From what I can get out of just seeing and listening at a video, this must be the best uke I've ever seen or heard. I would love to have one, if made in soprano size... Thanks a lot for a nice review! Bless you. Wish you a lovely weekend! ❤️
My dream is to own a Kanilea, someday I hope. Being new to the instrument I suppose it'd be like learning to drive in a luxury vehicle, great if you've got the budget. I'm learning a bunch from your reviews (and others like UkeStuff), vicariously living out uke dreams through your channel :)
A rosette and strap pin wouldn't go amiss and I agree with you regarding the contrast of wood. There are better models out there for a similar price. The Anuenue Moonbird is only £70 more. Horses for courses, but I must say I love it picked. Thanks very much Baz, and keep well.❤️🎸🎶
@@ian1969uk Despite me giving the MoonBird a higher score - that was mainly on the superb decoration. On sound grounds, I'd choose this - more balanced than the MB to my ears.
@@GotAUkulele Thanks. The SUS-T is one I'm considering, that or the LION Anuenue so I'll be very interested in your thoughts when you've reviewed that one :)
I am a guitar player and own a nice uke but I play it maybe 2 times a year. It’s fun but I always go back to my guitars. Still, I never miss your reviews. They are great 🙃
@@davidwelker4172 They probably would - actually I did put a guitar review on here, but only because it was made by a uke brand (Enya). Personally on the acoustic front I play a Taylor 210 and a Gibson J45. Electric, I have a 2000 era USA Strat with a humbucker in the bridge.
Enjoyed this, Baz. I seriously believe that, if given a choice between a Kamaka and a Kanile’a, I would choose the latter (Pele, don’t strike me dead!).
Drools! What a stunning instrument .. of course! You wouldn't expect anything less from a Kanile'a Ukulele. I have to say though, I think the Millar Ukulele you recently reviewed even though it was Soprano had pretty much the same sound qualities. *Running and hiding behind my sofa* Don't kill me Baz! Haha!
You right, that sounds amazing. There is one at my local store Kanile’a KBSP , very pricy for sure, I like the looks of it like a little cutout, your thoughts on it please .
Love the cedar top! I'm such a sucker for cedar... I think what this uke needs is a black binding around the top to separate the two woods. Otherwise, absolutely amazing. I think those strings might be clear nylon.
@@alexbeds8141 oooh! I assumed because Barry mentioned they're not settled. Any fluorocarbons settle pretty fast, for me anyway. :-) agree about Aquilas, btw.
@@partyontheobjective they were on for about 30 minutes before it got packed up and sent to Baz so I can only assume they needed a bit of abuse to settle in.
I didn't mean that - was just a warning that I might need to re-tune - turns out I didn't! I'd actually been playing it a fair bit, but when I did a volume check pre-review they had dropped. Equally that might have been me moving a tuner or two! It's still in tune now since the recording some hours ago.
This review was great, sounds really good, i have a K-1T and its amazing, i love the dot on the 3rd fret, the pin bridge is awesome and easy to use, the satin neck is so smooth and not sticky, the sound is amazing, my only thing would be that i wish they made all Kanile’as with a rear facing tuners, leave the ears to guitars. who built that lego excavator u got over there? Its like 4,000 pieces haha
Wow cool haha, i cant wait for my kids to get older so we can built stuff like that together, so far we are doing the speed champions collection my son is 3.5 years old and loves it, lego is the best (right after ukuleles of course)
Because of lockdown in UK, we spent what we may have spent on a holiday on some BIG Lego sets to make with daughter (10yo). We made the excavator, the rough terrain crane and the new Land Rover Defender!
Makes me want to go to Oahu... Climb Diamond Head and shout out Kanile’a:) Craftsmanship and clarity are top notch. If I ever go there to buy one it will be full solid Koa... but that one sounds VERY nice as well.
The price is pretty good imo, I can't afford it, but honestly its cheaper than something like a Blackbird and MUCH cheaper than the price of high end ukulele luthiers.
