A new Kiwaya KTS-4 Soprano for a very happy bunny

So much excitement - it seems a long time since I had a little fantasize about what my ideal soprano ukulele would be like, and I dismissed any ideas of owning a custom-built uke as quickly as I had dreamed about one. Why people have them is a whole subject for discussion in itself - suffice it to say, I'm not in the market. I'm still a learner and was brought up not to be extravagant. But I did decide that I wanted a soprano for a traditional sound, and that I wanted a good one - for quality of build, precise intonation and a beautiful finish, in solid wood.

When it came to factory-built ukes, there were three contenders, and I wanted to see them and play them. Whilst in London, I dragged poor LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) off to a ukulele shop - yes, a music shop selling just ukuleles, and advertising the Kiwaya and the Bruko on their website - but no chance, they don't seem to actually stock them. I did spend a happy hour in there playing all the other solid wood ukes though, while LSH spent an equally happy hour in the excellent pub across the road, where the draft bitter was apparently excellent - but I was particularly interested in the Kiwaya KTS-4; I posted Ken Middleton'e reviews of the Kiwaya (made in Japan) and the Bruko #6 (made in Germany) on here, and low and behold, a few days later a used Kiwaya KTS-4 (solid mahogany, no laminates) came up on ebay uk! What a coincidence is that!

I watched that baby and drooled over it all week - LHS doesn't really get why anyone should want more than one wooden uke. And I like a peaceful life. But as the final minutes ticked away I got very twitchy... and he noticed. Doesn't miss a thing - not after forty years. So I told him about it. He must have been feeling particularly mellow - because he replied "You'd better get up the stairs to your computer then!"

"What - to bid for it?"

"Yes if you like!"

Did I need telling twice? I do love that man of mine...the minutes ticked away while I fiddled about getting to the page... now what should my maximum bid be......?

Well - I got it! And yesterday it arrived. It's fitted with Aquila strings, which I plan to change very quickly, so I'm not going to talk much about the sound except to say that yes, the intonation does seem to be spot on, just as it should be, and when you pluck the strings, you can feel the whole body vibrate. The body is built of very thin wood - which, in a ukulele, is a good thing, as long as the internal bracing is adequate.

I just love the look and feel of this uke - it surpasses expectations. The satin finish on it just glows. The tuners are good quality friction tuners and the neck is nice and thin. Rosewood fingerboard, of course. And it is SO light - I'm going to weigh it and compare the weight with my little Mahalo soprano - just to see the difference.

So - that's my soprano story. I'm very happy with my concert uke, and I love this - and I can't really get into tenors at all..... so I'm a happy bunny. A very happy bunny......

Plan - put Living Water Strings on it. Aquilas are very loud, and I want to try the Living Water - because they are just beautiful on my Tanglewood concert uke.

Then - put a Living Water low G string on the Tanglewood to try it out. A low G set-up is great for the jazzy numbers...busy day tomorrow....

Paul's Custom Uke

Here begins a tale of one man's case of UAS - Ukulele Aquisition Syndrome, or to give it its Latin name, needus ukuleleus. UAS is very, very common among the ukulele-playing community. A collection of five to ten ukuleles in various sizes and woods is not at all uncommon......Paul is a mate on the wonderful Ukulele Underground Forum. He begins his tale thus:

"If there is such a thing as the UAS (ukulele aquisition syndrome) bug, the little blighter bit me twice! I started of with a lovely little Lanikai soprano and fell head over heels in love with the ukulele! Chords were a little easier than the guitar, which I played for 25 years leading up to this, the sweet honey tones simply had me captivated. Then, my better half announced that she had ordered me an 'Oscar Schmidt' concert for valentines! Oh how I love her...Ah...The first thing I did was change the strings to a set of low G Aquila Nylguts. The sound was just beautiful and very different to my Lanikai. Then I heard people talking about solid wood ukuleles and how amazing they sounded and there my next mission began. A few weeks ago I bought myself an Ohana Tenor, all solid mahogany with a cutaway and she is a stunner! So warm and mellow, with sustain for weeks! I also recently commissioned a luthier to build me something rather special. Here are the first pictures; the actual woods which will make up my custom treasure!

Western red cedar - top

Macassar ebony - sides and bottom






Watch this space! Paul"

Reports from Paul to follow from time to time, as the build progresses!

Tango'd by a Tanglewood

If I keep taking deep breaths and panting, perhaps it'll go away, I don't NEED another ukulele. My little Samich Indonesian-built Greg Bennett UK50 is a sweetie.... lovely intonation, a warm pleasing sound, especially since I put Aquila "new nylgut" strings on. Low action... why would I want another wooden uke?

I've been to slow to realise that guitars, ukuleles and banjos produce different sorts and qualities of sound "timbres" - watching a concert, I'd be mystified, why a guitarist had two or three different instruments on stage with him - "What's wrong with just one?" I'd think. George Harrison always had his Gretsch, Paul McCartney his Hofner bass.....but now I know. A whole new world of sound has opened up to me, and I realise a Stratocaster does not sound like - well - anything else. And if a musician wants a particular guitar sound, they have a guitar to suit.

I have come to realise that all ukuleles do not sound the same... yes, dear reader, I was slow there. Of course, until recently I had only ever played the one - and I have no complaints about it, it's a great little ukulele, I know that for the price, it's particularly good quality. The trouble is, I went into a music shop a few months ago and picked up a couple of ukes - and heard a difference. So now I have an itch - to get a ukulele that's better. That's prettier, with a sound that's somehow superior.

So the research has started. Trip number one to a music shop, to explore the wonderful world of ukulele.

I think I played every concert and tenor size in the shop, and played them against my own ukulele, to compare. I had a blast. I'll return to that.

Now I'm not looking for a top-of-the-range ukulele - just the next step up, within a limited budget. The thing is I think I have been Tango'd...... in the UK there was a TV advert a few years ago for Tango, a fizzy, soft orange drink - so fizzy and full of flavour, (allegedly), that when you tasted it you got zapped - or "Tango'd" - and the bright orange bursts exploded all over the screen.

Well, there was a Tanglewood concert ukulele in their exotic wood range, in "mango" - or, according to the Tanglewood website, lacewood. And it is very bright - not actually what I had in mind - quite "orange" with a very unusual pattern in the grain. But the sound is beautiful. I find that the very bright sound of a spruce-top ukulele does not appeal; my little Greg Bennett is mahogany, with a voice at the opposite end of the spectrum to spruce - warm and full. I don't have the technical vocabulary to accurately describe the difference in the sound of the Tanglewood lacewood to my UK50 mahogany; I can only say that it is better - hence the higher price tag. (Still very moderate.) Perhaps it's that the Tanglewood has more definition and a more bell-like voice - rather like the difference between a bel-canto tenor, like Paverotti and any other tenor singer.

But it is beautiful, and I have the itch to possess it.

Here it is - the Tanglewood TU7 XM Lacewood concert ukulele

Deep breaths girl - and the itch will go away.