The Ukulele Trading Co Australia

Friday, 7 February 2014

Review of Kala Tenor Resonator Ukulele KA-R-T

Kala KA-R-T Tenor Resonator Ukulele - Natural Mahogany Satin Finish

$425 RRP In Australia.
FREE Setup, Headstock Tuner, Chrome Slide and Shipping.
Yep I include a Chromed slide should you wish to give “slide” playing a go on this resonator.
UPDATE The New Generation II Resonators are only available in Satin Sunburst Finish

What we are looking at today is a Tenor size Kala Resonator Ukulele with natural finish Mahogany Body and Neck.

I really like this ukulele, I like its look, but I especially like its Chunky Neck. Originally a guitarist, sometimes ukulele necks are too thin for my taste. Generally I have found that the thicker the neck profile

the more comfortable the neck is for my fretting hand. It’s nice to have something to really grab a hold of.

The custom made aluminium resonator cone gives a totally different tone to a standard Tenor Ukulele, with lots of Honky midrange growl and bite. It’s a loud Ukulele too and the sound has that top end jangly brightness not dissimilar to a Banjo. But you get increased volume without losing your bottom end sustain as happens playing Banjoleles. The KA-R-T sits tonally halfway between a regular Wooden Ukulele and a Banjolele. The Kala Resonators projection is most impressive, you will be heard over the regular ukuleles, but the Banjolele players will still beat you on sheer volume.

I like the light colour natural looking satin finish mahogany body. No edge binding, it has plain, but neat a pin side and back joints with a slightly arched back. The Resonator is a simple good looking uke and the chrome plated resonator cover is the visual star of the show that screams "vintage look at me"

Kala have developed a special Logo for the Resonator Series headstock reading "Qualitas Innovatio Veritas'. I think it is cool, in a tongue in cheek manner, and very in keeping with both the nature of Ukulele community and Resonators i.e. not shy and very "outside the box".

As seems to be universal these days Kala fits the Italian Aquila strings in standard re entrant tuning with the
high G. If you want during the setup I can fit Low G Strings. A low G is a bit less jangle, and a touch more
beef to the tone I find. In keeping with the vintage vibe the machine heads are open geared tuners with
metal buttons that work smoothly and look the part.

SUMMARY:
There are a few resonator ukuleles out there in the Market place these days. Some similarly priced entry level all metal constructed resonators compete with the Kala Resonator. By comparison they are heavy buggers, and very bright sounding. In the wood bodied resonator field there are a few top shelf brands out there, and as fancy looking as they may be, none are around $400 that Kala is pitching the KA-R-T. That makes the Kala a very attractive proposition for those players who want to broaden their Ukulele collection with a Reso Uke without taking out a second mortgage.

Whatever your budget the real attraction is that unique “Reso Tone” that mechanically amplified instruments have because of the vibrating aluminium resonator cone. And the KA-R-T has that in spades.

SPECS:
Mahogany top, back and sides
18 Silver-Nickel Frets
Fret position Marks at 5th,7th,10th, 12th and 15th frets on neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
Mahogany neck
Satin Finish
Aluminum resonator cone with chrome plated cover
Open geared Tuners with black buttons
Custom Kala Headstock logo

Aquila Strings
17” Tenor Scale (Distance from Nut to Saddle)
25” Overall body length
11-5/8” Body length
6-5/16” Upper Bout
8-1/2” Lower Bout
5” Waist
2-7/16-” TO 2-3/4” Arched-Back Body depth
1-3/8” At Nut

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MANY MORE Ukuleles, Strings, Tuners, Cases, Capos & Accessories in-stock.

I Carry a Huge Range of Kala & Ohana Ukuleles, Aquila & Worth Ukulele Strings.

Fancy Something Else?

Please Contact me and I can arrange to make it happen.
Please Call 0432 306 920 9am to 5pm

Email ChrisFromUkuleleTrading@gmail.com

Most of my Products are FREE Postage Australia Wide!

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Ukulele Workshops & Private Tuition: Corporate Training Days, Community Centres, Local Councils, Schools... please contact me to arrange a program tailored for you.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Kala KA-R-C Resonator Ukulele Concert Size $395 with FREE Setup, Hardcase, Shipping and Headstock Tuner

Do you fancy some "Mechanical Amplification" with that Mahogany Ukulele?