Sounds and looks great. My only gripe is that I Kanile'as look rather generic. I mean the bridge is unique, but the body is just standard ukulele and l personally don't like the headstock, however the slotted headstock on their newer super high end models looks much better. I mean both Kamaka, Martin and KoAloha have their own unique look, both in terms of the headstock and the body. Kanile'a on the other hand.
David Walker. Not the same as driving a luxury car. Learn on as good an instrument as you can afford it is the ear that is benefitting in my opinion also mistakes sound less erksome lol
Good point. My son's first guitar, at the age of 9 was a Taylor 410ce. The guitar was as big as him! He's 28 now, a great guitarist and knows good instruments.
This is true - whilst a high end professional like Jake will get a good sound out of even the cheapest uke, mere mortals when learning will do better if they have less to fight against in the instrument itself. Ukes like this Kanile'a a a league apart in ease of play from a cheap Amazon special uke. Like butter!
Unfortunately it's a SUS special.... with the shipping cost outside Europe, US & Canada the price advantage is lost; I can get a Kanile'a K-1 tenor from local dealer with 200 GBP less.
I manage SUS. We have sent about 12-15 of the SUS models to the US. I think cost wise with free shipping and the ex vat price it works out about the same as a K-1 more often than not. We actually send 3-5 parcels to the US every week, the max shipping is £59.50 which is fairly reasonable when the customs fees in the US are nice and low and you are laying our EX-VAT price. Of course if you have a Kanile'a dealer on your doorstep then I completely understand why you would do that instead.
English is not my first language so there may be some misunderstanding. I am located in Asia so free international shipping of SUS does not apply here. By "unfortunate" I mean the cedar/ hog wood combination was originally meant to provide a lower cost but equally good quality alternative to the Koa models; but becos of where I am situated I have to buy this at a higher cost than the Koa models, and may have to be taxed by local customs when imported. But of course it is still an attractive choice for the ukers in UK, Europe and North America; or for anyone who prefer cedar as the tonewood.
@@SmallUkeBigWorld It think what is unfortunate is the shipping and import charges, not the ukulele price. Us in the UK face similar problems - to get a US made ukulele over to the UK that is not stocked here often just converts the dollar price to a UK price in pounds that is MUCH more equivalent. Just the way it is.
Great sound, great bag, way out of my budget unfortunately, for that price it would have to be making my tea every night!
Out of a lot of budgets - including mine now.. But all relative. In the scheme of things with Kanile'a it's actually cheap!
From what I can get out of just seeing and listening at a video, this must be the best uke I've ever seen or heard. I would love to have one, if made in soprano size...
Thanks a lot for a nice review! Bless you.
Wish you a lovely weekend! ❤️
My dream is to own a Kanilea, someday I hope. Being new to the instrument I suppose it'd be like learning to drive in a luxury vehicle, great if you've got the budget. I'm learning a bunch from your reviews (and others like UkeStuff), vicariously living out uke dreams through your channel :)
Best of luck!
My next ukulele......hopefully, sounds amazing, gotta love SUS for doing this.
Go for it!
I really like the look of the Alaskan cedar and it sounds great. Of course Kanile'a's always sound great.
It does! Yeah - was never going to be a bad score with Kanile'a
A rosette and strap pin wouldn't go amiss and I agree with you regarding the contrast of wood. There are better models out there for a similar price. The Anuenue Moonbird is only £70 more. Horses for courses, but I must say I love it picked. Thanks very much Baz, and keep well.❤️🎸🎶
'better models' is very subjective though. I think this is right up there with anything of the same price.
@@GotAUkulele If you could choose one from this or the Moonbird?
@@ian1969uk Despite me giving the MoonBird a higher score - that was mainly on the superb decoration. On sound grounds, I'd choose this - more balanced than the MB to my ears.
@@GotAUkulele Thanks. The SUS-T is one I'm considering, that or the LION Anuenue so I'll be very interested in your thoughts when you've reviewed that one :)
@@ian1969uk Coming in two or three weeks that one!
