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  #1  
Old 08-24-2014, 02:42 PM
centertao centertao is offline
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Lightbulb Islander GL6-SA Guilele REVIEW

I've been playing guitar (bluegrass) for years. A few years ago I bought a ukulele and tuned it open (banjo-like tuning) similar to the original machete, and found it to be much more intuitive for me to play than guitar. However, missing what the guitar offered, I took a chance on the guitar-ukulele hybrid. I tried out a few… Yamaha, Cordoba, and this Islander.

The Islander beat them all. It has a wider bout, and a bit longer neck, and is is tuned like a guitar capoed at the 5th fret (Tenor uke + two bass strings). All of which allow it to handle the lower bass strings beautifully.

The one concern I had was its wider classic guitar-like neck. This actually turned out to be a real plus. With the nylon strings and shorter fret spacing, the fingering is no problem; the extra space between the strings feels much less cramped than the narrower neck on the other hybrids. Personally, I like using a capo and found the Dunlop Johnny Cash Guitar Capo (flat) works superbly. I heartily recommend this instrument, and the Cash capo if you use a capo.

There! I was so pleased with this thing, I just had to say so.
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  #2  
Old 08-24-2014, 06:55 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Centertao -

From what I have read, the Islander Guitarlele is a very nice instrument. I recently purchased the Kanilea version of it via Crags List locally and agree with your assessments about playability.

The issue I am working through right now is replacement strings. The guitarleles that we have, have a 19" (baritone ukulele scale) and the strings I have seen so far are for the shorter 17" scale of the Yamaha and Cordoba models. Kanilea sells a guitarlele string set specifically for our instruments. I have a call in to Joe at Kanilea, since he built mine and will hopefully talk to him next week. Meanwhile, I have read that we can use standard classical guitar strings on it. I am using a set now and it seems to work fine so far.

Update: I am finding that with the low tension J45 D'Addario classical guitar strings tuned A-A, rather than the standard EADGBE guitar tuning seems to put undue tension at the heel of the instrument. I switched to high tension J46 strings tuned to standard EADGBE tuning and the intonation all the way up the fretboard is good and it sounds fine, though a bit less volume than using the Kanilea guitarlele strings. I hope to find out from Joe at Kanilea more aobut various alternatives. However, I will say that the GL6 makes for a very comfortable version of classical guitar to play for aging fingers and the quality is quite high, unlike most classical guitars of 1/2 or 1/4 size that I have seen.

Tony
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Last edited by tbeltrans; 08-24-2014 at 08:30 PM.
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  #3  
Old 08-25-2014, 12:49 PM
centertao centertao is offline
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That's interesting Tony. I happen to have a set of Aquila Guilele strings, but they are meant for a bit shorter scale length of 17". I might try the Aquila when my current strings need changing.

They are not too different from the J46 you mentioned:

AQUILA 96C GUILELE / GUITALELE STRINGS
high to low: .26 .320 .40 .28w .35w .43w.

D'ADDARIO EJ46 CLASSICAL GUITAR SET
high to low: .29 .327 .41 .30w .36w .44w.

So, I look forward to hearing what you find out from Joe at Kanilea!

Carl

http://toneway.com/

Last edited by centertao; 08-25-2014 at 12:52 PM. Reason: cut the quote as it is just above my reply anyway
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  #4  
Old 08-25-2014, 05:40 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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OK, I just got off the phone with Joe at Kanilea. Here is the information regarding strings and the GL6...

If you put classical guitar strings on the instrument DO NOT tune it beyond standard guitar tuning EADGBE. The instrument was really designed to be tuned A-A, which is why I am not getting the same acoustic volume when tuning to standard guitar tuning. The only strings to use for this are the strings supplied by Kanliea, as mentioned earlier in this thread. Also, if you want to use classical guitar strings, then you need to get the slots for the strings on the nut widened since these strings are wider than those from Kanilea for this guitar.

Needless to say, I ordered strings from Kanliea during that phone conversation.

As an aside, the proper pronunciation of "Kanilea" is Kah knee leah (like "Princess Leah" in Star Wars). That comes directly from Joe.

If the Islander is identical in design to the GL6 from Kanliea, then I would imagine that what I provided here from Joe would likewise apply to the Islander also. Best to check with Joe on this.

Tony
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  #5  
Old 08-25-2014, 07:39 PM
MikeB1 MikeB1 is offline
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Default Gl-6

Hi Guys,

I had a great experience with Joe and his wife getting a custom build Gl-6.

Unfortunately I just couldn't get used to the 17 inch scale.

Three more inches would have been nice.

How is the action on this instrument?

Does it have a truss rod by any chance?

Thanks for the info!!
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  #6  
Old 08-26-2014, 07:06 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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I don't believe the GL6 has a truss rod. It does apparently have a carbon fiber rod in the neck though, but not adjustable. You must have had the 17" scale done custom, since the standard for the instrument is 19".

