Is Les more???

Whoa, it has been 2 months since I last posted here.  Not sure if anyone is still checking this blog, but it's not dead.  I just got more busy as summer has finally rolled around in Minnesota.  Also, I've contracted some other "AS" so UAS is in remission, thus less stuff to post here.

Regardless, I had ordered an Epiphone Les Paul uke after it was announced at one of the NAMM shows.  I ordered it from Sam Ash, and it took quite a while until they finally had stock to ship around the middle of June.

So why would I even bother with something like this?  After all, it's more or less a novelty uke made with laminated wood.  Well, the reason is simple.  I've always been a fan of Les Pauls.  No, I can't play guitar, but I've always thought Les Pauls looked cool in the hands of guys like Slash.  I once bought a Kiwaya K-Wave ukulele because it resembled a Les Paul, and I've wanted an Earnest La Paula for the same reason.  A Les Paul shaped ukulele made by Epiphone, no matter how bad an instrument it turns out to be, would be an actual, genuine Les Paul, and that's enough for me to want to get one.  The fact that these sell for $99 made it a no brainer.

So now I've had this ukulele for a little while, I will do a quick review of it.  First off, the stock strings that came with it are complete garbage.  The ukulele sounded pretty bad and dead out of the box.  I don't know what those strings are, and frankly I don't care, as they probably sound worse than my dental floss would have sounded strung to this uke.  So my initial impression wasn't good.  I thought I had bought a $99 novelty.  At that point, I figure it wouldn't hurt to slap some Aquila strings onto this uke.  I'm not a fan of Aquila strings, and pretty much every uke I have that came strung with Aquilas got a string change in quick order.  So I had plenty of Aquila strings on hand.  I know Aquilas were at least good for bringing low end laminated ukes to life, so I gave it a shot.  I wasn't expecting much, but to my surprise, the Aquilas significantly improved the sound of this uke.  With the Aquila strings installed, the ukulele actually sounded pretty good.  In fact, I liked the sound better than some lower end solid wood ukes I've played before.  This was quite a pleasant surprise, and immediately made the ukulele worth the $99 and more.

The next thing I noted was the action.  It's setup probably on the high side of acceptability for me.  I have no problem strumming on it, but finger picking beyond say the first 3~5 frets takes a little bit of an effort.  Do keep in mind I'm pretty used to playing some custom ukes with very easy playing actions, so it's probably better than what I've described.  I've read that the nut and saddle are plastic and rather crudely finished, and that was the case on mine.  On the saddle, there is a mold line right on the edge where the strings contact the saddle.  Pretty terrible place for a mold line in my opinion.  So I took a sandpaper and sanded off that mold line.  The nut slots also looked a bit crude with some burrs on the sides of the slots.  However, other than looking bad, I didn't think there was enough of an issue for me to work on it.  The overall action was acceptable for me, so I didn't do anything to lower it.  It does have a bolt-on neck, so if needed, it should be rather easy to adjust the action.

Reviewing this backwards, let's talk a little bit about the package.  It comes packaged in a trapezoid box with Epiphone graphics on it.  Beside the ukulele, it comes with a very thin gig-bag and a chord to plug it into an amp.  The box also contained some Epiphone catalogs and an Epiphone bumper sticker.  Not a bad package for $99.

The Les Paul uke has an undersaddle pickup installed.  I only used it once so far, but I thought it worked really well.  The volume was pretty balanced from string to string, and it was fun playing it using various effects on my amp.  So as an electric uke, it seems to do the job.

While the sound, once the Aquilas were installed, surprised me, the looks was what I expected.  The sunburst on the body looked great, as is the curls in the laminated wood.  The workmanship besides the nut and saddle looked good to me.  The uke is on the heavy side, but that was expected as I've read that the body (besides the top) was routed from a block rather than glued together, making the sides and back fairly thick.  One quirk I found is that the normal ukulele position dot at the 10th fret is now at the 9th fret, which is where they place a dot on the guitar.  This does screw me up a bit because I usually look at the side markers (the Les Paul also have side markers) when I play, and having the one at 10th fret moved to 9th fret will take some mental adjustment.  It's not a huge deal, but it would have made the uke more playable for me if the dot was at the 10th fret.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Epiphone Les Paul.  As long as you make sure to change out the crappy stock strings, I think it's a pretty fun ukulele that sounds surprisingly good.  I've actually played it a lot more than I thought I would.  I think it makes a good knock around ukulele, one that you don't need to worry too much about humidifying and can just leave anywhere in the house.  It looks cool, sounds pretty good, and is cheap.  In my book it's well worth the $99 price of admission.

Front shot

Back shot

Hey, it's a Les Paul!

The bolted neck.

Bridge & saddle.

Pickup plug.

Back of the headstock.  It's made in Indonesia.

Notice the position dot at the 9th fret.

Mini-Me or Tiny Tim???

Uke-crack arrived yesterday in the form of the Kala Acacia Pocket ukulele. While I have tried to find as many reviews, pictures, and videos of it as I awaited its arrival, I must say that I was still not prepared for just how friggin' small this thing is! No, it doesn't actually fit in your pocket, but it is a really really small ukulele. It is definitely smaller than I expected and I don't think seeing pictures of it next to other ukes would really drive that point home (Although I do present a couple of such pics at the end of this post). You need to see this thing in person to appreciate its smallness.

Aside from the small size, my other first impression upon picking this ukulele up is that it is pretty heavy for its size. It's built like a tank, which isn't necessarily a good thing when talking about ukes. I don't know if it's because the body is so tiny and therefore the wood seems thicker, but it sure feels that way. I held my Collings UC-1 on one hand and this uke on the other, and I can't really tell much difference in weight. Granted, the Collings is really built very light, but it's like 5 times the size (OK, I'm exaggerating) of the Kala. So perhaps this pocket uke is a bit overbuilt, but maybe it needed to be built this way, I'm not sure. It does look well built. Perhaps not the most perfect workmanship (some glue and a little bit of wood shaving is visible on the inside of my copy), but I would rate it as very good. The acacia wood body looks nice, with some very faint curls in the wood. The headstock has an inlaid Kala logo in maple and an overlay of what appears to be clear plastic, which gives it an interesting effect.

The sound is predictably thin and not especially loud. I tried CFAD, DGBE, and GCEA tunings and decided to stick to GCEA for the time being. In CFAD and DGBE, it didn't seem to sound much better than GCEA and most songs I tried didn't sound that great in those tunings despite the strings are all "spaced apart" the same. It does seem to have pretty good intonation, but the Aquila strings are still stretching so much it's hard to tell since the strings seem to go out of tune as I play. Speaking of tuning, I used my brand spanking new Peterson StroboClip to tune this baby and it was surprisingly easy. I thought given the sensitivity of the tuner and the short scale of the ukulele, combined with friction tuners, I was going to be in for a workout to tune it. Turns out I was able to get the strings dialed in fairly quickly using the StroboClip, so I'm definitely happy with the new tuner.