I've had my SUS T a month or so and it sounds better and better every time I play it. It sounds phenomenal with a low g
That will certainly happen the more you play it. The wood fibres are opening up. Enjoy!
That’s beautiful! One of those instruments you just want to sit and stroke! 😀 And play of course!
It’s a smasher!
I am a guitar player and own a nice uke but I play it maybe 2 times a year. It’s fun but I always go back to my guitars. Still, I never miss your reviews. They are great 🙃
Thank you! (And... shhh. Don’t tell anyone - I mainly play guitar myself!)
@@GotAUkulele !!!
@@rosco1pug Played guitar for 35 years, uke for 15. Was never going to stop guitar. Doesn't need to be an either or choice.
@@GotAUkulele curious to know your guitar preferences. Maybe a video? Or would that be considered blasphemy by the uke community?
@@davidwelker4172 They probably would - actually I did put a guitar review on here, but only because it was made by a uke brand (Enya). Personally on the acoustic front I play a Taylor 210 and a Gibson J45. Electric, I have a 2000 era USA Strat with a humbucker in the bridge.
Enjoyed this, Baz. I seriously believe that, if given a choice between a Kamaka and a Kanile’a, I would choose the latter (Pele, don’t strike me dead!).
Drools! What a stunning instrument .. of course! You wouldn't expect anything less from a Kanile'a Ukulele. I have to say though, I think the Millar Ukulele you recently reviewed even though it was Soprano had pretty much the same sound qualities. *Running and hiding behind my sofa* Don't kill me Baz! Haha!
Know exactly what you mean about the Millar - one of the most exciting 'new' brands I have looked at this year.
Just ordered one of these
Good choice!
I think i just fell in love. What an absolute lovely instrument
It really is!
Thanks for the review. I’ve played a Kanilea tenor, it was absolutely delightful. Of course,, I couldn’t afford the darn thing. Argh!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Outstanding ukulele! Yes, it is not cheap, but you sure do get what you pay for! What a terrific sound!
I absolutely LOVE the tone
You right, that sounds amazing.
There is one at my local store Kanile’a KBSP , very pricy for sure, I like the looks of it like a little cutout, your thoughts on it please .
Never seen a Kanile'a I DIDN'T think as wonderful!
Amazing sound! Thank you for your review 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Glad you liked it!
Love the cedar top! I'm such a sucker for cedar... I think what this uke needs is a black binding around the top to separate the two woods. Otherwise, absolutely amazing.
I think those strings might be clear nylon.
They are Flurocarbon. I put them on because the intonation is always a bit iffy with the Aquilas.
@@alexbeds8141 oooh! I assumed because Barry mentioned they're not settled. Any fluorocarbons settle pretty fast, for me anyway. :-) agree about Aquilas, btw.
@@partyontheobjective they were on for about 30 minutes before it got packed up and sent to Baz so I can only assume they needed a bit of abuse to settle in.
@@alexbeds8141 that's fair enough! :-) still fantastic uke.
I didn't mean that - was just a warning that I might need to re-tune - turns out I didn't! I'd actually been playing it a fair bit, but when I did a volume check pre-review they had dropped. Equally that might have been me moving a tuner or two! It's still in tune now since the recording some hours ago.
the paddeg gigbag looks more comfortable than my bed.
btw: kanilea oha series is the cheaperst . mahogany/koa top. weird wood cimbination.
Yeah - it's a really nice one - they didn't skimp on it.
So nice you were inspired to play another ditty. 😊. Definitely a beautiful thing.
It really is!
Very smooth sound like it..!!!
It is!
Am looking for a second ukulele. I have to agree with you that this sounds beautiful but visually understated.
I totally agree!
This review was great, sounds really good, i have a K-1T and its amazing, i love the dot on the 3rd fret, the pin bridge is awesome and easy to use, the satin neck is so smooth and not sticky, the sound is amazing, my only thing would be that i wish they made all Kanile’as with a rear facing tuners, leave the ears to guitars.
who built that lego excavator u got over there? Its like 4,000 pieces haha
The lego - daughter and I built it - you might like this too - ua-cam.com/video/cP8riYVjAm0/v-deo.html
Wow cool haha, i cant wait for my kids to get older so we can built stuff like that together, so far we are doing the speed champions collection my son is 3.5 years old and loves it, lego is the best (right after ukuleles of course)
Because of lockdown in UK, we spent what we may have spent on a holiday on some BIG Lego sets to make with daughter (10yo). We made the excavator, the rough terrain crane and the new Land Rover Defender!
