Regular readers will be aware of the huge ukulele buzz caused by the Kala Pan Pacific Soprano recently, introduced for their 20th Anniversary. Well it wasn't just that soprano that they created for the birthday. This is the new 20th Anniversary Koa Baritone.
As I say, alongside the Pan Pacifics, Kala also did a limited run of a bunch of other 20th Anniversary ukuleles in concert through to baritone scale. There are a couple of spruce tops and a concert, tenor and baritone with solid Hawaiian Koa tops. I've been able to get my hands on the baritone!
SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW
What we have here is a premium looking special edition ukulele with quite a bit to get through on the appointments. It's an all solid wood double bout baritone with solid Hawaiian Koa on the top and solid African Mahogany (technically Khaya) on the back and sides. That's a pairing I have no issue with and the grain on this is very pretty in both sets of woods. OK, the African mahogany is a bit more simple, but the grain on the koa top is a delight. It's a very classy look all round I think.
The bridge is a tie bar with inlaid wooden trim and is very tidy. This is made of ebony and holds a straight topped bone saddle. Spacing here comes in at about 39mm.
Being an anniversary model you can expect a bit of bling. Firstly we have a rosewood bevelled comfort edge on the lower bout for right arm comfort. Very nice. Around the top and back and down the back seam are rosewood bindings with very thin strips of maple edging on the back appointments. The top is trimmed with maple edged abalone. I fully expect people to assume I will hate this, but it is the very thick strips of pale and shiny abalone I really dislike. This, on the other hand, blends into the top colour nicely and adds to the classy look. You also get more of that around the sound hole. I like it. The body is then glossed which is very well done and makes the grain of the woods pop and shine. All very nice indeed.
Inside is extremely tidy with notched linings, thin back braces and an X braced top. I can't see any mess and that top wood is nice and thin too.
The neck is made from more African mahogany with only a single joint I can see at the heel. The heel incidentally is capped in ebony with a thin maple strip underneath. Thankfully the neck is also finished in satin so great in the hands. At the nut, the back profile is not overly rounded and has a nut width of 37mm with 30mm D to E. I can work with that.
The fingerboard is more ebony in fairly even colour and has rosewood edge bindings. There is more abalone here trimming the outer edges of the board. Whilst it too doesn't glare out at you I personally think it's not necessary and would look nicer left clean. That's my only gripe with the neck though as the frets (19, 14 to body) are dressed extremely well. Pearl dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th and they are paired down the side.
Beyond the bone nut is the regular Kala crown headstock faced in glossy ebony with more abalone trim which works better here. We have a rather beautiful inlay in the face of the California Poppy using stained wood for the stems and leaves, mother of pearl for some accents and ground stone powder for the petals. I love this a lot. Above that is the Kala logo in pearl.
Tuners are not a let down either as they have gone with Grover branded open gears in gold which add to the classy appointments. Excellent quality.
Completing things are a set of D'Addario EJ99B strings with a single wound string on the 4th. You also get a red lined branded gig bag with a 20th Anniversary logo on the pocket. And price wise these are in at £519 in the main UK dealers. I don't think that's too bad at all for one of the big guns with this level of appointments.
As you can see I'm not finding much issue here. Even the abalone largely works for me (though less so on the neck which I would leave off). But the whole thing just oozes class and a sense of occasion. Certainly fits a 20th Anniversary to me.
The setup on this was excellent out of the box too. It's not heavy at 910g and perfectly balanced and comfortable to hold. Being a baritone, the volume and sustain are both great.
But back to those strings and a single wound on the fourth. I can often find with baritones with the more common wound D and G strings that it can give them an overly boomy and sometimes metallic tone. Kind of halfway to an acoustic guitar sense of sound. I suspect here that the single string is removing that tendency as I am not sensing either of those traits. Instead we have a really rounded, smooth tone which I am very much taken with.
Strummed, despite the volume being decent still has something of a laid back sound to it, that is almost relaxing. The notes in any chord strum are extremely clear and nothing is jarring or out of place in the mix. There's an obvious shimmery richness from the koa but there is a rounded warmth that may be coming from the mahogany or also the string choice. Sure, like any baritone it sounds more full on than a uke in C tuning, but it's not 'too much', and quite soothing.
I much prefer baritones played with some melody picking and it really shines here. Clear notes, shimmery bell like notes and good volume all over the neck. I could play it this way all day and find it extremely pleasant on the ears. Throw in a bit of a strum here and there to add some 'pep' to the piece and it's just a joy.
I much prefer baritones played with some melody picking and it really shines here. Clear notes, shimmery bell like notes and good volume all over the neck. I could play it this way all day and find it extremely pleasant on the ears. Throw in a bit of a strum here and there to add some 'pep' to the piece and it's just a joy.
Does it sound like I am waxing too lyrical here? Well maybe, but I will stick my neck out and state that I think this is one of the nicest, balanced sounding baritones I have played for some time (and there are Kamaka and Kanile'a ukes in that mix). I think it's absolutely lovely.
I'm not sure how available these will be going forward, and it's a shame it's a limited run - I think they should make these as a standard as I have totally fallen for it. And at £519 I will say that this is punching WELL above that price point.
Extremely good work here Kala and very highly recommended!
UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP
Model: Kala KA-20TH-KOA-B
Scale: Baritone
Body: Solid Hawaiian Koa top, solid African mahogany back and sides
Bridge: Ebony, tie bar
Saddle: Bone
Spacing at saddle: 39mm
Finish: Gloss
Neck: African mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Frets: 19,14 to body
Nut: Bone
Nut width: 37mm, 30mm D to E
Tuners: Grover gears
Strings: D'Addario EJ99B
Extras: Anniversary gig bag
Weight: 910g
Country of origin: China
Price: £519
UKULELE PROS
Great build and finish
Nice decor and appointments
Great volume and sustain
Rich yet warm shimmery tone
Almost relaxing laid back sound whilst not being quiet
Great tuners
Punches WELL above asking price
UKULELE CONS
Not much, would lose the neck decoration
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 9.5 out of 10
Fit and finish - 9 out of 10
Sound - 9.5 out of 10
Value for money - 9.5 out of 10
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10
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Very nice baritone. Well done Kala!
ReplyDeleteWish I wasn't a pensioner - would really like this one
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