While the sound of the pocket uke is not really all that great (yes, it's super tiny, but even if you consider it good for its size, it's still not that great in absolute terms), it IS fun to play. It is somewhat difficult given how small the scale length is, but there's something inherently fun about playing a tiny ukulele that actually produces all the right notes (unlike cheapo toy ukes you can get at ToysRUs or Hawaiian tourist shops). I've read a few reviews of the pocket uke where the reviewer says it's fun to play, but I didn't really understand what they meant until I played it myself. This ukulele is all about its tiny size. If all else is equal and this is a standard sized soprano, I'd probably return it. But its size makes it a keeper, which is probably difficult for people to understand unless they've handled one of these. Once you've handled it, you would probably either love it or hate it.

So the biggest problem most people will have with the Kala pocket uke is the price. The street price for the mahogany version is $210 while the acacia version is $280. To put the $280 price for the acacia in perspective, you can buy the Kala acacia TENOR for $21 more from most dealers. That uke is like 10 times bigger than the pocket uke!! (ok, exaggerating again. It's only 6 times bigger) It doesn't take a math major to realize that the value quotient for the pocket uke is extremely low. The only reason I went for the acacia version is because I found one for $240 shipped and decided "what the hell" on the $30 premium over the mahogany version because I really wanted the acacia. Now, I don't really have a problem with the pricing on these ukes because I believe that it may actually be more difficult for Kala to make these. Dave Means of Glyph once said that it's most challenging to get good sound out of a small soprano box, and it doesn't get much smaller than these. Also, I think it's more difficult to ensure good intonation on a shorter scaled instrument. I imagine Kala needed tighter quality control to get these to intonate correctly. So personally speaking, I can understand why these ukes carry such relatively high price.

So who will buy these things? I kind of doubt too many are sold over the internet. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't see many people shelling out $210~280 for these pocket ukes just by looking at pictures or even videos of them. Like I said, you can almost get the acacia tenor for this money, and there are a slew of nice imported solid wood ukes of all sizes at this price point. So I think it's a tough sell over the internet. However, I'm willing to bet quite a few gets taken home when people actually handle them. It's just so damn cute you almost can't help it. It's like seeing a puppy in a pet store or something. And if you think the price is too high, there are basically no alternatives. There are several sopraninos out there made by the likes of Ohana and KoAloha, but I assure you the Kala pocket uke is much smaller. So you must pay to play, basically.

I've only had mine for under 24 hours as I type this post, but so far I am happy with this purchase. That's not to say I recommend you jumping online and order away. I think you really needs to handle it to determine if you love it or hate it. Either that or you need some money burning a hole in your pocket to give it a try. I have to admit I basically had some hot cash to blow on it, but right now I fall in the camp of those who love it, so I guess the gamble has paid off.

So that's the first impressions/semi-review from this crack, I mean uke addict. I will be attempting some songs that probably should not be played on this ukulele, so stay tuned for some vids!

Peace, love, and ukulele baby!


Headstock with Kala logo inlaid in maple:


Front of the pocket uke:


Back of the pocket uke:


Next to the Collings UC-1. I swear the pocket uke feels smaller in person:


Side view next to the UC-1:


Next to the DaSilva Santos Repro. The Santos is almost sized like a sopranino:


Side view next to the DaSilva:


The Kala is actually a little thicker than the DaSilva:

It's almost like I'm cheating...

That's how I'd describe playing the William King long scale concert ukulele that I received 3 months ago. Why would I say that? Read on!

It was around November of 2008 when I received an email from William King informing me that he is opening his 2009 build list. At the time I had no intention of ordering another custom ukulele as I had been enjoying my King long scale tenor and I also had a DaSilva soprano in the works. However, that email kind of got me thinking about what I'd order if I had commissioned another ukulele from William. Since I already had a LS-tenor from him, I thought it would be good to have a LS-concert. At roughly 16" scale, it would slot in nicely between a standard concert (15") and tenor (17"). I would want it to have a slotted headstock with Gilbert tuners, 16" radiused ebony fretboard, and a Mi-Si pickup. For the body wood material, I wanted something other than koa since the LS-tenor was already made from koa. It didn't take long for me to make a sketch of the ukulele and send it to William for a quote and some suggestions on body wood. I was interested in an Macassar ebony body since I've seen some pretty sweet ebony ukes from William and KoAloha and William responded that he does have a concert Macassar ebony set left. For top wood, he suggested either redwood or Adirondack spruce. I've read a lot about different species of spruce and liked the idea of having a uke with an Adirondack spruce top, so it was decided that the uke will be made from Macassar ebony and Adirondack spruce. I quickly reserved a build slot and started waiting for the completion of the uke.

The ukulele arrived around mid-April and I was thrilled with its looks (pictures here). The Gilbert tuners required a thicker headstock, which I absolutely loved. The headstock of the LS-tenor always seemed a bit thin for some reason, and now I know why. The Macassar ebony looked very classy, with nice chocolate stripes running evenly throughout the body. The Adirondack spruce top looked great too, with nice silking that makes it look almost like curly spruce from some angles. The rosette looked marvelous as well. I had specified an abalone rosette, but William added a thick Macassar abalone border and some b/w/b lines around it to make it look just outstanding to my eyes. It was built with the Nunes style body shape and looked wonderful. I was extremely satisfied with the appearance of this ukulele. Because the uke was built out of Macassar ebony, a very dense wood, it is significantly heavier than similar sized ukes built out of more traditional wood such as koa or mahogany. Of course, that's all relative and even with its added weight, this is still a pretty small instrument we're talking about and I have no issues at all holding it while playing.

When it came time to play it, I have to admit I was initially a little bit disappointed in the sound. Prior to receiving this ukulele, I had been playing the King LS-tenor almost exclusively. While waiting for the LS-concert to arrive, I imagined a ukulele that sounded a lot like the LS-tenor but in a smaller package. I've read that guitars made from Macassar ebony and Adirondack spruce produces a very powerful sound, so I figured that I could expect it to be similar to the LS-tenor, which offered some seriously powerful sound from its koa and Swiss spruce combination. That was decidedly not the case when I first started playing this uke. The sound was very clear and pleasant, but it was very very different from the LS-tenor. It did not have the punchy percussive quality that the LS-tenor had, and it didn't sound especially loud. Instead of a punchy sounding instrument, it had a more complex tone and crystalline feel that was more similar to the KoAloha Pineapple Sunday. I thought it sounded great. The notes feel like they spring right off the fretboard whether its picked or strummed. I feel that the notes have real depth and the sustain is excellent up and down the fretboard. It just feels alive when being played. Basically, the only thing I wished for was a little more volume, and being a spruce top, I figure it would open up from frequent playing, which is something I planned on doing.

