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Thread: Kala Tenor due in September

  1. #26

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    On my KLW Stringed Instruments Tenor, It's 21.375" scale length, and I have it in GDAE, with the following. It sounds fantastic:

    0.047 PB
    0.032 PB
    0.022 PB
    0.014 PL

  2. #27

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    For those in the great white north, L&M is showing it as a special order for $385.
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  3. #28
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    The Kala came today. It's a pretty guitar. It looks well made, perhaps a bit overbuilt. The finish is thin and I could only find a few minor finish flaws. Nothing bothersome at all. I like the neck a lot. It's easy to play, except the setup isn't great. The first thing you notice is how small it feels. The scale length is the same as my main tenor but the body is quite a bit smaller. I'm keeping it in CGDA for two reasons. The first is I doubt it will handle GDAE all that well with the small body and the second reason is I doubt I'd play it if it was tuned the same as my expensive tenor. It sounds really good and it's a lot of fun to have one high tuned. I've played it a lot today but the tuning is not quite right. The action looks high at the nut end and I believe this is causing the problem. I'm going to bring it to my local luthier and have him set it up after I order some strings. Any recommendations?

    I give it a thumbs up, at least for CGDA. I'm playing all my tunes as if I'm playing my GDAE tenor, so I'm transposing them a forth up. Not a problem alone or with my brother, but .....
    I'm throughly enjoying this tuning so far. My arch top tuned in GDAE can growl and is quite powerful. It's so much fun to play on the lower strings. CGDA on this is a completely different sound. Zero growl or low end but instead a beautiful ringing, chiming tone. For now I think I'll play all my stuff exactly the same and just treat this as a transposing instrument.
    Last edited by bruce.b; Oct-09-2014 at 9:17pm.

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  5. #29

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Any options for a hardshell case?
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  6. #30
    Chief Moderator/Shepherd Ted Eschliman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Kala says their case not available until January.
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    Author, Getting Into Jazz Mandolin

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  8. #31
    Lord of All Badgers Lord of the Badgers's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce.b View Post
    The Kala came today. It's a pretty guitar. It looks well made, perhaps a bit overbuilt. The finish is thin and I could only find a few minor finish flaws. Nothing bothersome at all. I like the neck a lot. It's easy to play, except the setup isn't great. The first thing you notice is how small it feels. The scale length is the same as my main tenor but the body is quite a bit smaller. I'm keeping it in CGDA for two reasons. The first is I doubt it will handle GDAE all that well with the small body and the second reason is I doubt I'd play it if it was tuned the same as my expensive tenor. It sounds really good and it's a lot of fun to have one high tuned. I've played it a lot today but the tuning is not quite right. The action looks high at the nut end and I believe this is causing the problem. I'm going to bring it to my local luthier and have him set it up after I order some strings. Any recommendations?

    I give it a thumbs up, at least for CGDA. I'm playing all my tunes as if I'm playing my GDAE tenor, so I'm transposing them a forth up. Not a problem alone or with my brother, but .....
    I'm throughly enjoying this tuning so far. My arch top tuned in GDAE can growl and is quite powerful. It's so much fun to play on the lower strings. CGDA on this is a completely different sound. Zero growl or low end but instead a beautiful ringing, chiming tone. For now I think I'll play all my stuff exactly the same and just treat this as a transposing instrument.
    I use GDAE on my Buchanan - it's a 21" scale.. but yes, you should really have two tenors, one in CGDA. Why the heck not

    Nice one.
    My name is Rob, and I am Lord of All Badgers

    Tenor Guitars: Acoustic: Mcilroy ASP10T, ‘59 Martin 0-18t. Electric: ‘57 Gibson ETG-150, ‘80s Manson Kestrel
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  9. #32
    Registered User fox's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord of the Badgers View Post
    I use GDAE on my Buchanan - it's a 21" scale.. but yes, you should really have two tenors, one in CGDA. Why the heck not

    Nice one.
    Only two!

  10. #33
    Bark first, Bite later Steve Zawacki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    I keep going back-and-forth between GDAE and CGDA. For now, my tenor guitar, tenior banjo and tenor ukuleles are all CGDA.

    With the Kala TG, what brand of strings came with it?
    ...Steve

    Current Stable: Two Tenor Guitars (Martin 515, Blueridge BR-40T), a Tenor Banjo (Deering GoodTime 17-Fret), a Mandolin (Burgess #7). two Banjo-Ukes and five Ukuleles..

    The inventory is always in some flux, but that's part of the fun.

  11. #34
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    D'Addario J-66 I believe.

