So here we go. I have taken some photos of the Kala Brand Soprano Koa and recorded a short video that will hopefully come across OK. The sound on the video isn’t the best, but it should give you a decent idea of the sound quality of this ukulele.
When I started playing the ukulele I strictly used the soprano size, but have switched to playing both the concert and tenor sizes mainly. I haven’t ventured into the baritone thing yet, though I know a few that have.
I really like the Kala Soprano Koa ukulele. It has a great shape with the tapered back and a sweet look with the maple binding on the top and back and inlay around the soundhole. A tapered body is a classic for ukuleles and is generally found in most high end ukes, not generally in the less expensive ones. Even though it’s pretty common in custom ukes, I was never sure that a tapered back was a good fit for a soprano, but the sound from this Kala Brand koa is nice and it resonates well. It’s got nice lines and is very well constructed. This is not a solid wood construction, but laminated wood construction. You won’t find any koa ukuleles in this price range that aren’t laminated. This does not however detract from the quality of this instrument. What the Kala Brand Koa soprano ukulele does provide is a nice sounding, beautiful looking, affordable koa ukulele.
I’ve been reluctant thus far to review ukuleles because I find it difficult to compare and contrast them to others. Each ukulele seems to have it’s own specific qualities. This is why I’ve recorded a video that will hopefully give you an idea of the sound and look. It is recorded on a webcam so the quality is suspect, but it seemed decent on my computer.
Hopefully this will give those that are seeking to buy an ukulele in the under $300 range a good idea of what you are in for. I have a few koa ukuleles, some laminated, some solid, but my favorite is one I bought on Maui a few years back. It’s a solid wood construction and is my favorite because it has a fabulous sound and it looks great. I paid about $700 for it and it was worth every penny! That is by far the most I’ve ever spent on an ukulele. If you’ve got $700 to spend on your next ukulele, the options are many. If you want a koa ukulele and don’t want to spend so much, the Kala Brand koa soprano is a good choice. This is a great sounding and looking ukulele and I would recommend it for those interested in any ukulele in this price range.
And please, don’t critique me on my playing in the video, I was just trying to get the majority of sounds without thinking about what I was actually playing. This was my first YouTube video though, how do I look from the shoulders down, HA!
I haven’t posted any reviews of actual ukuleles yet because I was trying to figure out the best way to do it. So, as you will see, I still won’t in this post! But, I will in the next few days. I’ve been tinkering with the web cam I got for Christmas, and although the sound doesn’t seem to match the video, it should still suffice for some basic sounds and visuals. Sure, it cannot replace actually playing and feeling the ukulele, but as I’ve found out, not everyone has that opportunity.
I promise to demonstrate and review some ukuleles in the next couple of days. I’m getting in some Lehua Ukuleles, so maybe I’ll start with those…
If you see anything at ukewarehouse.com that you would like a little more info on, feel free to comment and suggest something.
I’m not trying to be partial by giving reviews (good reviews) of John King’s books, but it’s hard not to. His arrangements are better than most I’ve seen, and to say that he is advancing current ukulele interest is an understatement. He has opened alot of peoples eyes to the versatility of this small 4-string instrument.
There are some great classical pieces in this book like Prelude, and Prelude and, well Prelude. Each of which are superbly arranged for playing on the ukulele, not to say that they are easy to play however! Included are some great Hawaiian tunes like Alekoki, Ahe Lau Makani and Pupu A’o Ewa. All songs are written in standard notation and tablature.
One of my favorite songs is Tarantella Italiana, which sounds familiar enough for me to always think of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. It’s by no means the same song. My personal favorite is this Vandals version. Sorry, little sidetracked there. Maybe Woodshed at UkeHunt will see this and tab out the melody for the ride’s theme song…
This is one of those books that you will constantly visit as your skills progress. At one point I almost had the third Prelude in the book, this one, memorized, but got a bit lost and forgot all about it. Now, I can go back and still be lost, but at least I’d put in the hours before so I can keep up with the tempo and hack my way through it! Maybe one of these days…
Anyway, if you like Famous Solos & Duets or John King or classical music, this is a great book. It’s well suited for advanced beginner and up. I say advanced beginner because there are some fairly playable arrangements and it’s always good to push yourself.
On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, I would rate this book a 5! (John’s arrangements are splendid!)
I was looking at BUKE to see if Roger had added any new tabs since the last time I visited, and he had. The best source for baritone ukulele tablature around, and a healthy and growing list of tab for GCEA tuned ukes.
Just browsing down the list I came across Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it looks interesting. You may not know it by name, but you surely know the tune. I remembered comedian Rob Paravonian’s rant about the song and felt inclined to point you toward Roger’s tab and below is Rob’s YouTube performance.
I was turned on to Bosko & Honey via UkeHunt. I really enjoy all of their videos and think you will too. Here’s there most recent video, posted a couple days ago on YouTube. It’s a wonderful original instrumental.