Speaking of playing, I don't think ukuleles could be much easier to play than this one. For me personally, I've always found the concert scale to be the easiest of the standard ukulele scales to play. Adding an inch to the standard concert scale proved to have no effects on playability at all, as far as I'm concerned. William had set it up with very nice and low action, and combined with the 16" radiused fretboard, every song I know just felt so easy to play on this ukulele. To wit, I learned Jake Shimabukuro's Piano Forte, which required some serious finger stretches, earlier this year. Of all the ukes that I own, it was far and away the easiest to pull off on this ukulele. Whether I played it on tenors, standard concerts, or sopranos, I couldn't pull off the song as cleanly as I can on this uke. Perhaps it was a combination of the factors above, but I just know that this ukulele makes every song play with less effort on my part. It is truly a great player.

So now I've been playing it almost daily for 3 months, I appreciate its qualities more and more each time. I'm not sure if it has increased in volume or not (and if I've made it sound like it's a quiet uke, it's not), but I've come to realize that's not what this uke is about anyway. It is all about sublime sound quality and great playability. Since I got this uke, even the mighty King LS-tenor has taken a back seat. This is simply the uke I reach for the most when I want to play. Why do I say that it feels like I'm cheating when playing this ukulele? Because it lowers the level of difficulty of playing songs, and it makes my playing sound better than it is. I'm actually kind of afraid that I won't be able to handle playing other ukuleles if I'm too used to this one and have consciously tried to rotate my other ukes more. So I think this is the highest compliment I can give to this ukulele: I almost feel like I'm cheating playing this uke...

For sound files, check out some videos I've posted with it: Stars & Stripes Forever, Piano Forte, Dragon, ghetto Gently Weeps performance.

It's "Kay-Li-Ee" for Kelii

Kelii (pronounced "Kay-Li-Ee" as told by the shopkeeper at Lahaina Music in Maui) has always seemed to be the forgotten brand among Hawaiian made ukuleles. While ukulele enthusiasts routinely talk about the "K" brand Hawaiian ukuleles (Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile'a, Ko'olau, and G-String - OK, so G is not K...), Kelii usually seemed to be left out of the conversation. Yes, there has been discussions about Kelii ukes among various ukulele forums on the internet, and pretty much all of it positive, you will probably agree that compared to the other "K" brands, Kelii is very much a minor player when it comes to brand recognition.

Since most of the Kelii discussion I've read about had been very positive, which paints Kelii ukes as equal to the other "K" brands but at about 3/4 of the price, I've always wanted to try one. My first chance came about a year and a half ago, when MGM had a custom Kelii mango/spruce-top super-soprano for sale at about $350 or so. It was fairly blinged out and the price seemed very good. However at the time I didn't want to spend that kind of money (funny, now that I think about it) and made a lower offer for it. MGM declined and the uke was bought by someone else later on. I kind of regretted that and waited for the same model to appear later but it never did to this day. When I went to Oahu in January of 2008, I played a bunch of ukes but only came across a grand total of one Kelii ukulele. I think it was a concert and looked kind of shopworn and I didn't think that was a good representation of a Kelii ukulele. I later learned that Kelii had been concentrating on their import Koa Pili Koko line and had not produced many Kelii ukuleles lately.

So my curiosity about Kelii ukuleles was never really satisfied until this past November, when I scored Kelii tenor from MGM that was on sale for $450. I mean, a solid koa ukulele made in Hawaii for $450? Sign me up! So how does this ukulele measure up? Let's check the stats first:

-Solid koa body
-Mahogany neck
-Grover friction tuners
-1.5" rosewood nut
-Tenor scale (slightly long at 17.25") rosewood fretboard w/3 position dots in MOP
-Rosewood bridge with rosewood saddle

The first thing you notice when holding the Kelii tenor is the very thick neck profile. It feels very thick and wide compared to all other ukuleles I have. But the second thing you notice while holding it is that it's a very light ukulele. Despite the thick neck and thinner than normal body depth, it feels very balanced and light in my hands. I really like the feel of the neck and am definitely impressed with the weight and balance Kelii achieved with this ukulele. Besides the aforementioned thick neck and thin body depth, it has more of a "bowled" back than most ukuleles I've seen. It's not really bowled like an Applause uke, but the curve is more pronounced than other traditional tenors I've tried. Other unorthodox touches include rosewood nut and saddle. Kelii is the only maker to my knowledge that uses rosewood for nut and saddle material. I don't think it affects the sound or anything, and it makes for a more unique ukulele.

This is a standard model Kelii tenor and has the bare minimum of adornments (i.e. no bling whatsoever). However, it does have some pretty nice koa. From the pictures posted here you should be able to see some light curls on the koa body. It is nicely bookmatched and well put together. The workmanship is perhaps not the most flawless I've seen, but certainly pretty good. A peek inside the soundhole shows a pretty tidy interior with almost no glue residue. In keeping with the slightly unorthodox style of the Kelii ukulele, the bracing inside appears to be done using koa instead of the more common spruce braces. Also, instead of kerfed linings for the top and back, it uses a solid un-kerfed strip of wood bent to the shape of the top and bottom. Perhaps using these braces and linings saves on production costs, but I'm not entirely sure.

When I first got this ukulele, the action was a bit higher than I'd like, so I sanded down the saddle and got it to a more comfortable playing height. In about a week or so after that, the action felt lower than I had set it at, indicating that the neck had moved a little bit. The relative humidity here during the winter is about 20, so I think a little bit of neck movement is entirely within reason, even with 2 humidifiers in the case. And since it has not reach the point of buzzing, the low action is welcomed. As setup right now, it is easy to play and offers a very pleasing sound. I think the sound gives off an "island" vibe more so than my Kanile'a and Kamaka tenors. It has more of a woody sound with good sustain and volume. It sounds like something Iz would be strumming while singing Over the Rainbow. Check the soundfile at the end of the review to hear it for yourself. Personally, I prefer the more "robust" sound of the Kanile'a and Kamaka, but I think the Kelii offers a very high quality sound and is certainly distinctive. For all the unorthodox qualities it has, I think it probably is the most "traditional" sounding tenor out there.

Overall, I think Kelii definitely belongs with the other Hawaiian "K" brands. I hope they get back to regular production of Kelii ukuleles soon because they are certainly a great value. Right now they are pretty rare, so if you come across one, better grab it before it's gone.

Here's the soundfile. Guess which song is played on the Kelii???

