sounded wonderful.

Anyway, enjoy your new uke!

Slade said:

It was a 2018 custom order built for Kimo Hussey. I would of been the second owner.

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While I agree bad is probably not a good choice of words, a professional musician getting a custom in 2018 and no longer owning it a year, or less, later doesn’t speak grail to me.

John

Edit added: i’ve always felt top tone wood and build influence the tone more than B/S. That said, spruce/maple would not be my first choice if I were looking for a sound with more depth.

70sSanO said:

While I agree bad is probably not a good choice of words, a professional musician getting a custom in 2018 and no longer owning it a year, or less, later doesn’t speak grail to me.

John

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I've had the impression that Kimo regularly cycles through different ukuleles built by different builders.Seems like every YT video I run across has him playing something different. Maybe I'm wrong, (that often happens, LOL), but I don't think he tends to play any one ukulele for much time at all. Is there a brand/builder that he plays all the time, like Jake plays a Kamaka?

Joyful Uke said:

I've had the impression that Kimo regularly cycles through different ukuleles built by different builders.Seems like every YT video I run across has him playing something different. Maybe I'm wrong, (that often happens, LOL), but I don't think he tends to play any one ukulele for much time at all. Is there a brand/builder that he plays all the time, like Jake plays a Kamaka?

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I don’t follow what he plays. I know he does a number of reviews, but I don’t think they are all his personal instruments. I did see that Litchey Guitars features him, but I don’t know any more than what is on the website. He may just go through a lot of ukuleles, unlike Jake.

John

Joyful Uke said:

I've had the impression that Kimo regularly cycles through different ukuleles built by different builders.Seems like every YT video I run across has him playing something different. Maybe I'm wrong, (that often happens, LOL), but I don't think he tends to play any one ukulele for much time at all. Is there a brand/builder that he plays all the time, like Jake plays a Kamaka?

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Yes he does.. I am not trying to advocate for Kinnard but using Kimo’s buying and selling as a benchmark is not right.
He bought a Les Stansell and I tried it before he went back to Hawaii, he was the first to pick the uke and took an amazing warm and open uke (all the ukes were amazing but they were different in subtle ways and it was a lot of fun to try them out), I mailed him about the uke and offered to buy it and he sold it in less than a few months.. and that’s how landed up with 2 Les Stansells. If you see him play a uke and you like it, ask him, unlike other pros out there he likes to try ukes and play to the uke rather than make the uke play to him.. he has talked about this in his videos. He likes to find the voice of a uke and play select songs and styles to suit it.

kerneltime said:

Yes he does.. I am not trying to advocate for Kinnard but using Kimo’s buying and selling as a benchmark is not right.
He bought a Les Stansell and I tried it before he went back to Hawaii, he was the first to pick the uke and took an amazing warm and open uke (all the ukes were amazing but they were different in subtle ways and it was a lot of fun to try them out), I mailed him about the uke and offered to buy it and he sold it in less than a few months.. and that’s how landed up with 2 Les Stansells. If you see him play a uke and you like it, ask him, unlike other pros out there he likes to try ukes and play to the uke rather than make the uke play to him.. he has talked about this in his videos. He likes to find the voice of a uke and play select songs and styles to suit it.

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Wow what a nifty idea. I enjoy Kimo's videos, etc. Now there's another reason to try to watch one. Too bad he doesn't seem to be making new videos to his YouTube channel. I wonder how you could keep up with him now?

Even Kimo has UAS.
I'm sure he gets to try endless amazing ukuleles.

I googled Tyde Ukuleles, and they seem to have a different sound than the Kinnards. If you were looking for the sound of a Tyde, no wonder the Kinnard didn't work for you.They look like amazing ukuleles, too.

kerneltime said:

He likes to find the voice of a uke and play select songs and styles to suit it.

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That's all the folks with UAS want to hear. I guess Kimo Hussey has it too.

Slade said:

It has curly maple B/S with torrified spruce for the top.

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Any chance the uke in question is this beauty?
http://ukulelefriend.com/ukes/kinnard-ukulele-2/

If so, was the TyDe also a baritone? What woods were used for it?

Inquiring minds want to know...

I really only stumbled upon this because my UAS triggers me to look around online for new stuff that I can’t afford, and this wood combo/luthier reminded me of this thread.

The Ukulele Friend website is a fun one to browse, but can leave drool all over the keyboard.

This does sound like the Kinnard in question, doesn't it?

I've got to admit that I'm a Kinnard fan. But, this ukulele, to me, doesn't have that signature Kinnard sound. Am I alone in thinking that? Maybe just because I'm not a baritone player? I don't think that's it, though, because the baritone that was on the Kinnard website until just recently still had that Kinnard sound, to me. The workmanship is still beautiful, though.

I have many ukes and they’re all tenors. However, some are hybrids with baritone bodies and tenor neck length. Some are 17”, 18”, and 19. I think I have 11 but I really only play four lately. This Kinnard doesn’t compare to any of my others so it had to go.

Slade said:

I have many ukes and they’re all tenors. However, some are hybrids with baritone bodies and tenor neck length. Some are 17”, 18”, and 19. I think I have 11 but I really only play four lately. This Kinnard doesn’t compare to any of my others so it had to go.

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Totally makes sense. Enjoy the ukuleles that you have. No point in keeping one that doesn't speak to you.

YogiTom said:

Any chance the uke in question is this beauty?
http://ukulelefriend.com/ukes/kinnard-ukulele-2/


If so, was the TyDe also a baritone? What woods were used for it?

Inquiring minds want to know...

I really only stumbled upon this because my UAS triggers me to look around online for new stuff that I can’t afford, and this wood combo/luthier reminded me of this thread.

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Yup! This is the same Kinnard. I want to be clear - nothing is wrong with this Kinnard, it’s beautiful! It doesn’t please my ear, that’s all. Compared with my other ukuleles, it sounds bad. But I totally get that someone else may love the tone, and that’s perfectly fine by me. In regards to the TyDe, it’s made out of ancient Kauri wood. It sounds soft and warm, yet bold. I love it’s tone and someone else might not, that’s cool too.

Joyful Uke said:

The Ukulele Friend website is a fun one to browse, but can leave drool all over the keyboard.

This does sound like the Kinnard in question, doesn't it?

I've got to admit that I'm a Kinnard fan. But, this ukulele, to me, doesn't have that signature Kinnard sound. Am I alone in thinking that? Maybe just because I'm not a baritone player? I don't think that's it, though, because the baritone that was on the Kinnard website until just recently still had that Kinnard sound, to me. The workmanship is still beautiful, though.

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Yup, same Kinnard. My problem is that I’ve never played a Kinnard except this one. I can only compare it to my other ukuleles. The craftsmanship is amazing but I wasn’t satisfied with the tone. No biggie, I’m sure someone else will eventually buy it and fall in love with it.

Slade said:

I have many ukes and they’re all tenors. However, some are hybrids with baritone bodies and tenor neck length. Some are 17”, 18”, and 19. I think I have 11 but I really only play four lately. This Kinnard doesn’t compare to any of my others so it had to go.

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Wow, I’d be interested in hearing about your baritones with tenor scales. This seems to be where my UAS interest is going and I can’t find potential instruments.
Thanks