Kala Concert Banjo - Black Satin Review

Kala Banjolele is OK, but there are better instruments out there.

The Kala Banjolele is nothing special. It's cheap, but attractive in an industrial-looking way. It's primitive in that the neck has virtually NO adjustment for action (can't move it forward or backward in relation to the banjo body), although removing the neck and machining it is a possibility. The neck has good heft and thickness, but the finish is rather rough, and the nut width… read more is quite narrow and tight. The geared tuners really beg for you to replace them with Gotoh UPT tuners, more in keeping with the instrument and much quicker tuning, once you get used to them. Overall, Kala had a good idea that wasn't taken far enough. The back panel on mine is more oblong than round, and that is unfortunate given that the banjo body it is fitted on is much more round than oblong... Take the back off and then struggle to align it properly for reattachment, guys! You can do it, but it may take a while. The frets and fretboard look OK, but something about its manufacture makes it difficult to get clear sounding chords when playing, and the lack of a compensated banjo bridge means getting near-perfect intonation is impossible. So then, we have a basic banjolele that could use some reworking to make it better. If only the thing had good tone, that would make its many drawbacks more acceptable, but the actual sound of this instrument is rather poor. You get a decent plunk, but the sound is not particularly pleasant. As a matter of fact, after playing this Banjolele exclusively for several weeks, I put it down for a bit and began playing my Kamaka Tenor Ukulele, and was amazed at how much better the Kamaka sounded. It was positively angelic when compared to the foul-sounding Kala Banjolele. Of course, the two instruments use different materials and construction techniques, but man, the tone of this Kala is dreadful! I'm not giving up on it, though, and I intend to try different string sets and hopefully, a compensated bridge, to get better sound quality. I'm quite sure Martin Fluorocarbon strings will provide somewhat better tone, and Kamaka Black Nylon strings, which are rather high tension, would provide more banjo-like plunk. So then, the Kala is primitive, cheaply built, needs improvements in playability and sound quality, but it does have one good feature; it's a fun toy! As awful as it is, you want to keep playing it. Kala gives you a minimally protective dust cover/gig bag with it.

---

Cancel Comment

Excellent

Superb and well crafted Uke. Because it feels and plays like a banjo it just seems to add to playing pleasure . . .and I like Ukes (I have 7 of them).

---

Cancel Comment