  12. #35
    Lord of All Badgers Lord of the Badgers's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by fox View Post
    Only two!
    sorry.. missed "at least". But I'm online dating at the moment and the latest potential match doesn't like "fiscal irresponsibility"

    Luckily, most of my irresponsibility is done with...
    My name is Rob, and I am Lord of All Badgers

    Tenor Guitars: Acoustic: Mcilroy ASP10T, ‘59 Martin 0-18t. Electric: ‘57 Gibson ETG-150, ‘80s Manson Kestrel
    Mandolins: Davidson f5, A5 "Badgerlin".
    Bouzouki: Paul Shippey Axe
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  14. #36
    Registered User MdJ's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce.b View Post
    The Kala came today. It's a pretty guitar. It looks well made, perhaps a bit overbuilt. The finish is thin and I could only find a few minor finish flaws. Nothing bothersome at all. I like the neck a lot. It's easy to play, except the setup isn't great. The first thing you notice is how small it feels. The scale length is the same as my main tenor but the body is quite a bit smaller. I'm keeping it in CGDA for two reasons. The first is I doubt it will handle GDAE all that well with the small body and the second reason is I doubt I'd play it if it was tuned the same as my expensive tenor. It sounds really good and it's a lot of fun to have one high tuned. I've played it a lot today but the tuning is not quite right. The action looks high at the nut end and I believe this is causing the problem. I'm going to bring it to my local luthier and have him set it up after I order some strings. Any recommendations?

    I give it a thumbs up, at least for CGDA. I'm playing all my tunes as if I'm playing my GDAE tenor, so I'm transposing them a forth up. Not a problem alone or with my brother, but .....
    I'm throughly enjoying this tuning so far. My arch top tuned in GDAE can growl and is quite powerful. It's so much fun to play on the lower strings. CGDA on this is a completely different sound. Zero growl or low end but instead a beautiful ringing, chiming tone. For now I think I'll play all my stuff exactly the same and just treat this as a transposing instrument.
    Tried one today - i would say it is a great value and a worthy 'entry level' short scale counterpart to the long scale blueridge.


    Pros
    Nice design
    Tone is exactly what you would expect from a small bodied instrument
    That 'rosewood' chime
    Price point!

    Cons
    The one i played was not quite as well crafted as the blueridges i have encountered
    QC issues with the glue joint between fingerboard and neck.
    Saddle seemed high tho nothing a setup couldnt have fixed.
    Body size favors cgda - (not an issue for me but many people i respect go that GDAE way)

    Best

    MdJ
    Last edited by MdJ; Oct-19-2014 at 11:59am.

  15. #37
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    The one I have has no issues. The joint between fingerboard and neck is fine. I can see no build flaws on mine. The finish is really thin. I wouldn't even call it satin, more a matt finish. I personally like that, but if you like gloss look elsewhere.

    The setup is an issue on mine. Mostly it just needs to be lowered at the nut. Maybe a tiny bit at the saddle too. Not entirely unexpected. I'm bringing it to my local luthier for a setup this week.

    I agree about the body size. I'm keeping it in CGDA for now. I like a strong low G string in GDAE and I can't imagine this will have that. At some point I'll probably try it.

  16. #38

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Ok. I posted my 1st post in the TG forums and saw this thread. So I hoped I'd be allowed to shoot some of mine input on the new Kala KA-GTR. I'm not TG expert by any means. But being around music for a thousand years or so, not excluding my painstaking music store employment dues well into the last millennium, I hoped I could squeeze a little input in the cracks here.

    I'm sure I've strung a TG or two way back when in the music store scene, but literally have never played one. But of course, my 4 string addiction stems from the ukulele ( you can scream now).

    The expert that I am not, but the dummy I am also not, has been drooling at the thought of a TG for some time now. Kala made is a no brainer from my perspective. But what I was sure of is that CDGA tuning was not going to be my cup of tea out of the cart, but rather DGBE.

    With that said, weeks and weeks and weeks of studying the TG's and their few scale lengths, I dove off into a million and one mathematical equations that blew many brain cells. Not excluding the immense help of string engineers, luthier sorts, and musicians of course. But I came up with a solution to truly cure the DGBE curiosities without putting the instrument under any further duress than would exceed specs, and still sound good.

    All that to say. Here is my You Tube review video of the Kala KA-GTR. Please for give my lack of skill and or talent during the sound byte portion of the video. I mean, it was only less than 24 hours into my TG career. lol

    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  17. #39

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Never the less and once again. Here are some numbers and why it works. Someone mentioned they thought Kala used the J66 tenor strings for their factory CGDA tuning. Nope. Not the J66. It's a stringing they requested. The factory strings Kala strings with is are phosphor/bronze string. The J66 is a 80/20 phosphor. A very different string.

    Kala's info. http://kalabrand.com/Models/Guitars/...ageKA-GTR.html

    J66 info. http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDe...Guitar_Strings

    I tried to post several screen shots with specs of the string sets and all to show. But the uploader didn't work for me. I'm sure it is my lack of uploader skills.

    But I've tons of that info from my research if I can figure out how to post the pics proper.


    But anyway. My string tension calculator software was immense assistance in coming to this conclusion that works well for my personal intents and purposes. All in all and to make it easy. For those looking to tune DGBE, the d'Addario EJ24 is our best match for progressive tuning without blowing the string family and or individual string tension off the chart. Thus preserving the safety and longevity of our beloved instruments.