SPECIFICATIONS KA-R-C:

$395 Aussie Dollars,
INCLUDES FREE Setup, Shipping, Hard case and Headstock Tuner.
Rosewood fingerboard,
Mahogany Neck,
Tilt back Angled Headstock,
Satin finish,
Cover Plate polished silver-nickel,
Open geared tuners,
Custom Kala Headstock logo and Tail-piece cover.
Strung with Aquila Nyglut Strings.
What does it sound like? Soundcloud Demo

Kala Brand Music has blended the worlds of blues and bluegrass tone in the Resonator Series of Ukuleles that really capture the sound of classical Americana. That usual ukulele 'sweet and mellow' tone has been given some tasty bite and growl in the form of the aluminium resonator cone.

MECHANICAL AMPLIFICATION...
What’s that then?
Resonator AKA Dobro Instruments have a distinctive tone and volume that sets music made on them apart. John Dopyera (born Ján Dopjera) (1893–1988) was a Slovak-American inventor and entrepreneur, and a maker of stringed instruments.

Kala KA-R-C Resonator Ukulele from The Ukulele Trading Co Australia

In the 1920's something was needed so the emerging jazz guitarists could be heard above the orchestra, this was before the electrical public address system was widely used. In 1925, vaudeville promoter George Beauchamp approached John Dopyera and made a request; he asked Dopyera to make him a guitar loud
enough to be heard over other instruments. Dopyera invented a guitar with a mechanical amplification scheme similar to the diaphragms inside a speaker.

A cone sat inside the soundbox of an instrument and that was directly linked to the bridge so that the cone vibrated like a megaphone. Such instruments were much louder than normal acoustic instruments and had a rich, metallic tone. He applied this Mechanical Amplification to Ukuleles also.

Such mechanical amplified instruments found welcoming homes in the largely un-electrified Southern USA or in the poorer boroughs of the larger Northern towns such as Chicago or New York City.

KA-R-C CONSTRUCTION:
The Mahogany body is clear satin finished, great to see a natural mahogany finish, most guitars or ukuleles
normally have a stain applied to the wood to darken it. Mahogany wood is actually a lot lighter than people
think in its natural unstained state. The Neck is Mahogany and is a really likeable playable neck with a chunky round C profile. The headstock is angled (tilt back) so you get Max pressure of strings over the nut for Max energy transfer... that makes for the best sustain and volume.

Even though this is the Concert Model (a Larger Tenor size is available) it is still a loud ukulele. Not as loud as a Banjolele but louder than a regular concert ukulele. All the extra volume comes in midrange cut-through, yes you will be heard in the mix with this KA-R-C resonator. The KA-R-C has way way more sustain to its notes and chords than a Banjolele. In Comparison to a Resonator Ukulele, Banjoleles are all note attack with little in the way of sustain. Check out the Soundcloud and Video Demos to hear for yourself.

SUMMARY: Kala KA-R-C Resonator Ukulele
Kala Brand Ukuleles have designed a Mahogany Ukulele crafted an aluminium resonator cone into the body
resulting in a distinctive voice and appearance all its own. Whether adding a little extra output in a jam or for
providing musical inspiration when playing alone this is one barking loud ukulele with Vintage Americana tone by the bucket load.

Only a few of these came in, so if you want to get it with my professional setup and quality control, act now!

SPECIFICATIONS:
$395 Aussie Dollars,
Rosewood fingerboard,
Mahogany neck,
Tilt back angled Headstock,
Satin finish,
Cover Plate polished silver-nickel,
Open geared tuners,
Custom Kala Headstock logo and Tailpiece cover.
Strung with Aquila Nyglut Strings.
INCLUDES FREE Setup, Shipping, Hard case and Headstock Tuner.

Saturday, 1 February 2014

How did a simple song on a ukulele top the Hottest 100 over monster singles from Lorde and Daft Punk?

Just as Nirvana going Number 1 signalled the "Year that Punk Broke" maybe Riptide by Vance Joy heralds the "Year that Ukulele Broke" into the mainstream. Of course this isn't the first time that Ukulele has broken through into the mainstream, but that was last century.

Well that's it then, it's official the Ukulele is the Comeback Kid, James Keogh aka Melbourne singer-songwriter Vance Joy is the latest Triple J Hottest 100 No 1 song. A Ukulele player at Number 1 on the Charts, worldwide fame and a 5 Record deal with Atlantic Records in the USA. Not bad for a Melbourne boy and his Ukulele.

