# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > Tenor Guitars >  Kala Tenor due in September

## bruce.b

Kala just announced on FB that their new tenor will be available this September. I really like how it looks. It sounds nice in the video too. I'm so glad they didn't just copy the Martin tenor but designed their own unique version. The shorter scale is perfect for me also. I'll probably get one as my inexpensive tenor. 

https://www.facebook.com/KalaBrandMu...type=1&theater

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GKWilson, 

Jacob

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## SincereCorgi

Yeah, I like the styling, too. The headstock makes it look more like an scaled-up ukulele than a scaled-down guitar.

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## bruce.b

http://kalabrand.com/Models/Guitars/...ageKA-GTR.html

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## Verne Andru

> http://kalabrand.com/Models/Guitars/...ageKA-GTR.html


Thanks - I hate FB.

That looks pretty sweet - especially the slotted headstock. What's the scale? Body woods [it only mentions the top].

I've had an Ibanez on backorder for months. If this comes available before that ships, I may just switch horses if the reviews are any good.

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## Dolamon

Oops - bad interpretation on my part. Sorry - the ad had some bad information which I quoted.

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## SincereCorgi

I believe the scale is 22.5" or something like that, making it just a tetch shorter than old Martins.

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## fox

The scale is 21.1'4,  list price of $469.99 for the Kala, according to this page...
http://www.premierguitar.com/article...e-tenor-guitar

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## tkdboyd

The Ibanez retails for $449.99 and has a street price of $299.00. Should be pretty close in price?

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## bruce.b

Yeah, I was told the scale length is just over 21 inches. Works better than 23" for me, though 23 wouldn't be a deal breaker. Right in the ball park price wise of the Blueridge BR-40T too. I hope the neck is a little thinner front to back than the Blueridge or the old Martins. I find them a bit chunky for my tastes.

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## fox

It looks very similar to the ozark, exactly  the same scale too!

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Charles E., 

John Lloyd, 

SincereCorgi

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## Verne Andru

Sweetwater has a press release up about it here - http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/sum...-tenor-guitar/

Specs say:

- A timeless 4-string acoustic tenor guitar tuned to CGDA fifths
- Perfect for a wide range of music from Americana to jazz
- Solid spruce top and rosewood back and sides offer smooth and balanced tone
- Sports a traditional slotted headstock and upscale appointments
- Comes strung with with D’Addario Phosphor Bronze strings

Since AFAIK tenors are based on banjos, I understood the "traditional" headstock/machines to be back-mounted [based on friction type], not slotted. Not to say I don't prefer the slotted - which I do - just wondering if the copywriter is taking a few liberties or I'm misunderstanding?

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## ambrosepottie

The Ozark gets very good reviews, and is I believe, unavailable in North America, so I'm looking forward to the Kala. Too bad it's not available as a lefty, though.

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## fox

I wonder what the string gauges will be with the slightly shorter than standard scale?
My ozark came with a standard set but 10,14,24,32. they work are ok but are a little bouncy!

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## Steve Zawacki

Am a little surprised the Kala doesn't come "factory equipped" with a pick guard.

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## Ted Eschliman

I've played both the Ibanez and the Kala briefly on the show floor. I'd say the Kala is the better of the two. Love the slotted headstock. Probably be getting one.

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bruce.b, 

Charles E.

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## bruce.b

Yes, the Kala and Ozark look alike. They both have the misplaced dot at the 9th fret too. Not sure if the scale length means anything since that's a very common length for tenors. Cedar on the Ozark vs a spruce top on the Kala.

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## Verne Andru

> I've played both the Ibanez and the Kala briefly on the show floor. I'd say the Kala is the better of the two. Love the slotted headstock. Probably be getting one.


I know you're a man of few words but what are we talkin' here? A significant difference? 5% difference? Is it a playability, build or tone thing?

I too love the slotted headstock, but I also love the parlour body style so, all things considered, is it 6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other?

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## bruce.b

The Kala tenor guitar is now available. At least some dealers have them.

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## Ted Eschliman

Got mine. Love it! I'm impressed at how loud it is, even with the shorter scale. Very nice tone.

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bruce.b

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## fox

Any idea of the string gauges?

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## bruce.b

I should have mine in a couple of days. I think I'm going to leave it CGDA. That probably makes more sense than having another tenor tuned GDAE.

