Roundup–5 Newer Baritone Ukuleles Reviewed
BY BILL LEIGH | FROM THE WINTER 2024 ISSUE OF UKULELE
Ready to try a ukulele that’s bigger and boomier? Grab a baritone, the big boy of the ukulele family. These instruments project deep, toasty tones from their bigger, heftier bodies. Indeed, it’s that big body that puts the “tone” in baritone.
We are fully entering the baritone zone with this roundup of five newer bari ukes. Our selection includes four instruments in the $400–$500 range from Kala, Lanikai, Magic Fluke, and Ohana, plus one newsworthy outlier: the KLOS Full Carbon Baritone, which is available for $1,399.
Even though many of these instruments have a similar price point, each has a unique sound all its own. Each has individual qualities that make it stand out as well. Every instrument we reviewed was quite beautiful in its own way, both physically and sonically, with distinct aesthetic touches and its own signature sonic thumbprint.
Since these are baritone ukes, there are a couple of notable construction differences from standard ukes to consider. First, because these instruments have longer necks, some have truss rods, which make for easy neck adjustments. And if stage-ready, amplified performance is important to you, be sure to look for instruments with electronics and strap buttons.
Now, without further ado, let’s dive into the deep end of the ukulele pool.
Kala Contour All Solid Gloss Acacia (KA-CT-SA-BG)
Kala has made baritones for quite a while, and always includes a baritone model in its higher-end ukulele series. The Contour series is no exception. On the lower bout, these ukes have a contoured edge for arm comfort and a more curvaceous, rounded look than other Kala instruments. The body wood, acacia, is related to koa, and has a similar sound and figuring. Inside the neck is a truss rod for easy adjustments.
LOOKS This Kala baritone showcases its primary tonewood’s natural beauty, with shimmering figuring on the top and graceful lines of grain on the back and sides (it’s also available in mahogany and spruce/rosewood). Contrasting dark rosewood completes the visual package, both in the binding and the two-tone maple and rosewood rosette. Atop the satin finished mahogany neck, the ebony fingerboard has a smoky appearance that’s punctuated with oval pearloid position markers. The gloss-finished mahogany headstock, topped with an ebony plate, is slotted and has stylish tri-color open tuning machines.
FEEL The Kala felt solidly built. With its rounded body shape and bulbous lower bout, the instrument fit comfortably resting on either thigh or held to my chest when standing. The natural-feeling satin finish on the back of the neck made for comfortable position shifting. Its expert fret finishing made traversing the 14 frets to the neck joint a smooth operation.
SOUND Strummed, the Kala sounded rich, with pronounced low-mids, sparkling highs, and lovely overtones. It has a beautiful voice overall, with excellent sustain. Fingerpicked parts sounded inspirational and inviting, and single-note lines were punchy and true.
CONCLUSION A gorgeous instrument with a sturdy build and a rich acoustic sound.
SPECS
BODY Solid acacia top, back, and sides; rosewood binding; maple and rosewood “eclipse” rosette; gloss finish
NECK Mahogany with satin finish; 19-fret ebony fingerboard (14 frets to the body); slotted headstock
OTHER Ox bone nut and saddle; Aquila Super Nylgut strings with wound D and G; Contour series deluxe gig bag included; electronics and strap buttons can be custom ordered
MADE IN China
PRICE $499 street
kalabrand.com
Shop for this uke with Sweetwater or Amazon.
KLOS Full Carbon
Carbon fiber is an incredibly strong, lightweight material combining a durable woven fabric with a powerful epoxy. It’s used to build tennis rackets, golf clubs, airplane and car parts, and occasionally, ukuleles. The KLOS full carbon baritone ukulele is made entirely of this rugged composite.
LOOKS Over the decades, I admit I’ve developed a clear aesthetic bias towards instruments made of beautiful wood. But this carbon fiber creation from KLOS looks unreal. The body and neck are made of a single piece of carbon fiber weave, which is made in China (the instruments are assembled in the U.S.). It not only has a cool tweed appearance but also resists damage and isn’t affected by weather, so it won’t bend or warp. Right away, I was impressed with the Full Carbon’s looks and construction.