    Other than that, I'll likely not post again for some time to come. I'd rather lurk. But did want to pass of a little info.
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

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  19. #40
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    >>Someone mentioned they thought Kala used the J66 tenor strings for their factory CGDA tuning. Nope. Not the J66. It's a stringing they requested. The factory strings Kala strings with is are phosphor/bronze string. The J66 is a 80/20 phosphor. A very different string. <<

    Did you ask Kala about this? As far as I can tell D'Addario only sells J66 tenor guitar string sets. Did D'Addario make up a special set for them? Certainly possible. Are the gauges the same?

    My brother, who is a fabulous guitar player has been really into playing chord melodies on a tenor uke not tuned reentrant. He loved a Kala baritone uke he recently played so I was thinking about getting him a Kala tenor guitar and tuning it DGBE. Do you have string gauges for each string in DGBE?

  20. #41

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    As mentioned. My research ws EXTENSIVE. I'd only be found using the EJ 24, oe maybe the EJ17 if I wanted top as should go tension.the J66 is NOT what is on the KA--GTR.

    If I can get jpegs to upload. I'll show the math later.
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  21. #42

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Zawacki View Post
    I keep going back-and-forth between GDAE and CGDA. For now, my tenor guitar, tenior banjo and tenor ukuleles are all CGDA.

    With the Kala TG, what brand of strings came with it?
    I wwould be highly curious of the string set CGDAtuning on a tenor uke. The family string tension calculations throw that G off the charts.

    And of course, very curious of string set used on your TG. Thanks in afvance.
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  22. #43

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Rather than me doing a ton of cross posting, I'll defer to this thread I've posted some facts on.

    http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...25#post1335125
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  23. #44
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    As far as the strings on the Kala, this is from the Kala website.....

    >>D'Addario J66 Tenor Guitar Strings
    Made specifically for steel string Tenor Guitars
    Distinctive bright tone and excellent intonation
    Environmentally friendly, corrosion resistant packaging for strings that are always fresh
    Made in the U.S.A. for the highest quality and performance
    String Gauges: Plain Steel .010, .014, 80/20 Bronze Wound .022, .032
    These are the strings that come installed on the Kala Tenor Guitar. More info on the KA-GTR can be found here...<<

  24. #45
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    I took mine to my luthier today and he liked it. He said it was nicely built and a pretty, little guitar. The factory setup is really high, not unexpected. The neck was almost perfectly straight with a very slight amount of relief. He's going to do a complete setup for me. I believe it will be a great little guitar once it's set up.

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  26. #46

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Woot woot. Yea Mr. Bruce. The action was big high on mine too. But as usual, I always ask my reseller to not do a setup so I can dial them in myself. But for sure, the factory setup was huge. Wish id had written it down. Even shoe strings would have been tough to fret. Lol. Got her down low rider style now. I was really happy with the neck and its relief. First thing i did was toss a straight edge and a micrometer on it. Plenty enough fret height to do a radius fret job on it, but not excess fret height either. I'm thinking on a second one for a bang around one.
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  27. #47

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce.b View Post
    I took mine to my luthier today and he liked it. He said it was nicely built and a pretty, little guitar. The factory setup is really high, not unexpected. The neck was almost perfectly straight with a very slight amount of relief. He's going to do a complete setup for me. I believe it will be a great little guitar once it's set up.
    Bruce. Can you post a link that the page that shows J66 on Kala site ? The J66 is not phosphor bronze, but 80/20. And the only thing I can find on their site and from them directly doesn't reflect J66. I'm confused. Please help. Thanks in advance.

    I believe your copy and paste is from the d'Addario site. Not Kala. I'm stiill poking for the info on Kala site.
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  28. #48

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce.b View Post
    I took mine to my luthier today and he liked it. He said it was nicely built and a pretty, little guitar. The factory setup is really high, not unexpected. The neck was almost perfectly straight with a very slight amount of relief. He's going to do a complete setup for me. I believe it will be a great little guitar once it's set up.
    Bruce. Can you post a link the page that says J66 ? The J66 is not phosphor bronze, but 80/20. And the only thing I can find on there site and from them directly doesn't reflect J66. I'm confused. Please help. Thanks in advance.
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

  29. #49
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Kala site to Products, pull down menu to Guitar Accessories, scroll down to strings and that's where Kala says it's the J66's. I quoted exactly from Kala.

    http://www.kalabrand.com/ProductPages/GuitarMisc.html

  30. #50

    Default Re: Kala Tenor due in September

    Cool, and very interesting. Mixed info for sure. The measurements on thge string gauges on mine were way different than the J66. And thats not what my guy there told me on phone and email. Lol. Godd find though. I don't I've ever even been on their accesories page. But , well, well. And the strings came on it even look way diff than the J66. Lol. Pfffffttt. Welper, I guess its just best to say J66 for ease, and lack of confusinf folks. Butthen again, all these uke companies say their strings are Aquila nylgut that comes factory, and they aren't. Lol. Nice find though.

    I think I might tune mine to an open Rb to see what happens. Might as well. I sing in Rb already and that's on a good day. Lol
    Basic "BACK PORCH" picker. ( They don't allow me on the front porch).

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