The action is higher than you will find on a steel string guitar, but that is consistent with nylon string instruments since nylon strings tend to have wider travel than their steel string counterparts. Also, nylon strings are overall easier to play, so a bit higher action is not a detriment.

Tony
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  #7  
Old 08-26-2014, 08:51 AM
Bikewer Bikewer is offline
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I've been playing my little Yamaha GL-1 for almost 2 years now.... Fun little instrument and a great easy-chair item.
So much so I've considered buying a "better" guitarlele......

I'll have to give this one a look if I can find one locally.
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  #8  
Old 08-26-2014, 01:55 PM
centertao centertao is offline
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Ditto what Tony said, except that my GL6-SA is 20.1" nut to bridge. This is the same as my baritone uke.

There is the issue of strings. I guess because it is a non-standard size. All the other 'Guitaleles' are 17" and so can use regular classic guitar strings tuned (A D G C E A). The maker, Kanilea, has strings specifically for the GL6, but I've yet to find an actually link to where I can buy them.

I could use baritone strings for strings 2,3,4,5. Just need the two outside 'A' strings (1,6). So it is a bit of a hassle for the moment, but I'll figure it out. Anyway, it is so very much worth it. At around $300 it was truly worth the price, so perhaps this innovation (longer scale and wider bout) will become the new standard!
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Old 08-26-2014, 02:56 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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I will have to measure my Kanilea because it is supposed to be identical to the Islander. I found a spec that said 19", but also read elsewhere that it is a baritone scale. Oh well.

Tony
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  #10  
Old 08-26-2014, 05:01 PM
MikeB1 MikeB1 is offline
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Default Kanilea Dealers

Here is a link to their dealers.

http://kanileaukulele.com/dealers.php
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  #11  
Old 08-28-2014, 03:07 PM
mcsmyth9 mcsmyth9 is offline
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Hi, I have a Kala Guitarlele. It is an older model no longer made with a 20 1/4" scale. I've used D'addario Requinto strings ( 22-36 ) with great success. I currently am stringing it with an unusual set from Southcoast Strings. It's a re entrant tuning in G tuning. The first 3 strings are the same as regular baritone and the last 3 are an octave higher. than regular guitar.
Regards, Brian
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  #12  
Old 08-28-2014, 06:53 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcsmyth9 View Post
Hi, I have a Kala Guitarlele. It is an older model no longer made with a 20 1/4" scale. I've used D'addario Requinto strings ( 22-36 ) with great success. I currently am stringing it with an unusual set from Southcoast Strings. It's a re entrant tuning in G tuning. The first 3 strings are the same as regular baritone and the last 3 are an octave higher. than regular guitar.
Regards, Brian
Looking up requinto tuning, it appears to be the same as the Guitarlele (A D G C E A), so this seems to be a good possible alternative to guitarlele strings.

I will have to try some.

Thanks,

Tony
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  #13  
Old 08-30-2014, 03:07 PM
centertao centertao is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
Looking up requinto tuning, it appears to be the same as the Guitarlele (A D G C E A), so this seems to be a good possible alternative to guitarlele strings.

I will have to try some.

Thanks,

Tony
The scale of the requinto closely matches the Islander, so I checked the tension and such of these strings and they look 'perfect'. Now to try some and see if they taste as good as they look.

http://www.daddario.com/DADMobilePro...quinto_Strings
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  #14  
Old 03-25-2017, 03:59 PM
jmetras jmetras is offline
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Default Good choice of strings for Islander Guitarlele

I bought an Islander Guitarlele when I was in Kauai in January. I like that it has a standard classical nut, unlike the narrow neck of the Yamaha, making it great for fingerpicking. In looking for strings, I found the only strings made for the instrument were from the manufacturer ($18 per set). Yesterday I took the suggestion of one of the posts and tried the D'Addario Requinto strings (EJ94). They worked great and in my opinion sound better than the originals for about a third to a half of the cost. The originals did have ball end strings for the 4th, 5th and 6th strings, so you simply just need to tie a knot at the ends for the D'Addarios. They are easier to play than the original strings and I think will also reduce tension on the instrument.
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  #15  
Old 03-25-2017, 04:56 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmetras View Post
I bought an Islander Guitarlele when I was in Kauai in January. I like that it has a standard classical nut, unlike the narrow neck of the Yamaha, making it great for fingerpicking. In looking for strings, I found the only strings made for the instrument were from the manufacturer ($18 per set). Yesterday I took the suggestion of one of the posts and tried the D'Addario Requinto strings (EJ94). They worked great and in my opinion sound better than the originals for about a third to a half of the cost. The originals did have ball end strings for the 4th, 5th and 6th strings, so you simply just need to tie a knot at the ends for the D'Addarios. They are easier to play than the original strings and I think will also reduce tension on the instrument.
Thanks for the information! That is great news.

Tony
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