Kiwaya KPT-1M Solid Mahogany Strummer Series Tenor Ukulele

The past couple of years - a quiet revolution has been taking place at Kiwaya in Japan. Traditonally, we associate Kiwaya with making the best high end copies of vintage Martin & Co designs on the planet but out in the far east but this brand have a far reaching impact in their native region and the new Strummer series has taken all of that mojo and expertise and set about creating a series of Ukuleles with a more modern aesthetic, modern cosmetic and practical appointments like the High gloss finish and a different neck shape that is slighty wider along with the wider nut width of 37mm.

The KPT-1M is a real delight - I found myself playing it for minutes at a time when making my notes for this listing just absent mindedly. Mahogany is an under appreciated wood on high end Ukuleles; offering a smoother more soulful tone than the Koa version of this model to my ears and sounds very much like some more expensive Mahogany instruments I have had the pleasure of trying (Martin IZ uke being one of them). This Ukulele benefits from a very even and noticeably well produced high gloss finish giving you a sound that manages to have a great deal of sustain but with an added attack to each note that you don't get from traditional un-glossed finishes. In fact, I think Kiwaya have been very clever here producing a Ukulele with a modern visual aesthetic and a really vibrant vintage sound.

The Gotoh tuners feel lightweight but hard wearing and accurate. Very much an upgrade on the more commonly seen Grover tuners. Other details we are also really impressed with are the new neck shape and 37mm nut width. It gives the instrument a real Hawaiian/USA built feel to it but with Japan's precision and attention to detail. Finally, the Ukulele has Worth Brown's fitted by Kiwaya which is a really elegant choice and an improvement on the strings used on the traditional Kiwaya models.

For a company that have always been associated with making excellent Sopranos - this Tenor makes a real statement that Kiwaya know what their players want from any size Ukulele.

Tenor Size
Solid Mahogany Top, Back and Sides
High Gloss finish
Ebony fingerboard and bridge
Bone nut and saddle
Gotoh Geared Tuners
Worth Brown High G strings
37mm Nut width
Made in Japan

Pictures show actual instrument.