Super!

A couple of months ago, during the holiday season, musicguymic had put up several nice ukes at a limited time lower sale price. Coupled with a cashback promotion sponsored by Microsoft, where you got up to 30% off your purchase, it made a few of those ukes irresistible to me. I purchased a Kelii tenor and a Kanile'a super tenor during that time. This review will be for the Kanile'a super tenor.

I had been eyeing this particular Kanile'a super tenor on MGM's store because in addition to being curious about the super tenor sound (I had played a couple before but didn't spend a lot of time on them), this one looked like it had some nice curly koa. I found myself checking the "Kanile'a" page of the store often to see if this one was still there even though I had no intention of buying it at the regular price (I think it was $999 with a "Best Offer" option). Then one day it went on sale for $780 while the Microsoft cashback was up to 30% with a $200 cashback ceiling. I decided to pull the trigger on it a couple of hours before MGM was to put it back up at the regular price (he told me this after my purchase). I figure for $580, this was too good to pass up. Let's see if I was right.

Before going into the rest of the review, here are the specs:

-Tenor scale with wide lower bout "super tenor" body
-1.5" nut with
-Nubone nut and saddle
-Curly koa faceplate veneer
-Grover nickel open-gear tuners
-Solid curly koa body
-Mahogany neck
-Rosewood fingerboard and pin bridge w/black plastic pins
-MOP position dots on face and side of fingerboard

This ukulele is a Kanile'a exclusive "super tenor". It has a regular tenor scale length but a wider than normal lower bout (the upper bout might be wider too, but I'm not sure). I personally don't think this is a good looking body shape. To me, it looks like a fat kid's face with some puffy cheeks. Just not that attractive. Another problem with the "super tenor" shape is that it's difficult, if not impossible, to get a good fitting case for it. MGM shipped this uke to me in a Ko'olau baritone case. While the case provides enough room for the body, it is way too long for this uke. The end result is that you need a much larger case than a typical tenor, which is not very good for traveling. The uke is pretty secure inside this case and does not appear to move around, so I guess that's not too bad.

The body depth of this ukulele is actually a little less than a normal tenor such as a Kamaka tenor, so perhaps the goal of this "super tenor" body shape is to have a bigger soundboard rather than a much larger body volume. I believe the body shape is to facilitate a deeper tone. I'll cover that a little later in this review. The neck is a little thinner than I expected. My Kanile'a super soprano, which was about a year older than this ukulele, has a thicker neck, and past Kanile'as I've played had thicker feeling necks. I think they probably re-worked their neck tooling so they are a bit thinner. I think they're fine either way, and the new neck by itself feels pretty normal. Only when compared with the older neck does it feel thin. It has more of a shallow U-shaped profile (most necks are more of a C-profile), which again feels a little different but fine to me. Overall the ukulele feels very light despite the large appearance. That's usually a good thing as lighter ukes usually resonates better and have nicer tone. It feels as light or lighter than the other normal sized koa tenors I have, so I think Kanile'a did a good job making it as light as they can.

This particular uke features some medium curl koa on the body, and Kanile'a called it a "Deluxe" with the "DLX" designation after the model number "K-1 ST". When I got it in person, it didn't look quite as curly as it did on the online pictures. When you hold it at some angles, it looked really plain. But at some other angles, you do see quite a bit of curl, so I guess it has some "3D" qualities to it. Kanile'a seems to use more figured koa in their basic line of instruments than other Hawaiian makers, and this one does have some nice wood. Certainly above average. It is finished with Kanile'a's UV cured finish, which is a nice mirror gloss that seems indestructible. Of all glossy finishes I've seen, this UV cured finish seems to be the most mirror-like and durable. It is a nice consistent finish with none of the rough spots that seem plague other Hawaiian makers such as Kamaka, KoAloha, and G-String. I personally like glossy instruments and this finish is as good as any factory finish I've seen.

Being a current model Kanile'a, It features Kanile'a's T.R.U. bracing design, which has braces that have holes drilled to lighten their mass and touch a smaller area on the soundboard. In theory this allows the soundboard to vibrate more freely and provide better tone. In practice, when playing this super tenor with its large soundboard, it feels like a trampoline and very much like custom built instruments I've played. It has really nice feedback in feel. This wasn't very evident in the smaller soprano body of my Kanile'a super soprano, but with the bigger body, I think this bracing system works very well.

When I received this ukulele, it was strung with the factory Aquila high-G all-plain tenor strings and the action was a little higher than I'd like (I'm a bit spoiled by the custom King and Kepasa that were setup with very low action). I thought the sound was very good, with a nice full and boomy sound, but there seems to be something missing. I took those Aquila strings off and switched to a set of "custom" strings consisting of D'Addario and Savarez strings I had purchased a while ago, and it seemed about the same. A couple of weeks later, I took those strings off and lowered the action at the saddle and re-strung it with a set of Worth CTs. It was then this uke became an elite instrument. With these Worth strings, it still had the nice deep boomy sound, but also had great clarity and complex tone. I played this uke back to back with my other ukes and I found it to rival my King tenor in sound and feel. It has excellent note clarity, great volume, and good sustain and intonation. It also feels as good to play as the custom ukes, with the aforementioned trampoline sensation and very nice action (adjusted by me). Frankly I was pretty shocked by how good this ukulele turned out. At the deal I scored this uke at, it's like getting a custom level instrument for import money. Even at full MSRP of $990 for a K1-ST, this ukulele would be worth the money because it just sounds that good. There is a soundfile at the end of the review so you can hear it for yourself.

So overall, I'm thrilled with this ukulele. Right now it ranks number 2 on my ukulele lineup rankings behind only the great King tenor and ahead of awesome ukes such as the Kapasa Gypsy Rose and Koa Works tenor. Believe me, it's not easy to put this one ahead of a $2000 uke such as the Koa Works, but I just found that I personally like the tone of this ukulele a little more. I think Kanile'a really does make some fine ukuleles. I have not play a ton of them, but each one I've personally tried have sounded very good. This super tenor, with the ugly body shape and all, sounds awesome. I feel like I've committed highway robbery getting this ukulele for $580 and would have no problem recommending this uke at $990 if you can get past the ugly shape. With sound like this, that should be easy.

Here's a soundfile of Blue Roses Falling played on this Kanile'a super tenor.

National Treasure

About a year ago I got to try a resonator ukulele for the first time during a local ukulele club meeting. It was one of those Republic "reso-relic" ukuleles. It was pretty interesting and I thought it sounded pretty good. So since that time I had it in the back of my mind to maybe get a nice resonator ukulele someday. The number one name in resonator instruments, of course, is National. I've read plenty about how great National ukuleles are, so I've kept an eye on them while browsing through ebay and other online marketplaces during that time. Last summer there was one for sale at the Fleamarket Music Marketplace and I grabbed it. It was a mahogany concert scaled National resonator ukulele.