FEEL The next impression I got was of an instrument that’s incredibly solid and dependable. Two opposing ideas existed at once as I reconciled the instrument’s fancy build and higher price tag with the fact that it’s much more resistant to damage and probably requires less precious handling than wood instruments that don’t cost as much. The strings have a little tension to them and, together with the body and neck resonance, deliver a feeling of connection to the music.
SOUND Acoustically, the KLOS blooms with a rich, broad sound. Strummed and fingerpicked chords blossomed into lush overtones with ample sustain. It’s consistent throughout the fingerboard; every fret sings true. Plugged in, the KLOS amplified well with a balanced sound, but the electronics came just short of capturing the instrument’s lush acoustic richness and boom. The preamp comes with a single knob for tone adjustments and a nifty, easy-to-read tuner.
CONCLUSION A standout instrument that really stands out, especially acoustically.
SPECS
BODY One-piece black bilateral carbon fiber weave body and neck
NECK Carbon fiber; 20-fret composite ebony fingerboard (15 frets to the body)
OTHER GraphTech NuBone XB nut and saddle; D’Addario EJ88B Nyltech strings with wound D and G; gig bag; KLOS electronics with preamp and tuner
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MADE IN USA, using international parts
PRICE $1,539 ($1,399 without electronics)
klosguitars.com
Lanikai Quilted Maple
Lanikai has been making baritone ukuleles since the brand’s beginning over 20 years ago. This year the company added baritones to its Quilted Maple series, which comes in red, blue, or black stain. Designed to be reliable, stage-ready, and appealing to guitarists, these instruments include truss rods for easy adjustment, wider string spacing at the nut for fretting hand comfort, strap buttons, a GraphTech NuBone nut and saddle for a brighter sound, and a Fishman Kula preamp and tuner with a 3-band EQ.
LOOKS Simultaneously flashy and conservative, the Lanikai’s quilted maple body features velvety figuring on the top, back, and sides. The body is trimmed in black multi-ply binding and topped with an abalone rosette around the soundhole. Our review instrument, with its red stain and dynamic grain pattern, looked like wine-colored satin sheets. A rosewood bridge and a rosewood fingerboard atop a mahogany neck keep things aesthetically grounded. The Lanikai is equipped with strap buttons and a pickup with a built-in tuner.
FEEL The D’Addario strings are supple and lend themselves to both strumming and fingerstyle techniques. Single lines plucked with the fleshy part of the thumb had a plush, bottom-y tone.
SOUND Fingerstyle playing on the Lanikai sounded both pretty and full, with rounded lows and warm overtones. Strumming sounded luscious and even across the strings. Though it has ample oomph, it’s not super big and boomy acoustically. Plugged in, however, it sounded even better, courtesy of the Fishman pickup. The 3-band EQ really brings out the boom when you boost the lows and offers truly flexible tone shaping options.
CONCLUSION A versatile, robust baritone uke with a quality pickup that’s an all-around great value.
SPECS
BODY Quilted maple top, back, and sides; venetian cutaway; walnut bridge; black multi-ply binding; abalone rosette
NECK Mahogany; 18-fret rosewood fingerboard (14 frets to the body); slotted headstock; Grover nickel open-geared tuners; adjustable truss rod
OTHER GraphTech NuBone XB nut and saddle; D’Addario EJ88B strings with wound D and G; Lanikai soft-shell case; Fishman Kula preamp and tuner; two chrome strap buttons
MADE IN China
PRICE $459 street
lanikaiukuleles.com
Magic Fluke Baritone
Magic Fluke takes an uncommon approach to ukulele construction. Its goal is to offer an affordable U.S.-made instrument, employing local people and using local materials. To achieve that, the company bypasses the extensive and expensive labor involved in forming, gluing, sanding, and finishing wooden instrument bodies. Instead, it creates compact instruments that combine locally sourced wood tops and necks with resonant
injection-molded thermoplastic bodies—not unlike the round-back guitar bodies pioneered by Ovation in the 1970s. These bodies are stable, consistent, and durable.