Here are some random videos featuring the ukulele. Once again, I’ve included GUGUG with a couple ska tunes, can’t go wrong there! I’ve included two versions of Little Grass Shack. The first is just a great version posted a couple days ago on YouTube. The second is Mark Occhionero’s version which includes some great instruction on how to play the song. Go HERE for Mark’s tab of this song.
The Jumping Flea - A documentary film by Paul Kraus
I just got these in today and couldn’t wait to watch it. Fans of the ukulele interested in it’s history, players and builders both past and present will enjoy this documentary. It’s about an hour long and is filled with some great information, sounds and visuals. If you liked the book The Ukulele - A Visual History by Jim Beloff, you’ll be in for a treat.
The film is very well done as the filmmaker Paul Kraus began working in special effects in Hollywood and later in Marin County, CA. His first documentary feature, The Shapemakers, a surf documentary about the art of surfboard making, received critical acclaim from the press worldwide.
I’d like to compare it to something else, but I’ve yet to come across a ukulele documentary with in depth info on the history, it’s builders and players. This is a very entertaining film and it’s great to hear some of the stories about how some of the ukulele designs came about, like Kamaka’s first pineapple ukulele. The film itself is directed mostly toward the history of the instrument and it’s builders. Included is footage of some ukulele legends like Bill Tapia and Lyle Ritz, but it would have been nice to see some of the current ukulele talent. Although there is a snippet of James Hill in there. All in all, I thought it was a great film. I will watch it again for sure!
On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, I would rate this film a 4.9! (Yes, I do reserve the right to use decimal points in my ratings!)
I love the music of Brudda IZ, and I’d love to learn some of his songs, but this book doesn’t seem to be the way to do it as far as I’m concerned! I can’t make heads or tails of this thing.
Songs contain chord names with diagrams, standard notation, tablature and lyrics. Considering it’s an official transcription of the music, I would figure it to be a bit confusing at times, but not all the time. What makes it so confusing is that the ukulele parts are tabbed out (I think), but they’ve left 6 lines (guitar style) so reading the tab is tedious to say the least! Also, in the chord diagrams for ukulele parts, they have the six strings (I guess you omit two of them), but the fingering doesn’t match the named chord. So, you see a C fingering, but they call it a G. Here is there explanation - “Guitarists capo at the 5th fret and play the indicated 4-string chords. Ukulele players can just play the 4-string chords as indicated.” What? So, everyone plays the same 4-string chords as indicated, but which ones, the letter on top of the diagram indicating the chord or the fingering within the diagram indicating the chord (they are different chords!).
I wanted to learn the song Henehene Kou ‘Aka. I attempted the version in this book, but walked away frustrated on many occassions. Then I found a version of the tab at Tropical Storm Hawaii and Alligator Boogaloo , and watched a YouTube video. Next thing I knew, I could play the song and really enjoyed it (I still need some work on the lyrics though). So, I went back to this book figuring I’d figured out the song a fair bit and was once again frustrated as I could still not make any sense of it!
If you want to learn Brudda IZ songs and you are excellent at reading all types of written music and enjoy frustratingly excessive information, dots and lines, then this is the book for you. If you are like myself and alot of other people, I suggest looking elsewhere. I feel sort of bad posting a negative review, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who would disagree with me, but I’ve really gotten nothing from this songbook.
On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, I rate this book a 1 (at least you can learn the correct lyrics!).
Hawaiian Uke Tunebook by Ken Eidson & Ross Cherednik
This is the third book I have reviewed. Each time I am selecting books that I use and play from, so hopefully I can provide you with insightful information in your search for new material.
This book contains 53 different songs, most of them traditional Hawaiian songs, some written by the authors. It’s not a new book by any means, it was originally published in 1982. However, it contains some great songs and info very relative to today’s ukulele players.
There are some basics that you seem to find in almost every music book for ukuleles; a little history, some reading music lessons and tuning, fingering and strumming info. All of which is very useful in this book. Most songs have a brief description about the tune and some tips on playing it, which is nice. Each tune is written in standard notation and tablature, which is also nice. There are some great Hawaiian tunes in this book, classics like Hiilawe, Hawaii Ponoi and Kuwili. All of which may not sound familiar, but once you start picking, you’ll recognize the melodies in seconds! Some of my favorite songs are those written by the authors, like Waltz For My Dear, Ipo’s Song and This Pretty Ukulele.
One of the best things about the book is that there is an abundance of songs that are pretty easy and fun to play. They all are nicely arranged and the tablature is great to really get a grip on the melody of the songs. One drawback is that many of the songs are very short. I guess you could play them over and over again to create a longer song, but the best thing may be to play the short ones in the middle of a different, similar song to spice it up a bit. Most of these songs are very familiar and use the same chords as many other Hawaiian songs, so it would be very easy to combine them to make your own interesting musical creation.
On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, I would rate this book a 4.5!
