I totally ended up throwing some Hannabach 1/8th size strings and tuned my GL-1 E to E. Sounds fairly good. (I just like to play around campfires/friends) and is good to practice on :)
I bought this Caramel a month ago and like it pretty well, but I'm hoping it will sound brighter with some Hannabach Kinder 1/4 strings which I have ordered. We'll see.
That is a major drawback of these small nylon guitars, they can be dark and muddy sounding. Let me know if the hannabach 1/4 work, I'm looking for new strings now.
hey great review. i have the guitalele, and sold my cort mini long back. just ordered a hex bumble bee, which is about the size of ur middle one, the all solid nylon. but bumble bee i guess is all laminate
Hey, thank you for the comment. I hadn't heard of the hex bumble bee. Looks really nice. Honestly, I might prefer a laminate guitar. They are stronger, less prone to cracks and damage. Enjoy! I love these little guitars.
The Donner guitalele appears to be in standard E tuning. Small guitaleles sound better in A tuning (E tuning 5 frets up). The strings are brighter. I also own these sizes. To me, the smallest guitalele ( a koa laminate tuned to A) sounds best. I own a solid koa Caramel 30" guitalele tuned to standard E that sounds okay and a solid spruce top mini guitar which sounds okay but is low volume. For travel, I think the small laminate guitalele is my first choice. The mini guitar is almost the same size as a full size guitar and offers no special space saving advantage. I am disappointed in the Caramel guitalele as it lacks the sweet tone of my tenor koa ukulele made by the same company. It is ladder braced vs the small guitalele that has x bracing. This may be the reason for the sound difference . Try tuning your tenor guitalele up to A and see if it sounds better. Please update this video if your opinion changes about the instrument.
Hi, yes, I've tuned the guitalele to E using Hannaback MT 890 strings (see video of my comparison with A and E tuning here: ua-cam.com/video/AvVC9tpoCEM/v-deo.html). They do deaden the sound, but I wanted E tuning personally and for comparison purposes, assuming others looking at travel guitars would too. I think the Caramel sounds better, even if the Guitalele is in A tuning (this said, the guitalele is inexpensive, and cheaply made). It is also a more comfortable guitar to play. As for size, we are talking inches across all three, therefore relatively, the Caramel is more travel worthy than the mini both in width and length (these inches mean a lot of budget airlines). But of course this depends on one's preference and what they think they can get away with on a flight. Thx for the comment.
@@tristansturm9241 I agree that the Caramel Guitalele sounds better in E tuning but my tenor guitalele sounds better in A tuning. I did not think your Donner guitalele sounds good in E tuning. I agree with you that a mini guitar does not offer much size advantage for travel. I too will be traveling with my guitalele. If I am in a guitar mood, it will be the Caramel. If I want both a ukulele / guitar I will travel with my smaller tenor guitalele. Happy playing.
On my Yahaha GL1 the best strings set I've found so far is the Savarez Alliance Corum high tension set. The Alliance treble strings are thinner, therefore particularly adapted for guitalele, and the high tension allows to tune it in G with an acceptable tension. I really like it in G, I find A tuning a little too high... I tried the Hannabach MT890 in E tuning, but didn't like it much. I find the sound of the trebles muffled and the strings too thick... One day I'll try Aquilla Nylgut strings for E tuning, I wonder if they are thinner and sound better... Anyone tried them? ... Also a good thing I did on my guitalele: I changed the head nut to have more space between the strings... 😉
The largest of these may not have that much of a smaller size, but it's far lighter, compared to lugging around my normal-size guitar which can be a hassle in 3rd-world countries (especially on buses).. and the bulk & weight, both extended with a strong case.
This review format is well organized, the narrative is informative & helpful. There might be a lot more variation possible that what's shown, as the tension of the strings seem kind of loose for the first two (tuning up, different strings; Romero Creations makes UG1s which may be worth trying on the first two).
Yes, they are loose. I got used to it however, in someway kind of prefer it now. I'll check out the Romero UG1s, hadn't heard of them before. Thank you!
you probably dont give a shit but does someone know a trick to log back into an instagram account?? I was dumb lost the password. I appreciate any tricks you can offer me.
@Stetson Davian thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@@tristansturm9241 i have no personal experience but i have watched a few youtube videos with steel strings, to me they sounded fine, just got to choose a thicker gauge i guess. I think some of them were sold with steel out of the box.
I bought this model Caramel on Amazon a month ago, but saw today they are out of stock. It measures 31.5" long. My favorite travel guitar is my 30" (but full size neck) Steinberger Spirit electric, although it's much heavier. For air travel, I use a BlackStar mini amp.
