Kala Revelator Nautilus Horizon All Solid Mango & Mahogany Tenor Electro Ukulele
This is the Kala Revelator Nautilus Horizon. They say of New York, it’s the city so good they named it twice. Well with this electro-acoustic tenor ukulele, it’s no good they gave it three names! Joking aside however, it’s seriously, seriously good. Epic sustain (and I mean EPIC). Crisp, sweet highs, soft-edged but punchy lows and great volume in one thin-line, fantastic looking body. These are so impressive and have been eagerly awaited - not least by me.
As a quick background, the Revelator was a ukulele designed by legendary luthier Pete Howlett - who produced them in his North Wales workshop - to great acclaim. Despite having a thin body, they produced such a rich, resonant tone that was, as he described, an ‘acoustic anomaly’.
The design was sold to Kala and they then began producing them in the USA. Next came a Chinese made version (the Night Owl), and now this - the stepping stone between the two, the Revelator Nautilus Horizon. This is made in a very well regarded Indonesian factory. I was particularly interested in these as while the Chinese-made Revelator Night Owl was great for the price, it didn’t (understandably) reach the heights of the US-made models (which go for up to £3,000). This version for me gets you a sound that’s bordering on a par with those expensive ukes, at a more budget-friendly price. Yes, it’s still a big price. But it’s a special uke.
The Nautilus Horizon has a 36mm nut width, a gloss finished top with satin back sides and neck, Grover tuners and a set of Revelator strings. These are a combination set, with a wound low G and C by D’addario, with a Worth fluorocarbon E and A. And a nice combination it is too. (Believe me, I was a wound C sceptic too - but it just sings and sings here - it really works. I’ve tried the strings on other ukes and not been a fan, but with this model is a match made in heaven).
Onto some practicalities then…
First of all you can choose the particular model that you would like, from the available colours of Black, Red Glow, Blue Lagoon and Amber Waves. And if you study the pictures, you can pick the specific uke you like from the display - which are labelled with a number. You’ll find the options available when you order, via the dropdown list.
I have prepared a larger more detailed image of these models too. They’re too big to put online, but if you’d like to download them to view a larger picture you can do that via the links below.
Download Black Revelator Images
Download Red Glow Revelator Images
Download Blue Lagoon Revelator Images
Download Amber Waves Revelator images
Important note - These are provided with a gig bag but the bags have been delayed and are expected at the end of January/start of February. I will contact you after you’ve placed an order to ask if you would like me to send the uke now and the gig bag later, or hold the order here until both uke and gig bag are re-united.
Alternatively, you can replace the gig bag with a Revelator hard case. These are regularly £85, but you can add that to your order for £60 instead (I will keep the gig bag!) This is the offical Kala case for the Revelator. You can add that to your basket by clicking here.
I made a video demo of the Kala Revelator Nautilus Horizon ukulele when I received an early model to try (before the main stock arrived). You can watch that, hear a discussion about it and hear a sound demo if you click additional information below.
There are some optional extras at the bottom of the page, right underneath the photos. These are standard across all of my website pages and some of them aren’t needed with the Kala Revelator Nautilus Horizon. They have a gig bag included, and a low G fitted. The jack socket of the passive pickup that’s fitted doubles as a strap button, although a second one can be added if you wish (though it’s a shame, with that beautiful neck shape, to stick a button on it!