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## fox

The Karla looks so similar to my Ozark, I wonder if it has the same 12th fret width?
 The Ozark is about 42mm at the 12th & this make the strings quite widely spaced around the sound hole. Fantastic for finger picking with patterns like the Cotton pick.
I have tried most tunings but much prefer CGDA  :Smile: 
I have found that by just moving around some basic two finger chords & allowing lots of open strings to ring out, CGDA sounds great!
 C, F, D, G & D7 etc... using the cotton pick it just sounds so sweet....

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## dmcginnis

I would appreciate hearing anyone's experience trying the new Kala tenor guitar in GDAE or GDAD turnings.

Thanks,
Dave

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derbex

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## dmcginnis

Regarding GDAE tuning, here is a note I received from the folks at Kala:

David,
   I don't think anything would stop you from crafting a set that works for the tenor guitar.  But there doesn't seem to be an alternate tuning set for GDAE at this time available.
   My recommendation would be single strings (EADG) .013 plain, .020 PB, .030 PB, and .045PB

You would only have to re size the nut slots and possible the bridge string holes, but most likely just the nut would need to be altered a little bit to accomodate the thicker strings.

Thanks,
  Dan Van



Dan Van Heuklom Ext. 2831
Inside Sales 
Kala Brand Music Company


Anyone want to try those string gauges and give us a report?

Thanks,
Dave

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## bruce.b

On my Herb Taylor with essentially the same scale length I use 14, 24, 34, 48. I'd start with what they recommend and consider heavier if it seems to need it. I'll try it at some point but I'm planning to leave it in CGDA for at least a little while.
   bruce

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dmcginnis

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## cargomaster

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

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## Verne Andru

For those in the great white north, L&M is showing it as a special order for $385.

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## bruce.b

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.

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fox

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## Verne Andru

Any options for a hardshell case?

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## Ted Eschliman

Kala says their case not available until January.

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bruce.b

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## Lord of the Badgers

> 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  :Smile: 

Nice one.

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## fox

> 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!

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## Steve Zawacki

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?

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## bruce.b

D'Addario J-66 I believe.

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## Lord of the Badgers

> 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...

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fox

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## MdJ

> 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

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## bruce.b

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.

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## RAGZDADDY

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

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## RAGZDADDY

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.  :Popcorn:

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fox

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## bruce.b

>>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?

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## RAGZDADDY

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.

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## RAGZDADDY

> 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.

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## RAGZDADDY

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

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## bruce.b

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...<<

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## bruce.b

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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fox

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## RAGZDADDY

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.

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## RAGZDADDY

> 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.

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## RAGZDADDY

> 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.

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## bruce.b

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

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## RAGZDADDY

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

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## RAGZDADDY

Here's one for the sake of info humor Bruce..

I've an instrument I bought some time back from a well respected company that I purchased under the assumption from direct information from them, that it was a solid/solid build. I got to browsing their website the other day and their site showed the instrument as being solid top and laminate back and sides. 

WELL. I knew I had paid surely the price for solid/solid, and well looked it over and was most sure it was solid/solid. But as curiosities are, I called them and inquired about the laminate thing on their site. OOPS ! They were embarrassed that the site reflected incorrectly that in fact they were solid/solid. And of course, they remarked that maybe why that model wasn't selling as well as it should. lol

But then again, the whole laminate vs solid cat gets outta the bag with folks and it's surely a never ending debate. lol
I personally pursue some laminates in some cases. All of my National customs are laminate and wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, National only makes one wood instrument that isn't a laminate. But then that opens up the heated topic of the differences between instrument quality laminates being used on instruments, and cheap grade laminated being used and folks not being aware of the difference. 

Digging for info is a passion and past time of mine for sure. But I love my "solid/laminate" KA-GTR. lol

Then again, Kala's accessories page says J66, which is an 80/20, then the product page for the KA-GTR says Phos/Bro for strings. lol

 :Disbelief:  :Disbelief:  :Disbelief:

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## bruce.b

Yeah, you can never be sure what you're getting unless you check it yourself. I have no idea if the strings are what they say on the site, and it took me a while to find where I had read that. I'm excited to get mine back. I think it sounds really good tuned CGDA and once the set up is right it should be an excellent guitar. I was also having a lot of fun playing the higher tuning, it gives a very different feel to tunes than GDAE. I think theres a good chance my brother will have one soon, tuned DGBE. Mine looks like it's #21. I wonder how many they made in the first run?