Darren Levin from Faster Louder finds out more

"James Keogh aka Melbourne singer – and his management team gathered together in a small room at Auckland radio station Kiwi FM. The triple J Hottest 100 was getting down to the pointy end, and when Breakfast hosts Matt and Alex back-announced Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ at #3, things got real. “We huddled around headphones and it was pretty tense,” recalls Keogh. “We were really just celebrating being in the top two, because it was such an achievement, such a special moment.”

His manager Jaddan Comerford was also in the room. “Each time it went down a number, it was like, ‘Oh cool, we got Top 5. Oh cool, we got Top 4. Oh cool, we got Top 3’ – and when the inevitable happened it was just a magical human experience,” he says.

Comerford – who also looks after Illy, Violent Soho and Amity Affliction under his We Are Unified banner – was elated when ‘Riptide’ came in at #1, but not surprised. He first heard the track via Soundcloud back in May 2012 – and was instantly smitten. “I’ve been managing bands for a long time, all sorts of bands – whether it’s the Amity Affliction going #1 [on the ARIA chart] or Illy doing what he’s doing – so I’ve got a pretty broad experience. But when you hear a song like this, you just think that anything is possible.

“Maybe you’re blinded by your own faith,” he continues, “but I can’t picture someone listening to a song like that and not thinking, ‘Wow, that’s an amazing song’. It’s just undeniable.”

“He seems to come up with clever ways of making the ordinary sound quite magical.”

It was ‘Riptide’ that convinced Comerford to track Keogh down"
By Darren Levin Faster Louder

Read More about how Vance Joy and his Ukulele broke through at Faster Louder, DARREN LEVIN spoke to the people behind it to find out. How Vance and Ukulele broke into the mainstream

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MANY MORE Ukuleles, Strings, Tuners, Cases, Capos & Accessories in-stock.

I Carry a Huge Range of Kala & Ohana Ukuleles, Aquila & Worth Ukulele Strings.

Fancy Something Else?
Please Contact me and I can arrange to make it happen.
Call 0432 306 920 9am to 5pm
Or Email ChrisFromUkuleleTrading@gmail.com

Most of my Products are FREE Postage Australia Wide!

I also Sell on eBay Australia
http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/chris-from-ukulele-trading#
Cheers C.C. from http://theukuleletradingcoaustralia.blogspot.com.au/

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Thursday, 23 January 2014

The Northern Ukuleles have Aussie-fied our set for Australia Day Celebrations

The Northern Ukuleles are Performing at Salisbury's Australia Day Celebrations on Sunday 26th January, Carisbrook Park, 10 am on the main Stage.

We have slightly Aussie-fied our set for the day.

Home Amongst The Gum Trees,
8 Days a Week,
I Still Call Australia Home,
I want to be like you,
To Her Door,
Folsom Prison Blues,
Bring Me Sunshine,
Waltzing Matilda.

NUkers be there by 9:45 AT THE LATEST ready to rock at 10am.
Cheers CC

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MANY MORE Ukuleles, Strings, Tuners, Cases, Capos & Accessories in-stock.

I Carry a Huge Range of Kala & Ohana Ukuleles, Aquila & Worth Ukulele Strings.

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Friday, 17 January 2014

Guitar Makers Jumping on The Ukulele Bandwagon (Gravy Train)

Ukuleles are not just little guitars.
Some Guitar makers get it right, many don't.

My advice is generally to Stick with a specialist ukulele maker that loves what they do and you rarely go wrong. Their whole business depends on their ukuleles reputation, to them a ukulele is not an after thought, a 'tacked on extra' to the guitar line.

Some Ukuleles just sound "Dead and Box-like"
Some Instruments just do not encourage you to play as they just feel stiff and hard to play. Even worse some actively discourage you from playing because as well as being hard to play they sound just awful with all the tone of a cardboard box.

You can fit a set of Italian Aquila strings to liven them up, and a proper set-up always helps. This will almost certainly improve volume and playability. But alas as they say "You can't polish a Turd, but you can spray paint them gold". Cheap or expensive, if your ukulele suffers from Dead Boxy Syndrome its probably the basic design that's the cause.

Yeah but my favourite Fancy Guitar Makers just released a Mega-Expensive Ukulele, So it must be good, Right?
You would hope so, but it is no guarantee. These days it seems that just about every Guitar brand has tacked a ukulele or two onto their model range. And people assume that if they make good guitars then they must make a good ukulele too. Plausible but sadly flawed logic.

It's not just the cheap end of town that suffer this Dead Boxy Syndrome. Even expensive ukuleles by well know guitar makers can be lack-lustre and "boxy" sounding even when you have paid $600 plus Aussie Dollars.