Man decisions decisions. I guess I'll get both the Donner and the Caramel like you have. Or the Yamaha GL1. Have you played that one? Sorry ha asked that on your other vid too. Just say this one. haha put them all in my cart but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Thanks for posting this! Very helpful.
Hi, I would recommend the Caramel over the Yamaha. I have played the GL1, I didn't think there was a notacable difference between it and the Donner guitalele. The Caramel is not much longer, but that extra 3 inches in the scale length are worth it for two reasons: 1. E tuning is easier and cheaper. Hannaback strings are expensive. The Cordoba e tuning strings are half the price. 2. E tuning the Yamaha makes the instrument sound duller because the strings have to be so thick. On the Caramel, e tuning still chimes. Also, with the Caramel, you get a full solid wood instrument for £15 more that the laminated Yamaha. My two cents.
I think the Caramel number is cb 204, ? Not cb 402. I just ordered one as the Yamaha GL is a bit small for my hands. Also check out the Cordoba mini...
Donner had some nice guitars back in the 60’s. I used to have, what was called a Donner Party guitar, but it ate my other guitars so I had to get rid of it😂
Finally a real user review. Not some commercial sales force vid. Thanks!
Thank you, glad you found it useful.
Thanks, really helpful with buying my 1st instrument. I'm going with the Baritone 👍🏻
Excellent choice.
Thanks for the review. It helped me a lot.
Thank you and you are welcome.
I totally ended up throwing some Hannabach 1/8th size strings and tuned my GL-1 E to E. Sounds fairly good. (I just like to play around campfires/friends) and is good to practice on :)
That is what I use it for, messing about on the couch, even conversing whilst playing it is so mellow.
tuning would help
I bought this Caramel a month ago and like it pretty well, but I'm hoping it will sound brighter with some Hannabach Kinder 1/4 strings which I have ordered. We'll see.
That is a major drawback of these small nylon guitars, they can be dark and muddy sounding. Let me know if the hannabach 1/4 work, I'm looking for new strings now.
hey great review. i have the guitalele, and sold my cort mini long back. just ordered a hex bumble bee, which is about the size of ur middle one, the all solid nylon. but bumble bee i guess is all laminate
Hey, thank you for the comment. I hadn't heard of the hex bumble bee. Looks really nice. Honestly, I might prefer a laminate guitar. They are stronger, less prone to cracks and damage. Enjoy! I love these little guitars.
The Donner guitalele appears to be in standard E tuning. Small guitaleles sound better in A tuning (E tuning 5 frets up). The strings are brighter. I also own these sizes. To me, the smallest guitalele ( a koa laminate tuned to A) sounds best. I own a solid koa Caramel 30" guitalele tuned to standard E that sounds okay and a solid spruce top mini guitar which sounds okay but is low volume. For travel, I think the small laminate guitalele is my first choice. The mini guitar is almost the same size as a full size guitar and offers no special space saving advantage. I am disappointed in the Caramel guitalele as it lacks the sweet tone of my tenor koa ukulele made by the same company. It is ladder braced vs the small guitalele that has x bracing. This may be the reason for the sound difference . Try tuning your tenor guitalele up to A and see if it sounds better. Please update this video if your opinion changes about the instrument.
Hi, yes, I've tuned the guitalele to E using Hannaback MT 890 strings (see video of my comparison with A and E tuning here: ua-cam.com/video/AvVC9tpoCEM/v-deo.html). They do deaden the sound, but I wanted E tuning personally and for comparison purposes, assuming others looking at travel guitars would too. I think the Caramel sounds better, even if the Guitalele is in A tuning (this said, the guitalele is inexpensive, and cheaply made). It is also a more comfortable guitar to play. As for size, we are talking inches across all three, therefore relatively, the Caramel is more travel worthy than the mini both in width and length (these inches mean a lot of budget airlines). But of course this depends on one's preference and what they think they can get away with on a flight. Thx for the comment.
@@tristansturm9241 I agree that the Caramel Guitalele sounds better in E tuning but my tenor guitalele sounds better in A tuning. I did not think your Donner guitalele sounds good in E tuning. I agree with you that a mini guitar does not offer much size advantage for travel. I too will be traveling with my guitalele. If I am in a guitar mood, it will be the Caramel. If I want both a ukulele / guitar I will travel with my smaller tenor guitalele. Happy playing.
Save Marinwoo
On my Yahaha GL1 the best strings set I've found so far is the Savarez Alliance Corum high tension set. The Alliance treble strings are thinner, therefore particularly adapted for guitalele, and the high tension allows to tune it in G with an acceptable tension. I really like it in G, I find A tuning a little too high...