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## RAGZDADDY

> Yeah, you can never be sure what you're getting unless you check it yourself. I have no idea if the strings are what they say on the site, and it took me a while to find where I had read that. I'm excited to get mine back. I think it sounds really good tuned CGDA and once the set up is right it should be an excellent guitar. I was also having a lot of fun playing the higher tuning, it gives a very different feel to tunes than GDAE. I think theres a good chance my brother will have one soon, tuned DGBE. Mine looks like it's #21. I wonder how many they made in the first run?


Hadn't even considered looking at the serial number. Looks like I've 22. lol. I'd be curious as to how many on the first run myself. But I could find out next time I'm on the phone to the left coast. But a bunch of them for sure came to the east coast here.

I'm not smart enough to have multiple tunings in my head, which is why I did DGBE. But I really like the sound a lot. It still has that what I call "airy" sound tone that leans towards the more open chord sound of a TG. However, I did take a run at it with the GCEA tuning just to see because so many people ask about that tuning.

The result of the GCEA tuning was successful as fat as tension goes, but my best description of the sound was it just sounded like a cheap tenor ukulele. Didn't sound all that great. But I'm sure some will do it anyway. lol.

All in all, a quite versatile instrument. I tend to like the sound of the standard tuning best, but again, I'm to lazy and to un-smart to carry around all the other chord shapes in my head. lol

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## fox

I am sure it sounds great in DGBE but I have plenty of six strings & we are talking tenor guitars here  :Smile: 
CGDA, if you like to strum, is about as easy as it gets with lots of two finger chords like G D C F & lots more.....
It is just such a cool sound that most folk have not heard before.
I have been playing six string & the Irish tenor banjo for a bit! but the tenor guitar is very new to me (about 9 months) I have found it really good fun to lean with & an easy ride.

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## RAGZDADDY

> Regarding GDAE tuning, here is a note I received from the folks at Kala:
> 
> David,
>    I don't think anything would stop you from crafting a set that works for the tenor guitar.  But there doesn't seem to be an alternate tuning set for GDAE at this time available.
>    My recommendation would be single strings (EADG) .013 plain, .020 PB, .030 PB, and .045PB
> 
> You would only have to re size the nut slots and possible the bridge string holes, but most likely just the nut would need to be altered a little bit to accomodate the thicker strings.
> 
> Thanks,
> ...


DING ! ! ! What Dan said !

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## RAGZDADDY

> I am sure it sounds great in DGBE but I have plenty of six strings & we are talking tenor guitars here 
> CGDA, if you like to strum, is about as easy as it gets with lots of two finger chords like G D C F & lots more.....
> It is just such a cool sound that most folk have not heard before.
> I have been playing six string & the Irish tenor banjo for a bit! but the tenor guitar is very new to me (about 9 months) I have found it really good fun to lean with & an easy ride.


Yupper. I'll likely play with some other tunings in time, but the chord shapes and scales are all exactly the tuning I play on all my ukes at current, just a transpose to the 4th and you in the same key. I don't have to completely relearn the songs. I'm not all that smart for such. lol

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## Steve Zawacki

> Regarding GDAE tuning, here is a note I received from the folks at Kala:
> 
> David,
>    I don't think anything would stop you from crafting a set that works for the tenor guitar.  But there doesn't seem to be an alternate tuning set for GDAE at this time available.
>    My recommendation would be single strings (EADG) .013 plain, .020 PB, .030 PB, and .045PB
> 
> You would only have to re size the nut slots and possible the bridge string holes, but most likely just the nut would need to be altered a little bit to accomodate the thicker strings.
> 
> Thanks,
> ...


Elderly was selling a GDAE tenor guitar string set for the Breedlove tenor.  I used it on my Blueridge 40T and found it worked great.

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## dmcginnis

Here is the info from Elderly on the Custom set for Breedlove tenor guitars (http://elderly.com/accessories/names...et--BTGS.htm):

TENOR GUITAR SET
    BREEDLOVE - Custom set put together here at Elderly, intended for recent models of Breedlove tenor guitars tuned to GDAE. Strings are plain steel and EXP coated phosphor bronze round wound (from D'Addario) 013 023w 035w 45w. This is exactly the set Breedlove currently uses (as of November 2012).

    Availability: In Stock Now      Why Elderly?
    sku: BTGS .. $7.70 buy


Note that the gauges are different from what Dan at Kala mentioned.  It might be worthwhile to run these sets through a tension calculator and see what the actual differences are on the full set.

