This is a full carbon fibre body baritone ukulele, made by Klos in the USA and it’s really very nice. I mean, carbon fibre doesn’t come cheap, and neither does American craftsmanship, so it should be nice! I am impressed with how articulate it is. With carbon fibre you get warm resonance, and I wondered if a larger body and DGBE tuning might make it a little muddy, but in fact it’s nice and clear and still retains that warmth too. It’s a really nicely balanced baritone, with a rich tone, full of harmonics and a lovely shimmer.

At the time of writing this description, there weren’t any of these on sale apart from direct from Klos themselves (a situation that will surely change, making this statement obsolete…). But, in case you are wondering. The price looks lower from Klos directly, but that’s due to our old friend, VAT. There’s no tax on their price - and if you’re in the UK or EU you’ll have 20% import tax to play, plus 6% import duty, and an £85 shipping charge. So… just to explain the workings on the price, so you don’t think I’m overcharging!

Another thing I’m going to write which I am sure will be corrected and that’s the nut width, which is advertised as 35mm, while in fact it is 37.5mm, a wider nut that suits a baritone I think. Fitted are geared tuners and D’addario Nyltech strings, which are a really good choice as they have a bit more power in the trebles than nylon (like D’addario Titanium, for example), helping that balance. They allow your top two strings to compete better with the two bass strings and marry up really nicely.

The carbon fibre is nice and shiny (as you can see, with my baldy head reflected taking the photos!). Klos make these with pure carbon fibre that’s pressed into shape, causing natural creases and slight distortions in the fibre patterns where the curves are, which is quite normal. Think of it like a gingham checked table cloth, and how the squares bend as they go over the edge of the table. I think that makes sense!

I realise this is quite an investment but I am really impressed with it. It’s hanging on my office wall as I type this and I keep glancing at it and thinking, ‘should I have another go’, which is always a good sign.

There are options for this ukulele of acoustic-only, or fitted with an active pickup (with tone and volume controls). You can select which option you’d like from the dropdown menu when ordering. At the bottom of the page you’ll find options that you can add easily, but in fact - they’re redundant (unless you want a hard case), as this Klos full carbon baritone ukulele comes with a padded gig bag and two strap buttons already.