The specs on the National I bought are as follows:

-Concert scale resonator ukulele
-1-3/8" nut width
-Grover friction tuners
-Rosewood fingerboard with plastic position dots and side position dots
-Mahogany neck
-Mahogany body
-Faux tortoise binding and faceplate

It came to me strung with some National strings, with all four strings being nylon-wound. They sounded fine but since I prefer the feel of regular nylon strings, I switched to a set of Worth CDs (my concert scale string of choice). I had read raves about the playability and workmanship of National ukuleles, and I agree that these are very well made instruments. It is very playable with good action and comfortable feeling flat C-shaped neck. The rosewood fingerboard is not bound but the frets are finished perfectly and does not protrude at all. Everything is superbly built and finished with no factory blemish that I can find. I believe the body is made of solid mahogany and the grain looks very nice and uniform. It looks very similar to the mahogany found on a vintage Martin ukulele as opposed to the striped looking mahogany found on modern overseas made mahogany ukuleles such as Pono ukuleles. The neck is joined to the body at the 15th fret, making access to the higher frets easier than most other ukes that are joined at the 12th or 14th fret. The neck itself is one-piece, which means that it was carved out of one piece of wood instead of having several pieces glued together at the heel and headstock. While either way makes no real difference, one-piece necks are pretty rare and only seem to appear on really high end instruments (my only other ukes with a one-piece neck are the William King tenor and Kamaka tenor). Overall, it's just a very classy looking instrument.

Being a resonator uke, it has obvious differences from normal ukuleles that doesn't utilize a resonator cone. Instead of a sound hole, it has a resonator cone occupying almost the entire lower bout. I don't really know how a resonator works, but it's intended result is to have a much louder sounding instrument than a normal acoustic instrument. It is much heavier than a similar sized concert ukulele. This concert scaled ukulele has a body that's not much bigger than a typical soprano uke, yet weighs a little more than my long scale William King tenor. It is not too heavy by any means, but definitely heavier than its size would suggest. It is in fact about the same size as the Kanile'a super soprano (you can see a side by side picture with the Kanile'a SS toward the bottom of the last lineup ranking). Given its soprano-ish body and concert scale size, I think this National might as well be called a super soprano.

The biggest difference from normal ukuleles is, of course, the sound. There is definitely some metal sounding component in the sound somewhere, very different from normal ukuleles. It is very loud and piercing. If you want to be heard without plugging it in or using a microphone, this is probably your best bet. Instead of trying to describe the sound in detail, I'll defer to the soundfile at the end of this review so you can hear for yourself how different it sounds from normal ukes. I think it is a very high quality sound, as it is clear sounding and has good tone and sustain, but frankly I'm not really a fan of it. I just like the sound of a wooden ukulele better. If you like the resonator sound, however, it probably doesn't get much better than this.

So am I glad that I purchased this uke? I would say the answer is yes and no. I'm glad to have played one, as it is a very interesting and great instrument. But at the same time, because the resonator sound isn't one that I'm particularly fond of, I don't find myself playing this ukulele much. Having said that, each time I think about selling it I take it out and play it a bit and say to myself "man this is a pretty good ukulele" and decide to postpone finding it a new home. With a couple of new custom ukes in progress, I'll probably have to let it go sooner or later, but I do think it is worthy of the heaps of praise given to it by people who have played a National resonator ukulele. It is definitely a high quality ukulele.

Here is a soundfile of, you guessed it, Blue Roses Falling played on this Natioal mahogany uke.

The Kala Giraffe

A while ago I saw some Ohana tenor-neck soprano ukuleles for sale by musicguymic and was pretty intrigued by it. Some time later, I saw a similar ukulele made by Kala that had a solid spruce top and laminated mahogany back and sides at Elderly Instruments at a very good price ($110), so I decided to check it out.

This ukulele has a soprano body with a tenor scale neck, which makes it a very unusual ukulele. There are plenty of "super-sopranos" around with a soprano body and concert scale neck combination, but as far as I know, only Ohana and Kala makes soprano models with tenor scale necks.

For a budget instrument, it has a lot of nice features. Here's a run down on the specs:

-Solid spruce top

-Laminated mahogany back & sides

-Sealed geared tuners

-1-3/8" nut width (plastic nut)

-Rosewood fingerboard with black plastic binding & position dots on top and side

-Black plastic body bindings

-Rosewood bridge w/plastic saddle

-b/w/b/w/b rosette

Most Kalas I've seen doesn't have side position markers or bound fingerboards, so these are nice features on this ukulele. The workmanship is pretty good, the insides look pretty clean, and everything looks to be well put together. It definitely feels pretty well made.

When I strummed it for the first time, I was surprised by the amount of sustain it had. It sounded better than I had expected. I guess the long tenor strings probably gave it the longer sustain it has. The volume is about average. Not particularly loud but not quiet either. The tone is decent. It's not the greatest sounding ukulele (keep in mind that I usually play some pretty high end tenors), but I think it's not bad, especially for the price. Compared to a normal soprano scaled ukulele, I would say that it sounds like a soprano with longer than normal sustain. It has a bit of a twang and the typical soprano "bark". Hear it for yourself from the soundfile at the end of this review.

I'm not sure if Elderly had set it up, but it arrived in pretty good playing shape. I did not find it necessary to lower the action and there are no buzzes. I forgot what strings came with it, but I eventually settled on a set of Aquilas all-plain tenor strings. Despite the strange proportions of this ukulele, holding it is no problem. Because of the small body, most will probably end up strumming clear of the body, which is a good thing as you avoid scratching up the soundboard that way (as I usually do).

Overall, this is a nice little uke for the money. You won't get KoAloha beating sound or Kanile'a workmanship (although the workmanship is actually not too far off), but it is definitely not bad at all. This probably isn't going to be the primary ukulele for most people, but if you want something different to compliment your soprano or tenor ukulele, this could fit the bill nicely.

Here's a soundfile of Blue Roses Falling (the official Ukulele Ghetto demo song) played on this ukulele.

Fit for a King!

I've mentioned a few times on this blog and elsewhere about doing some sort of a commentary on the William King long scale tenor I received in late May, 2008. I guess it's finally time to write something about it. I've already documented the order process of this custom ukulele, so here I will share my thoughts about this instrument now that I've had it for over half a year.