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## fox

> Yupper. I'll likely play with some other tunings in time, but the chord shapes and scales are all exactly the tuning I play on all my ukes at current, just a transpose to the 4th and you in the same key. I don't have to completely relearn the songs. I'm not all that smart for such. lol


Of course I quite understand that :Smile:  although some folk are unbelievable talented .. I am not one of those myself.
Over the last few months several of my mates (six stringers) have just astounded me by picking up one of my CGDA tenors & within minutes have sussed out a few chords & bust into song quite contently playing!!!
One guy who plays bass guitar, was rocking all over the world (Status Quo) almost instantly but my friend Clem who plays Tenor banjo in GDAE (as I do) was just amazing!
He managed to make my old Harmony sound really good but had never played CGDA or tenor guitar before. 
He just picked it up & went for it..... you can see he is struggling with the 23" scale compared to his 17 fret banjo but still manages .... 
PS how do you imbed YouTube?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gbe1-lGMBw

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bruce.b

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## Seonachan

Just to add to the range of possibilities, here are the gauges used for Fletcher tenors (which also have a 21" scale):
.052 / .036 / .024 / .016 

Of course Fletchers are purpose-built for that tuning and tension load, so I wouldn't take them as recommendations for GDAE tuning on the Kala. On the other hand, the gauges suggested by the Kala rep strike me as at the loosey-goosey end of the spectrum (notice the Breedlove, with a 3" longer scale, uses the same gauges for the G and E strings, and heavier gauges for the 2 middle strings). But if I was being careful I might start with the lightest gauges and see how they feel, then go heavier as necessary.

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RAGZDADDY

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## RAGZDADDY

For what it's worth, and I wasn't unhappy at all with the way my Kala -KA-GTR sounded as it was. But I just canned the plastic bridge pins and replaced them with ebony bridge pins and the difference is astounding at the very least.

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## RAGZDADDY

Embedding YT is just a matter of copying the url from the address bar of that video from your browser. Then clicking on the little film strip hickey in your reply thingy of the forum and paste it there. Then just "away we go".

Ends up looking like this. 

(oh, and I did watch the vid of your pal playing the arch top. I hate those kinda guys. j/k. lol

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fox

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## RAGZDADDY

:Mandosmiley:

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## RAGZDADDY

For some reason, things seem to be trying to double post. Hrrrrmmm?

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## bruce.b

I got my Kala back yesterday after a complete set up and wow, what a difference. The action is really low and the guitar is effortless to play. What a fun little guitar. I'm glad I left it CGDA mostly because it sounds so sweet. It's not that loud playing a single string, but chords are surprisingly loud. I'm pleased with how it sounds brand new.

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## RAGZDADDY

QUOTE=bruce.b;1337512]I got my Kala back yesterday after a complete set up and wow, what a difference. The action is really low and the guitar is effortless to play. What a fun little guitar. I'm glad I left it CGDA mostly because it sounds so sweet. It's not that loud playing a single string, but chords are surprisingly loud. I'm pleased with how it sounds brand new.[/QUOTE]

Go Bruce GO !

 :Mandosmiley:  :Mandosmiley:  :Mandosmiley: 

You wouldn't happen to have gotten the string height measurements at the 1st and 12th fret from your setup guy did you? I'm curious how low one can go. lol. I'm pretty low though. lol

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## bruce.b

Sorry, no idea what the numbers are.

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RAGZDADDY

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## RAGZDADDY

> Sorry, no idea what the numbers are.



 :Coffee:   :Mandosmiley:

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## fox

I notice our friend has a video  :Smile:

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## RAGZDADDY

Will be installing a passive pickup in my KA-GTR this weekend. WOOT WOOT ! cant wait.

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## fox

So, does anyone actually know what gauges the supplied string are?

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## Ted Eschliman

Just measured mine with calipers. Looks like *010, 014, 022w, 032w*. I don't know why they wouldn't be anything other than *D'Addario J66* (80/20 bronze). Of course, these are ball- instead of loop-end, so you really couldn't swap our a really light gg mandolin set.

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Charles E., 

fox

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## RAGZDADDY

> So, does anyone actually know what gauges the supplied string are?



The gauges were on Kala's website last I looked.

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## RAGZDADDY

Installed a K and K Pure Mini passive pickup on the Kala KA-GTR a couple of weeks ago. Hugely happy and impressed.

A little on the tricky side to install though....

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