Kala Revelator NSL-T Japanese Tochi and Mahogany Tenor Ukulele w/Gigbag (Slight Flaw)

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. 5 years on, the Revelator is hitting its stride.

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.

We made the Revelators the top ukulele of 2024 for many reasons, but these limited edition models definitely played a part in our decision...

Japanese Tochi is a brand new wood for us here at The Southern Ukulele Store. Sourced from Japanese horse chestnut trees it is most prized in instrument building for its uniue grain patterns and we can see why. This is a truly beautiful piece of tonewood, bright in appearance like spruce but figured like fine master grade maple. The tone is reflective of the visual of Tochi offering bright and extremely clear tops complimented perfectly with the warm balanced depth of mahogany. We first learnt of Tochi as a wood used in high end Violins and were set to have a range of SUS exclusive Tochi ukuleles made by now defunct Ukulele company Imua before they closed their doors during Covid.

Tonally its a fantastic 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. 

Sadly this one has received a ding in the neck at some point either in production or transportation. We have consulted two seasoned luthiers who have confirmed that the mark is not a split but actually a grain filled area on the underside of the neck that looks a bit unsightly under close inspection. To us it looks like a slight tool mark. For this reason we have deducted a little off the price. The instrument is still brand new and a bargain for whowever snaps it up!

Specification:

Japanese Tochi top
Mahogany 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 A and E strings
D'Addario wound C and G strings
Passive Piezo pickup
Mother of pearl fretboard and headstock inlay
1.4375 inch body depth
435mm scale length
30mm padded gigbag