LOOKS Like all Fluke ukuleles, the Fluke baritone has a tapered body shape that looks like a slim lute with an abruptly flat bottom. That’s actually a pretty hip feature, because it means that the Fluke can stand up on its own. (It would be easy to undersell how cool this is.) Fluke baritones are built to order with various upgrade options, including a solid spruce or koa top, side fret markers, Pegheds internally geared tuners, and a choice of three U.S.-made pickup systems, including two from K&K and a battery-free preamp and pickup from Mi-Si Electronics. Our test instrument’s top was made of a three-ply laminate of black walnut (an optional $5 upgrade), with a matching neck and fingerboard.
FEEL Tipping the scales at around one pound, the Fluke is a featherweight. Its lack of heft makes it feel a little insubstantial, but its slender frame and compact profile make it appealing to pack on a road trip. The neck has a flat D-shape and felt natural under my hand. No body cutaway is needed to reach the furthest frets; the tapered body simply doesn’t get in the way. To help produce big baritone tones from a relatively small body, Fluke chose Aquila Sugar strings, made from a relatively new plastic material derived from sugar cane.
SOUND The Fluke is articulate and punchy whether strummed or plucked. It has a tonal sweet spot in the mids, though its lows are not as prominent. It has decent sustain, and the strings can produce a nice vibrato on single-note runs. Strummed and fingerpicked chords rang sweetly but didn’t quite bloom into the room. It’s fun to play acoustically, but I would consider one of the optional pickup systems for performances beyond a home
hootenanny or a casual campfire strum.
CONCLUSION A compact, travel-ready instrument that’s made in the U.S., featuring unusual construction and a modest baritone voice.
SPECS
BODY Injection-molded thermoplastic body; three-ply laminated wood top; injection-molded polycarbonate clip-lock bridge
NECK Black walnut; 19-fret walnut fingerboard (14 frets to the body); slotted headstock; Grover 6B friction tuners
OTHER Molded polycarbonate nut; GraphTech NuBone saddle; Aquila Sugar baritone strings with wound D and G; gig bag available ($49)
MADE IN USA
PRICE $399
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magicfluke.com
Ohana BK-50G
Founded by Louis Wu in 2006, Ohana is a family-owned business based in Long Beach, California, that offers handcrafted factory models made in China, as well as U.S.-made instruments from the Ohana Custom Shop. They’ve been making baritones for about a decade, and the handsome Ohana BK-50G has been around for about half that time.
LOOKS At first impression, the Ohana BK-50G looks like a fancy acoustic guitar’s modest kid brother. Its reddish-brown solid cedar top looks like burnt sienna with a golden-hour hue, and it has a hint of the pleasing aroma of your grandma’s cedar sweater chest. The solid rosewood of the shapely sides and nearly flat back is rich and dark, with long, black grain lines running softly across the length of the body. Mahogany binding, pearloid purfling, and a matching pearloid rosette dress up the look. Rounding out the ensemble are the neck and headstock, which are crafted of elegant mahogany.
FEEL The Ohana’s gloss finish felt welcoming under the fingertips, though it was also welcoming to fingerprints. In contrast, the ovangkol fingerboard has a natural, almost unfinished feel. The body felt comfortable when held for both strumming and fingerpicking, and when balanced on either leg when seated. The strings felt tight and springy, and particularly lively when playing fingerstyle.
SOUND The Ohana offered a round sound with decent sustain and pretty overtones. It lacked some of the oomph that I’ve come to expect from baritones, but moving my strumming hand yielded a notable range in tones, getting ever rounder and beefier as I strummed up over the neck. Individual chord tones rang clear and blended nicely with both fingerstyle and strumming, and single-note runs were glassy and crystalline.
CONCLUSION A classy looking baritone ukulele with a good, solid sound.
SPECS
BODY Solid cedar top; solid rosewood back and sides; mahogany binding; pearloid rosette; pearloid purfling; gloss finish
NECK Mahogany neck and headstock; 20-fret ovangkol fingerboard (14 frets to the body); Grover chrome open-geared tuners; pearloid fret position markers; pearloid purfling on the headstock
OTHER Bone nut and saddle; Aquila B and E strings with wound D’Addario D and G strings; gig bag, soft case, or hard case available separately
MADE IN China
PRICE $509 street
ohana-music.com
Special thanks to Paul Sloan for his help, and to Helen Parker Leigh for enduring a living room buried in baritones.