Constructions Methods
Just because you are a big Guitar maker does not mean that you know how to make a great ukulele. Ukuleles and Guitars are very very different beasts, with very different design considerations.

A steel String guitar is literally trying to pull itself apart with string tension as those six tightly stretched steel strings have a lot of energy in them. A thick solid top, back n sides and ultra stiff bracing works well on steel stringed guitars to keep it from breaking under the strain.

But big thick and heavy just what you Do Not Want in a ukulele. With a steel string Guitar you need strong bracing and a strong top to stand up to high string tensions without deforming. Little short scale ukuleles with their nylon (or new modern Gut like Aquila strings) have no where as much tension being exerted on the neck and top.

People rave over the "olden days" ukuleles. When you get a chance to play a vintage ukulele you generally find that they are light, very light in fact, with minimal bracing, and the tops sides and backs are Ultra thin by today's modern standards. They really are very delicate animals the old ukes. Some 'Johnny Come Lately' modern ukuleles weigh a lot more by comparison. The wood seems too thick and they are over braced IMHO.

Some Guitar brands do make pretty good ukuleles. But generally I find they are the brands that in their past made ukuleles. Often they are resurrecting models and adapting the old designs to modern manufacturing methods. You are getting their vintage designs made in modern factories. Look into their History and Ukuleles have been major parts of their business in the 1920's/30's.

Traditional Ukulele manufacturers simply know how to make ukuleles, obvious really, it is all they do. If they were to turn their hand to guitar making it might not turn out too well, similarly why assume big guitar maker can stamp out a ukulele.

I'll say it again, Stick with a specialist ukulele maker that loves what they do and you rarely go wrong.

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MANY MORE Ukuleles, Strings, Tuners, Cases, Capos & Accessories in-stock.

I Carry a Huge Range of Kala & Ohana Ukuleles, Aquila & Worth Ukulele Strings.

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Monday, 6 January 2014

NUkes kicks off its 2014 Tuesday 7th Jan

Happy 2014 new year NUkes.

We kick off 2014 Tonight, Tuesday 7th, 7pm Dining room of The Old Spot Hotel. Salisbury SA.

Tonight a refresher in beginner basics, some Australian songs and a Special Guest Teacher Chris Bodey of NSW' Denni Ukes.

Cheers CC

Friday, 3 January 2014

UKULELE REVIEW SK-350G Ohana Soprano Solid Hawaiian Koa Wood Uke

OHANA SK-350G SOPRANO UKULELE LIMITED EDITION.

Sadly the Ship Has Sailed on this Limited Edition Ohana .. no more are left in Australia.

The top of the range Ohana SK-350G is from Ohana Ukuleles 'Limited Edition' range of ukuleles, and what a truly awesome instrument it is.

SPECIFICATIONS
Solid koa top, back & sides
Abalone inlay, top, rosette & head
Rosewood fingerboard & bridge
Mahogany binding / headstock overlay
Premium geared tuners
Aquila strings
Bone nut & saddle
Gloss finish

Construction.
Beautiful hand-detailing makes it a knock-out looker, and as with all Ohana ukuleles they are hand-crafted. All solid Top, back and sides of select Hawaiian Islands Koa wood with a 15 fret rosewood fingerboard and rosewood bridge. Mahogany neck with koa headstock overlay. Abalone inlay, bound body, glossy finish, deluxetuners and Aquila strings.

The Abalone Inlays and Rosette wont improve the sound, but it does give it that 'Wow Factor' when you take the ukulele out of its case. It looks the business and a bit of bling never fails to impress your friends.

The Clear gloss finish has that "dipped in glass' quality, very shiny and quite hard to photograph. Obviously lots of sanding and spraying involved to get such a high gloss finish.

This Ukulele looks so good with its wonderful honey hued figured Hawaiian koa wood that you could hang it on the wall as a piece of art. Too good looking to hide in a case.

Woods.
Hawaiian Koa Back Sides and Top
This very beautiful wood comes exclusively from The Big Island of Hawaii, making supply very limited. Its weight varies somewhat from medium to heavy. A tropical hardwood, koa's tone blends the midrange of mahogany with the top end of maple. Due to its density, a new koa instrument tends to start out sounding a little bright and tight, somewhat like maple. But the more a koa ukulele is played, the more the sound opens up, expanding the midrange and rewarding the player with a richer, sweeter, more resonant tone.

Anyone who has ever seen a nice piece of koa would be hard-pressed to deny its' stunning good-looks. Highly sought after because of its' beauty and tonal characteristics.

