From Dolphin to Kanile'a

Jerryc41

Jerryc41

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At our meeting yesterday, a woman had a new Kanile'a soprano with curly koa, rather than her usual Dolphin. She's a good player, and I had wondered why she didn't play something better than the turquoise Dolphin. The Kanile'a is beautiful. We had two KoAlohas and a Cocobolo there among the small group of seven.
 
Jerryc41 said:
At our meeting yesterday, a woman had a new Kanile'a soprano with curly koa, rather than her usual Dolphin. She's a good player, and I had wondered why she didn't play something better than the turquoise Dolphin. The Kanile'a is beautiful. We had two KoAlohas and a Cocobolo there among the small group of seven.
Click to expand...

A good player will sound good on pretty much anything, and somebody’s got to have the cheapest Uke. Anyway, what’s not to like about a Dolphin and particularly so for group playing :) . Spread the joy and not, necessarily, the dollars.
 
Patty said:
A good player will sound better on a better instrument. If it brings joy to her and her friends, then she’s spreading the joy.
Click to expand...

I can’t really disagree with that truth and wouldn’t want to. My emphasis is slightly different:
# Someone in a group must have the lowest quality instrument so why not let it be - by their choice - one of the better players? (Someone who’s skilled enough to make it not really matter).
# A good player might sound a bit better on a better instrument but how much that matters in practise is open to debate - I think that other things are more important.
# A well played cheaper instrument demonstrates that you don’t need an expensive instrument and that knowledge brings joy, well it does if you’ve limited discretionary income. Pick your friends for who they are and not for how wealthy they are.
# The most important thing to me in any group is who the individuals are, they are the ones that bring joy and the Uke is just a medium that may or may not be expertly used and may or may not be expensive.

Of course other folk have different value sets to mine above. If I chose to then - instead of being a skinflint - I could purchase some significantly nice and expensive instruments, however I wouldn’t want to belong to any group were what instrument you played (dear or cheap) was socially important. For me it’s a case of like me for who I am or ‘go away’.
 
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for some reason Apollo 11 comes to mind: one small step, one giant leap...
images

BTW, Neil A backwards is alien. Just sayin...
 
Spending over $1000 on a recreational item is a significant investment.

No one here knows the backstory on the Kanile’a. It may have been a Mother’s Day gift or was something she saved for over time.

With only 7 participants, it does make sense to play a nicer sounding ukulele.

I have not played in a lot of groups. But as the number of players increase the unique quality of each ukulele decreases.

In those situations it seems playability and a side sound port are of greater value.

John
 
ensemble playing is the great equalizer. The noise of the majority will obscure the badness of a poor uke and mute the excellence of a better uke. So just play what you want knowing that it will not really matter once everyone starts a-flailing.
 
You did say she usually plays a turquoise Dolphin. Aren't the turquoise ones the good ones anyway? I've never played one, nor seen one played in-person, so I can't comment on a Dolphin. But, I have played, seen and owned many fine budget friendly ukuleles. The Kanile'a is probably a fine ukulele too.
(I'm just playing... It sounds like the woman now has an instrument that compliments her skills. It also sounds like your group had a nice session.)
 
70sSanO said:
Spending over $1000 on a recreational item is a significant investment.

No one here knows the backstory on the Kanile’a. It may have been a Mother’s Day gift or was something she saved for over time.

With only 7 participants, it does make sense to play a nicer sounding ukulele.

I have not played in a lot of groups. But as the number of players increase the unique quality of each ukulele decreases.

In those situations it seems playability and a side sound port are of greater value.

John
Click to expand...

She said she thought it was time to upgrade, and she splurged. She hadn't realized that she had clicked on the curly koa. It's beautiful. I'll take a picture the next time.
 
Jerryc41 said:
She said she thought it was time to upgrade, and she splurged. She hadn't realized that she had clicked on the curly koa. It's beautiful. I'll take a picture the next time.
Click to expand...
How wonderful for her! That's a big upgrade! I marvel at her willpower, just owning one for so long.
 
I have the wood top dolphins and when beginner I was loved them with good strings on it. I always told beginners to get one, then if they really want to get into ukulele, I said, get a really nice one, as much as you can afford , neck will play better-usually, and you will play better as the sound will be there, the beauty of your uke will let you play better ,you will feel good playing a nice looking one. All this has nothing to do with having the best uke in the group but how you feel about yourself playing and growing in style, finger picking, strumming, whatever you do, and you WILL grow and play better
 
I will say that the Makala Dolphins and Sharks are pretty amazing for the price.

We have purchased a couple for our grandkids and they are a far cry from the toy ukuleles of decades past.

They may not compete with higher quality ukes on a note-by-note basis, but for an inexpensive strummer, they are better than most other cheaper ukuleles.

John
 
I'm sure the member of your group will thoroughly enjoy her new Kanile'a. I'm sure she has a smile on her face every time she picks it up.

It won't make her a better musician, but it will make the music a little easier to play. The notes will be clearer, the sustain longer and the projection louder. The voice will be richer, more nuanced and refined.

The Makala Dolphin and Shark are fine instruments. The sound good and have good intonation. And they're fun to play.

The notes, chords, strums, hammer ons, pull offs, etc are the same.

The Kanile'a moves the playing experience and the resulting sound of the music up a notch or three.
 
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