This tenor has a neck joined to the body at the 14th fret. William King builds 14-fret tenor with a longer 18" scale (compared to the standard 17" tenor scale) so the bridge falls at a better spot on the soundboard for optimum energy transfer. This philosophy is shared by other luthiers such as Dave Means of Glyph Ukuleles (Dominator has a long scale Glyph tenor). The neck is reinforced with a carbon fiber insert for strength and stability. His tenor body is also rather large. It is definitely larger than most other tenors I've seen, and I'm sure it contributes to the sound that this instrument produces. The full specs on this tenor can be found on William King's journal.

This ukulele certainly looks great. The main attraction is, of course, the extreme curly koa on the back and sides. It also features a slotted headstock with Waverly tuners and custom inlay. The headstock shape was specified by me and I was very pleased with how it turned out. This is my first experience with Waverly tuners and they are certainly top class tuning machines. There is no slack when turning the tuning key and each tuner just look very high class and well made. The body is finished in gloss lacquer and the overall workmanship is superb. It definitely looks the part as a high end custom instrument. I'll let the pictures on William's journal as well as ones found on this blog do the talking.

As good as this ukulele looks to me, the most important thing is the sound and playability. In both regards, this ukulele is extraordinary. The Swiss spruce top really gives it a very punchy and percussive sound that is extremely crystal clear and powerful whether picked or strummed. It is also very loud, but the sound doesn't get muddy as you strum harder. It has good sustain up and down the fretboard. When playing this ukulele, I can feel the type of vibration feedback that I've only experienced in custom level ukuleles, where you can almost feel the top bouncing like a trampoline. That feedback combined with the great sound really makes playing this ukulele a great experience.

Playability is excellent even though the longer 18" scale is supposed to increase the string tension. The saddle is compensated and the playing action at the 12th fret is very low, approximately 0.10" in height. The neck has a "D" shaped profile with about a medium thickness. I find it very comfortable to hold and feels just right to me. Combine these things with a gentle 18" radius on the fretboard, playing this ukulele is fairly effortless, especially compared to other tenor ukes. For the type of music I enjoy playing, this ukulele certainly provides the sound I'm looking for.

So how does this ukulele compare with other ukes I've played? For me personally, it is the best sounding uke I've ever played. Before receiving this ukulele, that distinction belonged to my Koa Works tenor. Comparing the King with the Koa Works, I would say the sound quality is in the same league, but the King tenor is more powerful, with a punchier sound and more percussive qualities. The difference could be the spruce top as I believe spruce top produces punch and a lot of headroom for volume. For sound demonstrations of the two ukes, here are some videos of the Koa Works and King tenors:

Koa Works: Something, Gently Weeps

King: Desperado, Gently Weeps

Since getting the King tenor, I have bought a Kanile'a super tenor that produces a sound that actually comes fairly close to the King tenor. The Kanile'a is slightly thinner sounding and the clarity is a smidge lower than the King, but is very impressive and does sound similar. This could be attributed the oversized tenor body both ukuleles share and is a tribute to the quality of Kanile'a ukuleles. Playing both back to back, however, it is still obvious which one is the luthier made instrument as the King wins out in sound and feel.

Before ordering and receiving this ukulele, I've heard nothing but the highest praise for William King's instruments. Now that I've had personal experience with it, I can safely say that William is indeed a master at his craft. I've gone ahead and ordered a long scale concert from him confident that I'll be getting another special ukulele when it is completed. If you are in the market for a custom ukulele, I think William King should be near the top of your list of considerations. I don't think I could be any happier with mine.

Pineapple Delight

KoAloha Ukuleles is known for building great sounding ukuleles that are a bit "different" from other ukuleles. From the pointy headstock to the Musubi soundhole to the Unibrace, KoAloha builds some of the more distinctive ukuleles available today. One of the more distinctive models they offer is the Pineapple Sunday.

When I first saw one of these it was love at first sight. The normal "pineapple" ukes had not been something I was too interested in, but this looked great to me. Everything on it contributed to what I consider a "true" pineapple look. It has the pointy headstock. The bridge has a spiky appearance. The upper bout has a pointy shape. And of course, its top is debossed with a pineapple pattern. The ukulele just looked great to me. I had also read many testimonies from various internet forums regarding this ukulele. In just about every instance, it was held in very high regard. So I knew it was a great sounding ukulele as well.

At around June of 2007, I decided to pull the trigger on one of these babies. At the time, the Pineapple Sunday was close to be retired, as KoAloha had planned to offer a new "Masterpiece Series" ukulele soon. (they have since brought it out of retirement due to great demand) I thought if I wanted one I had better act soon. So I found one from Hawaii Music Supply.

I had very high expectations for this ukulele at the time, and I was more than satisfied with it upon receiving it. It looked as good as the pictures indicated. And it played and sounded much better than anything I had experienced at the time (admittedly I was only about half a year into ukuleles and the best uke I have a the time was a G-String soprano). It was my first venture into the high-end of ukulele world, and I was blown away.

So what do I think of it now, about a year and a half after acquiring the Pineapple Sunday? I still think it is a marvelous ukulele. It remains the easiest player in my collection, with action lower than both the William King and Koa Works tenor. (this is not a given on Pineapple Sundays though. I played one in Hawaii in January, 2008 that had almost unplayable action) Because it is strung with Worth BL (light) strings, the string tension is pretty light. Coupled with the low action, it is really easy to play. The Pineapple shape also works very well. It is easy to hold, and the upper bout is essentially like a cutaway, so access to the higher frets is very easy. It is quite neck heavy though, since it is more or less a super concert sized uke with a pretty heavy headstock that has sealed Grover tuners. Some might not like the neck-heaviness of this uke. I personally don't have an issue with it, but I do notice it each time I play the uke.

Sound-wise, I would describe it as a mix of ukulele, mandolin, and a pinch of resonator uke. It is higher pitched sounding than most ukes and has excellent volume. I've come to prefer a more percussive and boomy sound produced by bigger bodied tenors such as the William King tenor and Kanile'a super tenor, but the sound of the Pineapple Sunday is still first rate and definitely very unique.

I think my Pineapple Sunday is probably from the middle or end of the first run of these ukes before its first "retirement". It has a Pineapple Sunday specific soundhole label and Tusq nut and saddle where the early ones have a standard KoAloha soundhole label and ebony nut and saddle. Current production Pineapple Sundays have a few different details. It now has a rectangular bridge with ebony reinforcement instead of the spiked all koa bridge mine has. I believe it's due to the problem of strings cutting into the softer koa on too many of these ukes. Mine also had this problem but the cut was not too deep into the wood and I have since made some "grommets" from old credit card to to prevent the strings from digging into the wood (you can see in the above picture). I think the old version of this bridge looks much cooler, but I guess KoAloha had to do something to stop the "bridge cutting" complaints. The other updated detail seems to be koa bindings on the fretboard instead of ebony bindings. I personally think the ebony bindings look a bit more classy. I suppose KoAloha is trying to find way to maximize their koa stock, and I can't blame them in this economy.