Rosewood Fingerboard
The most popular fingerboard wood! Rosewood has the warm "rock-n-roll" tonality. The warm tone is also a favourite amongst blues players. The feel is smooth and fast.

Neck Wood.
Mahogany is the neck wood most associated with Gibson guitars. Mahogany is known to provide the warmest, fattest tones. An open grain wood requiring more work in finishing to fill the open pores. The neck is very nicely shaped and fits in the left hand well.

Fretwork and Fingerboard feel.
Fretwork and fingerboard workmanship is immaculate and it plays smooth as butter. The dark coloured rosewood board is smooth and tight grained and coupled with the smooth highly polished frets, make bending notes a breeze. This Ukulele is as good for finger-style picking and lead work as it is for comping rhythm chords.

This one goes to 15 (frets)
Most Soprano ukuleles are fitted with just 12 frets (a one octave neck) or you can get 'long neck" Sopranos, but the long neck means larger fret spacing and the body to neck weight balance is drastically altered. Long neck sopranos are an acquired taste.

This ukulele falls in-between these two types. The OhanaSK-350G is fitted with an extended fretboard with 15 frets. Not a 'long neck" soprano as such, so the feel and balance of the instrument is still that 'small familiar soprano'. Its great to have the extra frets, when you are playing lead you need those extra frets!

Nut / Saddle material and workmanship.
The Nut and Bridge Saddle are of very traditional material, bone. Bone is a hard material to work with, but it has that funky vintage look. But bone must be cut cleanly to keep strings from binding in slots. Bone gives a sound that is bright, clear, and detailed. Not an easy material to work with, but well worth the effort, 'props' to the person who shaped and cut the nut.

Intonation.
I checked the intonation at the 12th fret and it is spot on. A pleasant surprise as proper intonation on the short scale soprano ukuleles can be problematic. Being such a small scale instrument any misplacement of nut/bridge/fret by even fractions of a millimetre can have a large effect on intonation. Lets imagine the worker has a bad day and the bridge is glued on with a half a millimetre misplacement fault, this will have much less of an effect on a larger scale length tenor or Baritone Ukulele. On a soprano the results are disastrous. The nut, bridge and frets are obviously all exactly in proper position.

A small detail to specify good quality tuners but very welcome.
Tuners are of a ratio that tuning is fast when restringing, but still smooth and accurate in fine tuning. Often a penny or two is saved in specifying cheaper tuners that are either too stiff or too slack. Poor tuners are frustrating as they seem to jump from being either too flat or sharp. The tuners fitted to the Ohana glide up to proper tune well, no fiddling back and forth. They are also of an interesting shape, very oval in length but not very wide, with gold coloured screws and metal enclosed body. From the rear they look modern, from the front the black buttons and gold grub screw look proper vintage.

Summary The SK-350G Soprano Ukulele:
A well-appointed 15 Fret Koa Soprano, nice sounding uke of fine craftsmanship, one to play, enjoy, and show off. Plays as nice as it looks, sure to have the "Ahh and Drool" factor at your local Ukulele Club or on-stage at a gig.

ABOUT OHANA UKULELES
"Ohana translated from Hawaiian means "Family" and their ukuleles do embody that comfortable homely feel. Ohana Ukuleles offer many models - from soprano to baritone, mahogany to selected koa from the islands of Hawaii, conventional to vintage models, plus unique ones for those who are looking for something different.

At Ohana Ukuleles their goal is to provide the highest quality hand-crafted ukulele at a reasonable price. Every ukulele that leaves the Ohana warehouse is carefully inspected and set up for maximum playability.

Yes that's right — EVERY UKULELE, regardless of model and price. Should musicians compromise on quality just because they need an entry-level ukulele? Ohana don't think they should.

Ohana Ukuleles believe in the basic concepts of QUALITY, PLAYABILITY, and VALUE. As a player you deserve each of these when you purchase a musical instrument.

Meanwhile, have fun, share the Aloha spirit with your loved ones, and Happy Strumming!"

Cheers CC.

Christopher Carr

The Ukulele Trading Co Australia

Purveyors of Ukulele Workshops & Private Lessons + Fine New and Used Ukuleles.

Want the Mobile "Popup" Music Store at your Business, Corporate or Community Event?

EMAIL chrisfromukuleletrading AT gmail.com

BLOG http://theukuleletradingcoaustralia.blogspot.com.au/
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/TheUkuleleTradingCoAustralia
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Phone 0432 306 920

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