I tried the Hannabach MT890 in E tuning, but didn't like it much. I find the sound of the trebles muffled and the strings too thick... One day I'll try Aquilla Nylgut strings for E tuning, I wonder if they are thinner and sound better... Anyone tried them?
... Also a good thing I did on my guitalele: I changed the head nut to have more space between the strings... 😉
The largest of these may not have that much of a smaller size, but it's far lighter, compared to lugging around my normal-size guitar which can be a hassle in 3rd-world countries (especially on buses).. and the bulk & weight, both extended with a strong case.
I love that Caramel cb402g. I want to buy that in India.
Do they still make them?
very well played, thanks for showing
I really like my Martin 1/2 size with metal strings. It sounds larger than it actually is.
Yes, they project well. They don't have the bass a dreadnought has, however, but every guitar has its limits by definition of its use design.
This review format is well organized, the narrative is informative & helpful. There might be a lot more variation possible that what's shown, as the tension of the strings seem kind of loose for the first two (tuning up, different strings; Romero Creations makes UG1s which may be worth trying on the first two).
Yes, they are loose. I got used to it however, in someway kind of prefer it now. I'll check out the Romero UG1s, hadn't heard of them before. Thank you!
you probably dont give a shit but does someone know a trick to log back into an instagram account??
I was dumb lost the password. I appreciate any tricks you can offer me.
@Bridger Charlie instablaster =)
@Stetson Davian thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Stetson Davian it did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much, you saved my ass :D
does the 6 strings ukalale have standard tuning like a guitar 6 strings my son cosplays as johnny cash and iam looking for a small guitar
They come tuned to A, but you need to put thicker strings on it to tune down to E. See this vid: ua-cam.com/video/AvVC9tpoCEM/v-deo.html
just to clarify for anyone watching, Caramel can take steel strings, as can Kmise (not included in the clip)
right, it has a truss rod. thx for pointing that out, i forgot to mention. though would the strings be slinky?
@@tristansturm9241 i have no personal experience but i have watched a few youtube videos with steel strings, to me they sounded fine, just got to choose a thicker gauge i guess. I think some of them were sold with steel out of the box.
@@reflexreaction3797 OK right, I'll have to try this someday. I do like the feel of nylon strings sometimes for quiet and mellow playing.
Nice music and video man
Million dollar question: why was Caramel discontinued? Perfect as it was.
I didn't know it had. Too bad, great wee guitars.
I bought this model Caramel on Amazon a month ago, but saw today they are out of stock. It measures 31.5" long. My favorite travel guitar is my 30" (but full size neck) Steinberger Spirit electric, although it's much heavier. For air travel, I use a BlackStar mini amp.
Man decisions decisions. I guess I'll get both the Donner and the Caramel like you have. Or the Yamaha GL1. Have you played that one? Sorry ha asked that on your other vid too. Just say this one. haha put them all in my cart but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Thanks for posting this! Very helpful.
Hi, I would recommend the Caramel over the Yamaha. I have played the GL1, I didn't think there was a notacable difference between it and the Donner guitalele. The Caramel is not much longer, but that extra 3 inches in the scale length are worth it for two reasons: 1. E tuning is easier and cheaper. Hannaback strings are expensive. The Cordoba e tuning strings are half the price. 2. E tuning the Yamaha makes the instrument sound duller because the strings have to be so thick. On the Caramel, e tuning still chimes. Also, with the Caramel, you get a full solid wood instrument for £15 more that the laminated Yamaha. My two cents.
@@tristansturm9241 Done and done! Thanks!! Will take your advice.
Was just thinking about the Caramel today and couldn’t decide, so thank you for this!
Witch Guitar is everyone use most?
The Cort (Martin Mini knock-off). Ie the biggest one.
I think the Caramel number is cb 204, ? Not cb 402. I just ordered one as the Yamaha GL is a bit small for my hands. Also check out the Cordoba mini...
The cb402G is mahogany wood, whereas the cb204G you mentioned is made of acacia. In the video he mentions it is made of mahogany ~ 2:10
@@JayJay-jq7fe yeah, it is the mahogany version.
The cordoba minis are definitely an upgrade in quality and, unfortunately, price.
Please tell about big guitar size bro
Reply to me ☺️
Sounds like Jean Leloup « recommencer »💯
Donner had some nice guitars back in the 60’s. I used to have, what was called a Donner Party guitar, but it ate my other guitars so I had to get rid of it😂
Won’t be buying a mini then!
Yeah, I think the cordoba is nice, but you can get a nearly as nice guitar (the caramel) for less than half the price.
Why does your voice remind me of Ryan Reynolds
Busted!
I appreciate your effort but damn!! That was just plain terrible.
sorry, what exactly?