UkeTalk

Kevin Crossett · Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 7:18 pm Post subject: Kepasa tenor in pheasantwood

Here's another Kepasa tenor ukulele. This one has an Engleman spruce top with back and sides of pheasantwood, which is another Hawaiian hardwood.

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Kevin Crossett
- A uke a day keeps the blues away...

Dominator · Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 8:25 pm Post subject:

Another beauty Kevin.
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Dominator
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Gerald Ross · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:40 am Post subject:

Beautiful work Kevin.

What's the story on pheasantwood? Endangered? Expensive?
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Gerald Ross
Northwest Ann Arbor Michigan's King of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar
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A UkeTone Recording Artist

Kevin Crossett · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:53 am Post subject:

Gerald - I obtained the pheasantwood (offically referred to as kolohala) from a wood supplier in Hawaii. It's apparently rare but not any more expensive than nice koa. It's a very hard and stiff wood, but it responds well to bending (ala cutaway!) and it is an excellent instrument wood.
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Kevin Crossett
- A uke a day keeps the blues away...

John Colter · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 9:32 am Post subject:

Superb!

JC.
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Acoustic & live

rwh56 · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 11:31 am Post subject:

Wow!

(You made me drip catsup on my shirt!)

Rob

posgroup · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject:

Lovely!
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Jerry D. Posner
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partyofone · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 9:09 pm Post subject:

That wood reminds me of a feather used for dry fly tying. So beautiful. Hopefully you can build me one someday.

warndt · 4-String 4-um Member Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 19

Hey Kevin,
Firstly, I couldn’t be happier than I am with this uke. The playability, volume and tone are really remarkable. It almost sounds guitarlike…but not quite all the way Wink

...its still very much a uke. It sounds perfect to my ear. It’s so responsive to playing loud or very, very soft and is clear as a bell. This one really projects the sound! The intonation and clarity up the neck is truly special. It plays very easily.
The polished bridge is so beautiful and goes so well with the glossy surface of the headstock. The glossy headstock matches the black buttons perfectly and all this being accented by the gold hardware really puts the finishing touch on it. A classic and tastefully finished look.
I think that the Englemann is a very nice top wood and is probably the main contributor to the UNBELIEVABLE sound of this uke. A very nicely, tight grained and creamy piece of Englemann spruce.
I find myself lightly rubbing my hand over the surface of the uke; its silky finish feels really nice to the hand.
This pheasantwood, tonally, really does remind me of the spruce/rosewood attributes of my handmade guitar. Visually the pheasantwood is drop dead gorgeous!
Your attention to detail on all of the small stuff has not gone un-noticed.
What blows me away is that as beautiful as this uke currently sounds, it is still brand new and will only get better with age! This uke is truly one of “the ones”.

Be proud of this one Kevin!

William

warndt · 4-String 4-um Member Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 19

Heck, this one sounded great when I got it but...This uke has matured so much in this first year. About three months ago this baby really POPPED! It is hard to explain the difference except that the notes are now just unbelievably sweet...and mature. My favorite tenor by far...and I have a couple of really good un's Laughing

chuck d. · Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 9:32 am Post subject:

I really feel when a Uke is finished and strung up, you have created almost a living entity.

As the glues continue to strengthen up and the finishes evaporate more of their solvents out, the Uke gains strength.

The stretch of the soundboard takes time to relax and "open up".

It is pretty amazing what a little wood and glue can do.

enjoy your Uke.

Chuck
Bambukuleles by Chuck

4kids · Site Admin Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 17

Talking about the way a uke sounds is all well and good, but it's a little like talking about ice cream on a hot day ... ya just gotta have some!

If anyone feels shy about posting even a homemade, low quality sound sample, please don't be! We don't judge playing ability (or even miking ability), but we do appreciate the ability to share the way your instrument sounds.

That being said, if anyone needs help making/posting an audio or video recording to share with the group, don't hesitate to contact me off-list. (I'm no pro, but I'm happy to help out).

Steve
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warndt · 4-String 4-um Member Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 19

I hear you on the ice cream analogy, however, I have absolutely no equipment, nor the inclination to record.

I guess you'll just have to take my word for it on this one...or... buy one yourself. If you do, I really think that you will be pleasantly surprised when it really settles in to it's own.

Wm.

John Colter · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:05 pm Post subject: Sound - recorded/actual

I have to say, I agree with warndt on this subject. Recordings are not a good indication of how an individual instrument sounds. I too am not interested in making recordings, but I did give it a try some time back, and found that my best soprano sounded poor when recorded, but my yellow Mahalo sounded better; and that was when recording back-to-back, under exactly the same conditions.

So, it is almost impossible to describe the sound of a uke, and recordings don't represent what you hear live - what are we to do? For me, it is enough that warndt is delighted with his Kepasa, and says it compares very favourably with other high quality tenors. It is a personal opinion, and we know how much THEY can vary, but if the owner loves the instrument, that tells me a lot.

John Colter.
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Acoustic & live

warndt · 4-String 4-um Member Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 19

Thanks John...What you said...only you said it better. I've had a very good experience with only the second tenor ever put out by Kepasa ukulele.

I simply wanted to convey that what I have now is SO much better than the great sounding uke that I had originally received. Per my original review... I was unbelievably happy with it as new... however, it is now a completely different sounding uke and all of the some subtle and some not so subtle changes are all to the better. It's deeper, yet the high end is brighter and overall has much more sustain. Very well balanced and sweet.

Kevin told me that the Englemann Spruce takes longer to open up...but when it pops... it really pops! (Maybe it has more to do with all the poor pheasants sacrificed in this mad experiment)

William