Keli’i Ukulele
RatingsKelii ukuleles are a Hawaiian brand and are produced by the same firm that make Kelilani ukuleles. They tend to focus on the mid-to-high price ranges with most of their ukuleles being $400 - $700.
They have recently had a big hit with their Koa Pili Koko ukuleles which look and sound like solid koa ukuleles at a much lower price.
On Video
The Baron drops some SRV on his Keli'i tenor.
On eBay
US $399.99
2 Comments
I have recently brought a Kelii Koa soprano and I just love the quality of the sound.The solid wood gives it great sustain which means plenty of sounding to chords or single notes.I have changed the strings to Aquilla strings but only cos I prefer them
Everyone gives five stars to their ukes. And, I have to for my Keli’i Koa Tenor that arrived today.
Five stars or otherwise, here are my impressions:
-Playability-
MGM set this one up, and actually it took a few days longer than normal to ship. I figured this had to do with MGM setting up a handbuilt uke. TOTALLY worth the wait. The action is perfect and the frets are smooth as can be. It plays as easily as any uke I’ve played. (NOTE: Keli’i has gotten a lot of attention about it’s thicker neck and slightly longer scale. Compared to the Pono tenor I had, if nobody told me the neck was thicker, I would have barely noticed it. And, the neck has less roundness in back, so you close-grippers would not be impeded at ALL by the only barely thicker neck.) The scale gave me no trouble either…I easily stretch about five frets.
-Sound-
The Keli’i tenor is actually a lot mellower and sweeter than I expected it to be. I thought, compared to the deeper, guitarish Pono, that the Keli’i would be a really punchy thin sound. But, even with Aquila Nylgut strings (and maybe the Rosewood nut and saddle contribute to this?) the uke is very sweet, loud, and woody-sounding. It’s got lovely sustain, a real island-y and thick, woody tone. It’s gorgeous, and will encourage you to move up the neck. Its high notes – anything past the sixth and seventh fret, really – are especially BEAUTIFUL. “Sweet” is the perfect word for the Kelii’s tone. It’s so woody and nice. I love it. It’s got that mellowness I loved the mahogany Pono MTE for.
-Construction-
My only doubt about the Keli’i are the rosewood nut and saddle. I like to swtich out strings often, to try new ones, and I worry about the rosewood wearing faster than bone generally does. HOWEVER – the uke is tremendously well-constructed. I can’t find a flaw. It has a thin layer of gloss, which I imagine allows that beautiful sustain more than a heavy gloss finish would. The inner bracings are clean and neat – no splashed glue or lousy wood in there. The open, geared tuners are solid and sturdy, and the fretboard and frets are smooth, clean and comfortable.
Important: The Keli’i has a very thin profile. I’m of course relating this to my previous Pono (which may have been beefy) — but this baby is thin, with a nice arch to the back. The fretboard, as I mentioned, is only slightly thicker, but also has less roundness to the back. It feels sturdy and comfortable – not too weighty – to play.
-Looks-
This was one area I had minor doubts about before receiving the Keli’i. The uke is solid curly koa, but the ebay pictures showed little, if any curl. I’d also heard that Keli’i uses decal headstock logos and not inlays. My fears were quickly laid to rest. The uke looks absolutely gorgeous. The wood is glossy and darker than I’d thought, and there is a ton of curl. It’s just extremely difficult to capture that curl in any detailed pictures. The uke is next to me now and I keep admiring the shiny curl all along the front, back and sides of it. Gorgeous. The headstock does have a decal, but it’s firmly and seamlessly attached, and I only noticed it was a decal because I inspected it closely. AND — if the decal is part of why I was able to buy an all-koa, incredible sounding tenor uke for ~$550, decal the whole fucking thing. It’s lovely. The gold tuners add to the mellowness, in my opinion. (Pono had ebony tuners — a little more aggressive).
-Value for/Overall-
I’m not a guy who justifies things he buys. I’ll admit downing $550 on something that I think is lousy. The Keli’i, though, is GORGEOUS. It really is. MGM told me that in that price range, there isn’t a better sounding solid koa uke. I’m incredibly happy with it. Letting my Pono go was a tremendously difficult leap of faith and I’m glad I took it. Keli’i is fantastic. If you want a very sweet, very thick, very island-y sounding koa tenor, go with Keli’i. Really.
I’ll have a youtube video review up shortly.
Search for NickFromOolee and you’ll find the video review.
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