Oh wow, that's quite high praise indeed. I was interested in the WUS-4 laminate koa but that sold out quite quickly. I'm still really surprised that even the WUS-3 would be better than an all solid mahogany Kiwaya. Mind-boggling really but I don't doubt you. I'm guessing it would easily be better than the laminate Kiwayas then as well.
Surprised by Laminate
- Thread starter VegasGeorge
- Start date
I'm assuming this is about laminate top?
I own 2 laminate-top ukuleles.
I've found that laminates gives generally a very consistent sound whether I strum hard or soft; while a solid's sound changes more based on how hard I strum. I'm comparing my Kala laminate to another Kala solid; the ukuleles are new, so there's no aging. Since they are both Kalas from China, I'm assuming their construction is similar (I can't really see any difference visually). This consistency makes playing the laminate perhaps initially easier but definitely less interesting in terms of the depth of sound/expression. I'm wondering if others notice this?
I own 2 laminate-top ukuleles.
I've found that laminates gives generally a very consistent sound whether I strum hard or soft; while a solid's sound changes more based on how hard I strum. I'm comparing my Kala laminate to another Kala solid; the ukuleles are new, so there's no aging. Since they are both Kalas from China, I'm assuming their construction is similar (I can't really see any difference visually). This consistency makes playing the laminate perhaps initially easier but definitely less interesting in terms of the depth of sound/expression. I'm wondering if others notice this?
Captain America
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I've had occasion to look/strum dozens and dozens of new laminate starter ukes. . . and to me there's no question that some of these laminates sound very good.
But not VERY very good. Just very good.
Gotta be lucky, or pull one from a big group, to get a good sounding one.
But not VERY very good. Just very good.
Gotta be lucky, or pull one from a big group, to get a good sounding one.
Jannik Lindquist
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Actually, the Flight WUS-3 and it's koa sibling, the WUS-4, are almost exactly identical to the instruments in Kiwaya's Eco-series. The Flight-ukuleles were build by luthiers, though. I haven't tried any of the instruments from the Eco-series so I can't comment on any similarities or differences in sound. The Eco-series do get rave reviews, though.
Regarding the quality of the WUS-3 vs the Kiwaya KTS-4 playability is clearly better on the Kiwaya.
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