Impressions of the Kala acacia pocket ukulele

[GX9901]

I decided to get one of these Kala pocket ukes last week and it arrived yesterday. I wrote some impression about it on my blog. Check it out if you're interested.

EDIT: Now with sound sample video...

 

[mokai]

great writeup

 

[ItsMrPitchy]

I thought about getting one of these pocket ukes. But as you said for a bit more you can get a acacia tenor. However, all the reviews i read were good so enjoy your new uke.

 

[OldePhart]

I bought one when I was in NYC back in October so I guess I've had it for about six or seven weeks now. I will warn you, the uke is NOT meant to be tuned to GCEA - you will very likely berak break a string within a week tuned that high, and as you've noticed it won't stay in tune no matter how hard you crank the tuner tension down. In fact, the highest I was able to tune it (before I found out it was supposed to be tuned lower) was about a full step down from GCEA - otherwise one of the tuners wouldn't stay at pitch once I released it no matter how tight I cranked the tension screw.

After breaking a string I contacted Kala (they answered my email within about four hours, really surprised me) and the guy there said it should be tuned CFAD or DGBE because no one really makes a set of strings appropriate for GCEA tuning on a 10" scale!

I suspect that they did over build it expecting that a lot of people would try tuning it to GCEA I weighed mine and my KoAloha concert on a postal scale and the Kala is exactly three ounces lighter than the much larger concert so, yeah, it's built pretty heavy. I think it's mostly the neck and edge joins though - the top doesn't look terribly thick.

I found that tuned CFAD the tuning settles down and stays pretty stable in about the same amount of time as other new ukes (or new strings) do. I also found that it sounded much, much better tuned CFAD than when I was trying to tune it higher. Too much tension actually thins out your sound because the string simply becomes very resistant to vibrating.

The intonation on my pocket uke is poor - the nut is high driving the strings pretty sharp at the first fret, and it's also off quite a bit at the 12th fret.

I wouldn't buy another one at this price, but it's not really a bad little box. I'll probably do a setup on it and then it will be fine for what I bought it for, which was traveling. It's small enough I can throw it in my regular carry on bag.

As you noted the build quality is pretty decent - I noticed a tiny bit of glue squeeze out where the fingerboard meets the top but that seems almost universal in factory ukes - at least, all of them that I own have a bit of that. Otherwise, the fit and finish was decent. It just really needs a setup. I suspect that the tiny, 10" scale excaberates (sp?) intonation problems. The larger ukes in the series might be set up better.

John

 

[OldePhart]

Forgot to mention - I suspect that this might be a good candidate for different strings. When I broke the A string the only thing I could get locally was a set of Martin flourocarbon strings. The A string is far, far, far louder, livelier, and sweeter all the way up the neck, now. I suspect that the short scale is just not a good candidate for NylGut strings because they are stiffer. I'm planning on doing a setup on this thing when I get some Worth strings in, and we'll see how it sounds set up properly and strung with flourocarbon strings all the way across.

John

 

[Ukulele Jim]

I just got a mahogany pocket uke a couple weeks ago from a local guitar shop that had one in stock. It was already strung with Aquilas and tuned GCEA.

John, I'm not sure why you're saying it can't be tuned GCEA because that seems to be the *only* tuning that works well on mine. If I crank it way up to DGBE the strings get really tight and it sounds like I'm playing a music box. I have to loosen the strings back to GCEA in order to get it playable at all.

The big drawback I found is that even though it's staying in tune at GCEA, it's harder to get consistent sound out of it because the strings move so easily when I fret chords.

 

[OldePhart]

Here's the intonation data I recorded on the Kala a few days ago when I was writing the review on the Lanikai LU-8E.

Kala solid Acatia pocket UKE
C +15, +15
F +10, +15
A +10, +10
D +10, +5

Two things to note from this - the first is that obviously I need to get out the nut files. The second is that the D string (A on a GCEA uke) is the one that had already been replaced with a Martin flourocarbon by the time I checked the intonation. Notice that it is pretty close at the 12th fret - closer than any of the stock NylGut strings. Often, poor intonation at the tweflth fret is indicative of strings that are not at the desired tension - so, this is just further fodder for the idea that this uke probably likes flourocarbon strings, or at least strings of a different gage than what come on it.

(BTW, intonation when I was trying to tune higher, two half steps below GCEA, was really terrible.)

John

 

[Ukulele Jim]

Yeah, I noticed that the intonation on mine was crap up the neck. But with such a little uke I didn't think it mattered. I just wish I could get it tuned DGBE without the strings feeling like they're going to snap any second.

 

[OldePhart]

I just got a mahogany pocket uke a couple weeks ago from a local guitar shop that had one in stock. It was already strung with Aquilas and tuned GCEA.

John, I'm not sure why you're saying it can't be tuned GCEA because that seems to be the *only* tuning that works well on mine. If I crank it way up to DGBE the strings get really tight and it sounds like I'm playing a music box. I have to loosen the strings back to GCEA in order to get it playable at all.

The big drawback I found is that even though it's staying in tune at GCEA, it's harder to get consistent sound out of it because the strings move so easily when I fret chords.