All in all, the Pineapple Sunday is a very good and very unique ukulele. It plays and sounds great and probably has a lot of collector's value down the road. If you enjoy a higher pitched sound from your ukulele and like the styling of this uke, I would highly recommend it.

Here's an old video of me playing the Pineapple Sunday a little over a year ago. Yes, I sucked at playing ukulele even more back then.

Electicfying (sic)

I have always been intrigued by solid body electric 'ukuleles. They are something different and have the side benefit of being pretty silent when not plugged in, making them good late night practice ukes. The first such 'ukulele I learned about was the Risa Uke Solid. I bought one about a year ago. It was different and kind of cool, but I wasn't compelled to play it very often so I sold it. The next solid body uke I bought was a BugsGear Eleuke that had an active pickup and on-board volume & tone controls. It had some frets sticking out and wasn't very comfortable to play because of that. I eventually got a file to file those frets down and it was a lot better. Still, I didn't play it too much. When I saw a Pete Howlett Uklectic on the FMM Marketplace at an attractive price, I jumped at it and sold the BugsGear. I had known about the Uklectic for a while and have always been interested in it. It looked cool and is made by Pete Howlett, who is a well respected luthier based in the U.K. Now that I've owned it for a couple of months, it's time to review it.

Specs:

• Blister figure sapele top.
• Rosewood fingerboard, bridge, & faceplate.
• Pin type bridge.
• Bone nut & saddle.
• No-name gold friction tuners with pearloid buttons.
• Spanish cedar semi-hollow body & neck.
• 2 gold plated strap pins.
• Plastic pickup jack w/unknown undersaddle pickup.
• Finish is Minwax wipe on polyurethane from Home Depot applied by the previous owner.

Looks:

The Uklectic is a very good looking uke. My particular one has a blister figure sapele top that stands out when light is reflected off the wood. The body is similar to the shape of a Les Paul guitar, which is probably my favorite guitar shape. The fingerboard comes to a point similar to Martin ukuleles at the body end, and that point is repeated at the headstock, making for an attractive and cohesive design. The uke just looks very classy and high quality with one notable exception, the plastic pickup jack. The black pickup jack doesn't really look cheap, but it doesn't really look very high end either. A gold plated jack would look a lot better. I believe all the Uklectic made now have the combo endpin & jack at the tail block, unlike mine, where the jack is off to the right lower bout.

Feel:

This is a concert sized ukulele with a nut width of 1-3/8". I normally prefer 1-1/2" nut width, but this one doesn't really feel too narrow for me. Perhaps it has wider string spacing than typical ukes with 1-3/8" nut widths. The neck feels very comfortable to me. It's about medium thickness and has a flattened D profile. The uke is a little heavier than a normal concert acoustic 'ukulele, but not overly so. It's pretty easy to play it without a strap standing up. The action is setup about medium and fairly effortless to play with the Ko'olau concert strings I installed on it. This is better than both of the previous electric ukes I owned. For some reason, both the Risa and BugsGear felt a bit hard to play despite having relatively low tensioned Worth BM strings on them. Overall it is an easy and comfortable uke to play.

Workmanship:

This uke has great workmanship. Every piece of wood is seamlessly joined and the fret work is very good, with no frets sticking out. The tuners are not Gotoh or Grover, but they work well enough. Again, the only thing that I have an issue with is the plastic pickup jack. I guess it will probably be durable enough, but I would feel a lot better if it was metal. I would feel better about that if the pickup itself performed a little better (see next section). The pickup jack is offset to the right of the lower bout. When standing, it works just fine with a cable hanging off it. But if you are sitting and plugging the uke to an amp, you will need an "L" shaped connector or it will interfere with putting the uke on your leg. I guess if you are getting a newer Uklectic, the combo endpin/pickup jack should alleviate this issue.

My particular Uklectic was ordered without finish by the original owner. As mentioned in the specs section, the finish is applied by the original owner using Minwax wipe on polyurethane. He only put on 2 coats so the uke almost feels unfinished. It's not bad though. Spanish cedar has a strong scent and you definitely smell it every time you open the case. If someday I feel like adding new coats of finish, it shouldn't be too difficult. Overall it feels like a quality instrument worthy of Pete Howlett's reputation.

Sound:

The sound of this uke should probably be evaluated in 2 ways. Unplugged and plugged in. This uke has a surprisingly good sound when unplugged. Where the Risa Uke Solid and BugsGear Eleuke are pretty much true "silent" ukes when not plugged in, the Uklectic actually has a decent volume output. I guess that could be a negative if you're looking for a silent uke that outputs almost no volume for late night practice, but for me, I actually prefer being able to hear good sound when the uke is unplugged. It doesn't compete with the volume of a acoustic 'ukulele, but it's a lot louder than the aforementioned silent ukes. The acoustic sound of the Uklectic, with the Ko'loau Golds I installed, is trebly and complex sounding. I think the sound quality is pretty high in this regard.

When plugged in, the Uklectic does very little to distinguish it from the other electric ukes. I don't think the plugged in sound is any better than the BugsGear or Risa. In fact, the C & E strings seem to dominate the sound, making it a bit unbalanced. I think that was also the case with the BugsGear & Risa, but it seems a little worse with the Uklectic. I don't think the pickup is of very high quality based on the plugged in sound and the cheap plastic pickup jack. It's kind of a pity that a high quality instrument does not have a great pickup. But I understand that Pete Howlett was trying to keep the price of the Uklectics down, so that probably sacrificed the pickup a little bit. If I ever feel like doing the work, I might try to replace the stock pickup with a Mi-Si pickup or something like that. I do have a L.R. Baggs Para-acoustic D.I. (pre-amp) that allows me to adjust the sound coming from the pickup for treble, midrange, bass, and a couple of other things, and it does improve the sound a little bit.

So when it comes to sound quality, surprisingly I like the acoustic sound performance on the uke a lot more than the plugged in sound. In fact, for me, it's the nice acoustic sound that makes this uke superior to the electric ukes I've owned previously.

Value:

If you order a new Uklectic from Pete Howlett, the advertised price on his website is $495 + shipping for a basic concert sized instrument. Assuming this has not increased (the dollar is pretty weak so I'm not sure) I think that's a pretty good value. While it costs quite a bit more than a Risa or BugsGear, you do get a luthier made instrument that looks great and works well enough plugged in (maybe the current pickup used is better mine, which might be a prototype insturment) and has surprisingly good tone unplugged. If you have a higher budget, it's possible to order one up with a lot more options and bling. I paid $348 for mine used, which I think is a great value.

