When pondering what to say about this Kiwaya KPC-1LW I tried to make up some sort of pun about this concert ukulele being made, not by Kiwaya, but by Ki-WOW-ya. You know, because I love it and it wow’ed me. But then I decided that would sound a bit laboured, so I kept it to myself. Ah… Anyway, it’s a wow uke all right, with a beautiful tone, warm and rich, sparkling and full, all in the same lovely looking package.

Talking of elaborate descriptions, I forget which now, but I once described a uke’s sound as being like ‘warm rain’. Yes, it was a bit fancy, but I that’s what popped into my head and when you write about ukuleles as much as I do, if some inspiration comes along you take it! Anyway, whatever that uke was was like a cold sleet shower compared to the KPC-1LW, which is like a delicate shower on a tropical island. Should I stop with the mad descriptions? Yes. Do I love it? Yes!

The lacewood has a subtle yet beautiful and intricate grain, highly patterned and graceful. It is finished with a thin, high gloss and decorated only with a simple soundhole rosette. There’s some colour contrast with the mahogany neck, but I really like that too - and as for the blue buttons on the superb Gotoh UPT geared tuners? Well, a bold choice but I am a fan of those too!

The KPC-1LW from Kiwaya shares the slightly wider, 37mm nut width and fairly flat neck profile of the tenors in the ‘strummer series’ - a name that is underwhelming and does not do justice to these ukes, which are amongst my absolute favourites. It feels spacious and really lovely to play.

At the bottom of the page there’s a list of standard add-ons that appear on every ukulele page on the site, including low G’s, strap buttons and bags and cases. (one strap button is fitted - so if you want a second one, make sure to add two). While a fairly expensive instrument, the KPC-1LW concert uke doesn’t come with a bag or case. For some reason, this seems to upset some people. Free gig bags and cases don’t exist - you pay for them in with the price of the uke. So if it had a hard case, it’d be more expensive. It doesn’t bother me - I think it gives you the choice to go for what you want, rather than paying more and getting whatever the manufacturer chooses!

For a video demo of the Kiwaya KPC-1LW concert ukulele, click additional info below.