I'm at work. A box from Hawaii Music Supply is waiting at my house. Since I can't see what's inside, neither can you, lol. Any guesses? It's a tenor, made in the USA, not a koa top.
I came home yesterday to this Kala Elite tenor with Port Orford Cedar top, Koa back and sides. I have been playing soprano almost exclusively for the last six months, but I recently started playing along with my son, 8, who's learning violin. We were even able to play in front of church a couple of weeks ago along with another violin, a cello and a guitar.
Basically, the soprano does not really cut it when it comes to accompanying a violin; too much treble, not enough bass. So I started looking for a nice tenor to have set up with a low g string. I was looking out for a Kamaka when I saw this Kala on the HMS website, and the sound really drew me in. And in my hands it has not disappointed.
It has a really warm, full sound. I've owned a couple of decent tenors, including a Koaloha, and while I liked the tone, I felt like there was not balance across the strings. This Kala has really great balance in tone and volume across all four strings. I had HMS install a LR Baggs pickup and now I'm ready to go.
That low G balance was exactly what struck me in the HMS videos as well. I've only really had success finding that balance in GCEA baritones. Glad it matches up in real life!
The strings it came with is the set in the video. They sound great, maybe it lends to the balance. I also ordered a set of the Ukelogic with wound low g; it should be interesting to see how they compare.