buddhuu
Super Moderator (Retired)
Kala ASMT
This is Kala's all solid mahogany tenor ukulele. Mine is the basic version - no cutaway and no pickup.
This uke usually comes in a pod style rigid foam case, but I opted to upgrade to a tweed hardshell case.
I bought from Risa at www.ukulele.de. As far as I can tell, no setup had been done. The uke had black GHS strings and the action was pretty high. I'm not a fan of GHS strings, so I changed them for the low G Aquilas that I ordered from Rigk at the same time I ordered the uke. I also took a spare bridge saddle (I keep a stock of them and of nut blanks) and sanded it to about half the height of the original. The action now is low and smooth and the uke plays beautifully.
The neck on this tenor seems fairly narrow, which suits me: as a mandolin player I am used to slim fretboards. I was very pleased to see that the G and A strings are not as close to the edge of the fretboard as they are on many ukuleles I've tried. The nut slots are generously cut so even though the Aquila strings I fitted are heavier than the GHS, there is plenty of room in the slots and no sign of binding or sticking.
The tuners are the sealed gear type. On mandolins I was never too keen on these, prefering open gear ones. On the Kala, however, they are an absolute joy. Smooth, precise and plenty of tactile feedback. This Kala tenor tunes quickly and accurately. It certainly tunes more smoothly and accurately than any of my other ukes. The tuner buttons are coloured so they pretty nearly match the mahogany of the body and neck.
Fit and finish look pretty neat. The inside is clean and tidy with the bracing smooth, and neatly shaped and finished. Bracing is standard lateral, with a cruciform section under the bridge. The outside of the body is a kind of semi-matt. Presumably this reduces finishing costs a little. It is, IMO an attractive finish. The faux tortoise binding is a nice touch. A bit different.
I find the neck very comfortable, and now it has been adjusted the action is perfect. This is a very, very nice playing ukulele. The volume is very respectable and the tone is resonant and rich. Very nice indeed. With the GHS high G strings the tone was thinner, but well balanced. With the Aquilas the tone is robust and projects nicely. I do, however, find the wound low G is a little "boomy" and overpowering, so I plan to experiment with alternative G strings.
Intonation is absolutely perfect on every string, on every fret - all the way to the 12th. I had heard that intonation on these was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good. I'm impressed.
I have fitted an internal mic pickup. One of those shown in the attached pic. It's a Washburn ROMP I got from Janet Davis Music. I love these little pickups and I've used them on several mandolins. The ROMP is actually a mini condenser mic mounted straight onto an endpin jack. it takes a couple of small watch-type batteries that last for ages.
With the pickup plugged through my Fishman ProEQ II preamp, I can take out the boominess from the wound Aquila G, and the uke sounds fantastic through my Marshall AS50 D acoustic amp.
In conclusion: I am absolutely delighted with the Kala ASMT. I'll give it a proper test run at our weekly pub gig, but there's really very little left to test! This is going to be a great gigging ukulele. For a modestly priced instrument I have no complaints at all. I would certainly buy another Kala instrument, and if all are built as soundly as this one I would have no hesitation in recommending to others.
Risa/ukulele.de are communicative and helpful.
I am a happy bunny. :shaka:
This is Kala's all solid mahogany tenor ukulele. Mine is the basic version - no cutaway and no pickup.
This uke usually comes in a pod style rigid foam case, but I opted to upgrade to a tweed hardshell case.
I bought from Risa at www.ukulele.de. As far as I can tell, no setup had been done. The uke had black GHS strings and the action was pretty high. I'm not a fan of GHS strings, so I changed them for the low G Aquilas that I ordered from Rigk at the same time I ordered the uke. I also took a spare bridge saddle (I keep a stock of them and of nut blanks) and sanded it to about half the height of the original. The action now is low and smooth and the uke plays beautifully.
The neck on this tenor seems fairly narrow, which suits me: as a mandolin player I am used to slim fretboards. I was very pleased to see that the G and A strings are not as close to the edge of the fretboard as they are on many ukuleles I've tried. The nut slots are generously cut so even though the Aquila strings I fitted are heavier than the GHS, there is plenty of room in the slots and no sign of binding or sticking.
The tuners are the sealed gear type. On mandolins I was never too keen on these, prefering open gear ones. On the Kala, however, they are an absolute joy. Smooth, precise and plenty of tactile feedback. This Kala tenor tunes quickly and accurately. It certainly tunes more smoothly and accurately than any of my other ukes. The tuner buttons are coloured so they pretty nearly match the mahogany of the body and neck.
Fit and finish look pretty neat. The inside is clean and tidy with the bracing smooth, and neatly shaped and finished. Bracing is standard lateral, with a cruciform section under the bridge. The outside of the body is a kind of semi-matt. Presumably this reduces finishing costs a little. It is, IMO an attractive finish. The faux tortoise binding is a nice touch. A bit different.
I find the neck very comfortable, and now it has been adjusted the action is perfect. This is a very, very nice playing ukulele. The volume is very respectable and the tone is resonant and rich. Very nice indeed. With the GHS high G strings the tone was thinner, but well balanced. With the Aquilas the tone is robust and projects nicely. I do, however, find the wound low G is a little "boomy" and overpowering, so I plan to experiment with alternative G strings.
Intonation is absolutely perfect on every string, on every fret - all the way to the 12th. I had heard that intonation on these was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good. I'm impressed.
I have fitted an internal mic pickup. One of those shown in the attached pic. It's a Washburn ROMP I got from Janet Davis Music. I love these little pickups and I've used them on several mandolins. The ROMP is actually a mini condenser mic mounted straight onto an endpin jack. it takes a couple of small watch-type batteries that last for ages.
With the pickup plugged through my Fishman ProEQ II preamp, I can take out the boominess from the wound Aquila G, and the uke sounds fantastic through my Marshall AS50 D acoustic amp.
In conclusion: I am absolutely delighted with the Kala ASMT. I'll give it a proper test run at our weekly pub gig, but there's really very little left to test! This is going to be a great gigging ukulele. For a modestly priced instrument I have no complaints at all. I would certainly buy another Kala instrument, and if all are built as soundly as this one I would have no hesitation in recommending to others.
Risa/ukulele.de are communicative and helpful.
I am a happy bunny. :shaka:
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