Wow so much fun, i hope my kids will want to do it when they get to that age :)
@@curlykoa6814 They will - i'm 48 and still love it!
Makes me want to go to Oahu... Climb Diamond Head and shout out Kanile’a:)
Craftsmanship and clarity are top notch.
If I ever go there to buy one it will be full solid Koa... but that one sounds VERY nice as well.
One day I will visit the team!
GotAUkulele
Me too!
The way it sounds compared to the Harley Benton (watched both videos Back to back) is Night and Day
Yep!
The price is pretty good imo, I can't afford it, but honestly its cheaper than something like a Blackbird and MUCH cheaper than the price of high end ukulele luthiers.
True
Yea the gig bag is just wow, something beetwen good padded gigbag and hardcase.
Yeah - really premium stuff.
Sounds and looks great. My only gripe is that I Kanile'as look rather generic. I mean the bridge is unique, but the body is just standard ukulele and l personally don't like the headstock, however the slotted headstock on their newer super high end models looks much better. I mean both Kamaka, Martin and KoAloha have their own unique look, both in terms of the headstock and the body. Kanile'a on the other hand.
Very traditional for sure - but you could level that same criticism at Kamaka.... They sound bloody good though!
Thanks for the review. How much of the price is for sand.
Very little - in fact it's on some of their other models too. More sustainable option than harvesting abalone shells.
David Walker. Not the same as driving a luxury car. Learn on as good an instrument as you can afford it is the ear that is benefitting in my opinion also mistakes sound less erksome lol
Good point. My son's first guitar, at the age of 9 was a Taylor 410ce. The guitar was as big as him! He's 28 now, a great guitarist and knows good instruments.
This is true - whilst a high end professional like Jake will get a good sound out of even the cheapest uke, mere mortals when learning will do better if they have less to fight against in the instrument itself. Ukes like this Kanile'a a a league apart in ease of play from a cheap Amazon special uke. Like butter!
Good morning.can you give measurements of the item?thanks.
There are some measurements in the written review
Wow!
Blimey it is a beauty; the sound is amazing.
Yep - the tone is certainly top table
Unfortunately it's a SUS special.... with the shipping cost outside Europe, US & Canada the price advantage is lost; I can get a Kanile'a K-1 tenor from local dealer with 200 GBP less.
They ship worldwide for free on instruments of this price....
I manage SUS. We have sent about 12-15 of the SUS models to the US. I think cost wise with free shipping and the ex vat price it works out about the same as a K-1 more often than not.
We actually send 3-5 parcels to the US every week, the max shipping is £59.50 which is fairly reasonable when the customs fees in the US are nice and low and you are laying our EX-VAT price. Of course if you have a Kanile'a dealer on your doorstep then I completely understand why you would do that instead.
I'm actually also intrigued by the use of the word 'unfortunately' here. It's not 'unfortunate' really is it?
English is not my first language so there may be some misunderstanding. I am located in Asia so free international shipping of SUS does not apply here. By "unfortunate" I mean the cedar/ hog wood combination was originally meant to provide a lower cost but equally good quality alternative to the Koa models; but becos of where I am situated I have to buy this at a higher cost than the Koa models, and may have to be taxed by local customs when imported. But of course it is still an attractive choice for the ukers in UK, Europe and North America; or for anyone who prefer cedar as the tonewood.
@@SmallUkeBigWorld It think what is unfortunate is the shipping and import charges, not the ukulele price. Us in the UK face similar problems - to get a US made ukulele over to the UK that is not stocked here often just converts the dollar price to a UK price in pounds that is MUCH more equivalent. Just the way it is.
🤤