All blog posts
339 posts
Kala KA-KG-T8
Tamás GállI will decode the title immediately: this long model designation identifies Kala's eight-string, koa, tenor-size ukulele. It was an interesting sensation to strum eight strings for the first time, especially when one of them is metal — or more precisely, metal-wound. Its sound is completely differen…
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Kala KA-MC
Tamás GállNo, Kala has not teamed up with MasterCard - the letters MC stand for something else :). The beautiful body of this ukulele is made of mango wood (M), and it is concert size (C). I have been playing this Kala in several of the previous videos, so you can hear it in Pachelbel's Canon (and the how-to-…
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Kala KA-S
Tamás GállThis ukulele is made of mahogany and has a fairly light brown colour, with an attractive white binding around the outline of the body. Tuning should be no problem because it is fitted with good-quality geared tuning machines. When you pick it up, the chords almost seem to play themselves. That is an…
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Kala KA-SMH-TG-CE
Tamás GállIt has been quite a while since I wrote an instrument-review blog post, so it was time for one. A beautiful Kala ukulele has been staying with me—and will stay . I will explain why in the near future. I am still memorizing the model designation because the manufacturer gave it quite a long string of…
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Kala RES-BRS Resonator Ukulele
Tamás GállI had always wanted a resonator ukulele because it simply looks bloody good and I like its sound as well. It is fairly difficult to obtain one here, so I had a little help from abroad (thanks, Mike and Neil!). As soon as the instrument arrived after its long journey, I could hardly wait to open the…
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Kala Soprano Banjolele
Tamás GállIn this blog post we take a look at Kala's banjolele, officially designated the Kala KA-BNJ-BK-S. I did not dare put that full model name in the title of the post in case it frightened anyone away . Not long after the blog started, I already wrote a post about the banjolele, but at the time I could…
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KALA, the Colourful Little One
Tamás GállFor a few weeks I tested a fun soprano ukulele made by Kala with an unusual colour scheme. It comes from the series that recently appeared in a few photographs on the blog's Facebook page. Obviously, whether you like a uke painted this way is a matter of taste. I personally prefer the traditional na…
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Kala U-BASS
Tamás GállNot long ago I published a post called "Bass! That's Heavy!" about Kala's bass ukulele. Now I have had this interesting instrument for a few days so that I could try it myself. The U-BASS is essentially a bass guitar transplanted into a baritone-size ukulele body. It arrives in a very sturdy hard ca…
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Kala vs Kala
Tamás GállI am going to squeeze one last post out of these two wonderful Kala tenor ukuleles. In the previous entries I tried to describe and explain the most important features of Kala's two masterpieces, and naturally I played them a little in the videos as well. The best way to compare their sounds is to p…
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Kiskarácsony, nagykarácsony - Hungarian Christmas Song
Tamás GállAlthough it is only early October, I thought I would post this video in good time so that anyone who feels like it has plenty of opportunity to learn and practise this very sweet and popular Hungarian Christmas song. In December 2011, my arrangement of Silent Night was posted on the blog - perhaps a…
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Knockin' on Heaven's Door — Let's Play Together!
Tamás GállI am delighted that we have already been able to make music together in two shared productions, even if only virtually. Last December we played the song beginning "Ó, Gyönyörű Szép" , and for this year's World Ukulele Day we prepared a Brahms arrangement. Many of you asked when the next project woul…
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Knockin' On Heaven's Door — our community performance
Tamás GállTwo weeks ago I posted a call asking you to play 16 lines — 64 bars — of Bob Dylan's well-known song and, if you felt like it, sing along as well. I wanted to put together another big community play-along video. I was eagerly waiting for your recordings, but a few days before the deadline I started…
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