Kala Revelator NSL-B Italian Cypress and Mahogany Baritone Ukulele w/Gigbag #38681024

Back in January, we visited the Petaluma HQ of Kala. Spending the day with Mike Upton and Kala USA Custom shop luthier Markos was an absolute treat... seeing the love, care and creativity that is going into the present and future of the Revelator is really soul-enriching. Pete Howlett told us when he created the Revelator that he had hit upon something special and we are happy to have been the store that linked Kala and Pete up in the first place. 4 years on, the Revelator is hitting its stride.

We toured the California facility and selected the woods that would make our 2024 Kala Ukuleles. Bloodwood, English pear, Hawaiian koa, cedar, cypress and more... top shelf, rare and vibrant woods that have now all found themselves on or part of world class ukuleles.

The Revelator design has been successfully passed over to Kala by Pete Howlett, and what a superb job they have done with this, Kala Revelators sound every bit as good as one of Pete's, and feels and looks the part too.

This is one of the two first examples of a baritone Revelator built with the Italian Cypress top we've seen in tenor models of the past.

Frankly, it is a perfect choice of wood for the Revelator which is already a very open and sensitive sounding instrument. Any and all styles suit this ukulele and its strengths are that it accentuates volume and an open sound that doesn't compress when you play hard and is giving when you tickle the strings.

Visually, Italian cypress is stunning and looks and sounds like textured cedar wood. The sound is open and projecting but retains huge volume and depth. You don't typically find big sets of Italian cypress in the guitar world making this a rare treat for ukulele players!

The guitar's loss is the ukulele's gain; Markos commented that he was excited to produce these ukuleles and we are all extremely happy with the result. It is gorgeous sounding with a good amount of softness and sweetness, very dynamic and sensitive to different strengths of the player's touch. The volume is incredible too; much like cedar this soft wood just wants to sing! Frankly, it is a perfect choice of wood for the Revelator which is already a very open and sensitive sounding instrument. Any and all styles suit this ukulele and its strengths are that it accentuates volume and an open sound that doesn't compress when you play hard and is giving when you tickle the strings.

Pete has always described the Revelator as an 'acoustic anomaly'. Basically, he means that it has no right sounding as good as it does acoustically. If you have never heard a Revelator before you might see the slimline body and assume that there is going to be no acoustic volume or projection. And you wouldn't be more wrong! It is loud, lively and characterful, with a fuller tone than it has a right to make.

In the hand, it is so light (without ever feeling fragile), because it is not a solid body instrument. The body is routed out before the top is glued to it, so very clever acoustic chambers are created which pump out this supernaturally rich and vibrant sound. And when you plug it in, you'll notice a very high quality sound through the installed passive piezo pickup. We chose the premium specs for these customs as we have a fondness for the Royal Blackwood fingerboard and chrome hardware look of these Revelator models.

Highly recommended! Pictures show the actual Kala Revelator you will receive. If you have any questions about this instrument, please drop us an email. 

Specification:
Select English pear top (selected by Alex and Markos at KALA HQ)
Premium korina body
UV cured satin finish
Royal blackwood fretboard and bridge
Corian nut and saddle
36mm nut width, with 30mm G to A string spacing
Worth Brown trebles strings
D'Addario wound D and G strings
Passive Piezo pickup
Mother of pearl fretboard and headstock inlay
1.4375 inch body depth
490mm scale length
30mm padded gigbag