Oh, sorry for the confusion. If the strings are that loose it means you're actually tuned an octave down (i.e. tuned to the same octave as a soprano, concert, etc. - I think of that as an octave down because the strings are so loose it's like tuning a larger instrument down an octave). I tried it tuned there and it was obvious something was wrong - playability was dismal and intonation at the 12th fret was so bad it was obvious that the scale was designed around a different tension. With such a short scale it needs to be tuned higher, but you can't go all the way up to the next octave (which was what I was initially trying to do).

If you tune to CFAD or DGBE you should notice that the string tension will be roughly the same as on a concert tuned GCEA. It will seem a little bit stiffer but that is because the scale is so short. Finger a NylGut string on a concert at around the 7th fret and you'll see it feels about the same as the pocket uke open string when tuned CFAD.

I think the music box tinkly thing is a function of the very short scale with NylGut strings. Others have mentioned that NylGut strings don't always perform well above the tenth or 12th fret on soprano/concert size ukes - and I've noticed that on my LU-21C - I think they're just too stiff to vibrate really well at such short lengths.

The flourocarbon A (D) string on my pocket uke is easily twice as loud, with much better sustain, and far better tone, than the NylGut strings. I think Kala would be far better served, or be serving their customers far better, if they put a good set of flourocarbon or nylon strings on the pocket ukes. I know as soon as I get some Worths in my hands that's what's going on my pocket uke.

{edit} Okay, I'll amend that - "twice as loud" is a bit of an exaggeration. Just grabbed the uke in question and refreshed my memory. Definitely louder, we'll say. Sustain is easier to quantify - and that is approximately twice as long on the flourocarbon string. Tone is completely subjective, but I find the flourocarbon far more "ukey" and far less "music boxey."

John

 

[Ukulele Jim]

Hmm, okay. Maybe when I get home I'll dig out a set of cheap soprano strings I have lying around and restring the thing. Couldn't hurt to try.

 

[GX9901]

I tuned it GCEA like the other ukes, not an octave higher. So far I'm not finding the strings to be too loose. The intonation seems to be good, but I find that it goes a lot sharper when I bend the strings compared to normal ukes, so maybe that's why it can sound out of tune easily. You basically need to fret it perfectly to avoid it going sharp, especially up the neck, and that's hard to do with so little fretboard space. I have it for a full day now and it's a fun little thing.

 

[OldePhart]

This thread prompted me to get the nut files out during lunch. I still want to change the rest of the strings over to flourocarbon but a few minutes with the files brought the first fret intonation to where it should be. Not quite perfect, but I think it will take someone with a lot more skill with the files than I have to get it perfect because the scale is so short. I still want to replace the remaining three strings with flourocarbons but that will have to wait for another day.

No arguments about the fun little thing - though I find myself pretty limited what I can actually play on it because the frets become so crowded. I guess I could probably play "Tiptoe Through the Tulips..." LOL

John

 

[GX9901]

No arguments about the fun little thing - though I find myself pretty limited what I can actually play on it because the frets become so crowded. I guess I could probably play "Tiptoe Through the Tulips..." LOL

John

I managed to hack out Kalei Gamiao's Mach 4 on the mini-uke. I posted it elsewhere on UU but here it is if you haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3deQM5xPfU0 Good for a laugh.

 

[OldePhart]

That's amazing - certainly way better than anything I've been able to do on the pocket uke. Oh, wait, it's better than anything I've been able to do on any of my other ukes, too...

John

 

[JTY]

Hey George, great vid. Wow, let me suggest installing a mi-si and plug that baby in an amp w/distortion. hmmm .. taking requests? How about 3rd stream with that uke. Seriously, good job on the vid.

 

[Ingrate]

Thanks for posting this video. I'd wondered as to just what a "pocket 'ukulele" was, and now I know.

 

[GX9901]

Hey George, great vid. Wow, let me suggest installing a mi-si and plug that baby in an amp w/distortion. hmmm .. taking requests? How about 3rd stream with that uke. Seriously, good job on the vid.

Thanks Joel! I think if I installed a Mi-Si in the uke, there wouldn't be any space left inside.

I wish I could play 3rd Stream an any sized ukulele, let alone the pocket uke. It's probably truly impossible on the pocket uke.

 

[maikii]

In tuning the pocket uke DGBE, does it sound an octave higher than the baritone uke?

If not, if exactly the same tones as the bari (not an octave higher) that would seem strange, an instrument smaller than soprano, yet tuned lower than the tenor.

My guess is that it does sound an octave higher than the baritone, but just wanted to verify that.

Do any or all of the uke strings companies (Aquila, Worth, Martin, etc.) make strings specifically for the sopranino uke?

If not, what kind of strings does one use?

 

[OldePhart]

The tuning is a above the standard GCEA tuning. You can just barely play standard GCEA tuning, but the intonation will be terrible and the strings very slack. From there you tune up to CFAD (my favorite) or DGBE. CFAD is fairly tight on such a short scale, so I think DGBE will be almost too tight.

Neither I nor the folks at Kala know of anyone making strings for a 10" scale (I asked them). This is why you use a typical soprano set and tune them up to get enough tension.

John

 

[Ukulele Jim]

I can't play anything in CFAD tuning that I can sing along to.