Overall:

The Uklectic isn't perfect. I'm not completely satisfied with its plugged in sound. However, compared to the Risa Uke Solid and BugsGear Eleuke I owned previously, I think the Uklectic is the superior overall instrument. And since I pretty rarely plug in the uke at home, most of the time when I do play it, it is played acoustically. The superior acoustic sound makes playing this uke a pleasant experience unplugged. When I played the Risa or BugsGear unplugged, I usually don't play very long because it sounded uninteresting.

If you're looking for a solid or semi-solid body electric uke, the Uklectic is probably the top choice out there right now.

Here's a sound file of me playing "Me & Shirley T" (badly) with the uke plugged into the computer directly and recorded using Audacity.

Here are some more pictures:

The back of the Uklectic. The black plastic covers up the pickup jack and wires.




















The sapele top of the Uklectic. Notice the blister figure.


The pickup jack is offset to the right. Newer models have the combo pin/jack at the tail block.

For Whom the Bell Tolls?

Curiosity is probably UAS's best friend. And for the person with a serious case of UAS, it's not good news. My curiosity got the best of me about two months ago when I hunted down an Oscar Schmidt Bell shaped concert 'ukulele. I had seen pictures of some vintage Washburn bell ukes and also a couple of bell ukes made by Duane Heilman of Black Bear Ukuleles. It is certainly an interesting looking 'ukulele and when I saw that the Oscar Schmidt version is made of solid wood, I pretty much decided that I would like to try one.

When I searched the net a couple of months ago, it appeared that the street price for one of these is around $280 or so. Some further digging landed me at Elevation Music, where at the time I ordered, it had a price of $210 plus free shipping. At such a deal I thought it was a no brainer and went ahead and ordered it. Pretty much right after I ordered it, the price on their website changed to $269. Perhaps they realized that they priced it wrong after I bought it?

When I ordered it, I knew it wasn't going to blow me away simply because I already own some pretty high end 'ukuleles. But I thought maybe it will bring something different to the table. So how does it fare? Let's go into some details. First the specs:

• Solid Trembesi top, side, and back.
• Plastic bound rosewood fingerboard with 21 frets.
• Rosewood bridge.
• Bone nut & saddle.
• Off-white plastic binding.
• Abalone (not sure if it's real) headstock logo, position dots, and rosette.
• Multi-color "rope" purfling on soundboard.
• Grover sealed gear tuners with ebony buttons.
• Satin finish.
• Custom bell shaped case.

Looks:
I think this 'ukulele looks quite good. I have no clue what trembesi is but to me it looks kind of similar to koa. The only information I found about trembesi online is that they use it for furniture wood in Indonesia. Since this uke is made in Indonesia, that makes sense. The bell shaped body looks interesting and the decorations are pretty nice. I think the multi-colored "rope" purfling look very cool. I'm not sure about the abalone used on this uke though. It does appear to be real abalone, but I'm just not sure. It looks decent for the rosette, but the Oscar Schmidt logo on the headstock looks kind of like an abalone decal. The shape of the headstock, body, and bridge are all pretty faithful to the original bell uke, as far as I could tell. The only part that doesn't look faithful to the original are the tuners. But frankly I much prefer geared tuners to friction tuners so this isn't a problem for me. Those "ears" probably would keep a few purists from considering this uke though.

Feel:
This is a concert scaled 'ukulele. The nut is 1-3/8", which is a little narrow for my tastes (I prefer 1-1/2"). It has a fairly round neck profile, almost a slight "V" shape, that I don't particularly care for either. So right off the bat it doesn't quite fit my preferences. Holding the 'ukulele is also a different experience. If you hold it by cradling the bottom of the uke in your right arm, like how you might hold it standing, it feels normal enough. But when holding it while sitting down, I find that if I rest the uke on my right leg, the pointy part of the bell kind of digs into my right arm sometimes, depending on the arm position. I've concluded that this isn't the most ergonomic shape for an 'ukulele. In fact, I think the cigar box uke I have feels more ergonomic. The action was slightly high when I got the uke, so I sanded down the saddle and now it's fine. Overall it certainly doesn't fit my preferences all that well, and the bell shape is kind of awkward, but none of the issues I have with it has to do with quality, and for the right person, it can feel really good.

Workmanship:
I suspect that this 'ukulele is made at the same factory as Pono ukes. I based that suspicion mostly on the fact that this is made in Java (Indonesia) and has the exact same Grover geared tuners as my Pono cedar top tenor. But the workmanship of the bell uke also seem to be Pono-esque. I would say it's definitely on par with Pono ukes. The insides look clean. All parts fit together well. No sharp fret ends. Those quality Grover tuners. In short, the workmanship is great, especially when you consider the price.

Sound:
This is a pretty difficult category for me to rate because to be honest just about all the other ukes I own are of much higher sound quality. They also cost a lot more, so there's not reason to expect this bell uke to sound as good as say the Kanile'a super-soprano. Judging it on its own, I think it's a fine sounding 'ukulele. It came strung with Aquila strings, which sounded just OK. I installed some Worth CD's on it and to my ears it represented some improvement. The sound is clearer and it rings better at the higher frets. The volume is pretty good, about the same as the previously mentioned Kanile'a super-soprano. It's sound is what I would describe as a bit artificial. I don't exactly know what that means, but that's the word that comes to mind when I listen to its sound. The intonation is good. Overall I would say that for the money this is a fine sounding 'ukulele. I think it's on par with Ponos I've played and at least as good or better than most Lanikai or Kala laminated ukes.

Value:
This is where this 'ukulele shines a little bit. For the street price of $280, you get a good sounding, nicely decorated and uniquely shaped solid wood uke plus a very nice custom bell shaped case (reviewed in this post). The case quality is at least on par with the Ko'olau hard cases, so it would be reasonable to say that it's worth $50-60. That means you're spending about $210 or so on the uke itself, which is very reasonable, I think. It compares favorably on the value front against Pono ukes.

Overall:
If you've read this far, you're probably thinking that this 'ukulele isn't that great. While I would say it's not a great uke, it's certainly a good 'ukulele. It's not going to make you forget your KoAloha or Kanile'a concert, but it's a fraction of the cost. If the bell shape appeals to you, and you do not own ukes of higher sound quality than Ponos, I would have no problem recommending this ukulele. If you own one or more Hawaiian factory made ukes or custom ukes, this one probably does best serving as a good sounding novelty uke in your collection. Hey, playing Christmas songs on this uke should be a lot of fun right?

Here is a sound clip of me playing this 'ukulele.

Some pictures:

Back.


Soundhole & rosette.


Bound fretboard and soundboard purfling.


These tuners are exactly the same as the ones on a Pono cedar top tenor.


With custom case.