Normally I wouldn't necessarily do a NUD post on just a Kanile'a concert but I've had a special interest in this uke company in particular. For the longest time, I never understood what's so special about Kanile'a ukes. In every video I watched/listened they never sounded like anything particularly special and always kinda muffled and underwhelming. This was the reason I've looked at various other higher-end brands previously. But after getting my first K brand uke, a KoAloha, I was still intrigued whether a Kanile'a could offer me a different experience. I almost exclusively play sopranos but I wanted to get a Kanile'a concert specifically because of a few reasons: First, every Kanile'a soprano I've heard has sounded extremely quiet and thin, and second, they only offer geared tuners even on sopranos which I dislike.
Well, after receiving the uke, I definitely get why people revere these so much. Every aspect of this instrument looks and feels high-quality. The weight, the fretboard, the tuners, the feel of the neck, the absolutely stunning gloss finish, and of course the looks. I chose this particular one because of the beautiful stripe in the middle. For their basic grade koa, I think it looks stunning. And the sound? Let's just say that I think I now know why Kanile'a ukes sound so underwhelming in videos. The tone is so full and dark that I don't think even high-quality microphones can properly record the more low-end tones of these things, let alone that you could properly hear the tone after video and audio compression. Everything about this uke is just sublime. The single niggle I have is the strings which I will be changing soon. Ultimately, I can't imagine how I could be happier with this uke.
Just a quick mention that I got this one from Gute Ukulele and - as opposed to the KoAloha I bought from them - this time there were no issues with the uke. They also provided a very nice case which you can see from the photo. It isn't the new Kanile'a ABS case but really high-quality nonetheless.
Well, after receiving the uke, I definitely get why people revere these so much. Every aspect of this instrument looks and feels high-quality. The weight, the fretboard, the tuners, the feel of the neck, the absolutely stunning gloss finish, and of course the looks. I chose this particular one because of the beautiful stripe in the middle. For their basic grade koa, I think it looks stunning. And the sound? Let's just say that I think I now know why Kanile'a ukes sound so underwhelming in videos. The tone is so full and dark that I don't think even high-quality microphones can properly record the more low-end tones of these things, let alone that you could properly hear the tone after video and audio compression. Everything about this uke is just sublime. The single niggle I have is the strings which I will be changing soon. Ultimately, I can't imagine how I could be happier with this uke.
Just a quick mention that I got this one from Gute Ukulele and - as opposed to the KoAloha I bought from them - this time there were no issues with the uke. They also provided a very nice case which you can see from the photo. It isn't the new Kanile'a ABS case but really high-quality nonetheless.