Lifestyle

Kala Brand Music Co. had an excellent display booth at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California this past June.  Two of the new instruments that they released that caught my eye and that Maverick received for review was the new Emi Sunshine signature Ukulele and the Bakithi Kumalo Signature U-BASS.    Emi Sunshine has been featured in the pages of Maverick Country in the past and she continues to be a shining star Appalachian, Americana, and Country music.  Emi is known as a multi-instrumentalist, but she is frequently associated with the Ukulele.  Her signature model is a Concert model uke with her mockingbird logo on the headstock and a custom black vine rosette around the sound hole.  The body features black binding, satin mahogany neck, back and sides.  The neck shape is easy to play, and spruce top is full sounding.  Graph Tech NuBone nut and saddle increase the tonality.  And the closed back tuners keep the Emi Sunshine Signature Concert Ukulele in tune.  The included gig bag also has Emi’s mockingbird logo on it.  Bakithi Kumalo has endorsed Kala instruments for over a decade, and he is best known as a bassist and collaborator for Paul Simon.  Kumalo was a part of the popular 1985 album by Simon “Graceland.”  Bakithi worked with Kala to design his ultimate U-BASS.  The first thing that surprised me was the usage of Kala’s Round Wound U-BASS strings that have more of a traditional bass string feel.  Kumalo’s Zulu shield logo is on the headstock of the U-BASS and on the gig bag.  The tone of this U-BASS is very warm and full thanks to its Mahogany top, back, sides and neck.  The U-Bass Active built-in electronics feature three EQ bass, middle and treble an LED tuner and battery check light.  The opened geared tuners are solid and consistent.  The sound unplugged is great but plugged in is where the Bakithi Kumalo Signature Acoustic-Electric U-Bass really shines.  Whether you are trying to deliver a traditional bass sound or an upright tone you can achieve it with this instrument.  The fretted rosewood fingerboard is easy to navigate too.  The custom Kumalo gig bag also has neck support to keep your U-Bass from shifting in the gig bag.  Both of these new signature instruments from Kala Brand Music Co. are extremely well built and affordable as well. 

If you haven’t found the right thumb pick yet, then Black Mountain might be a great place to visit.  Their uniquely designed thumb picks merge traditional shaped flat picks with a spring-loaded plastic back that fits them securely to your thumb.  Black Mountain offers them in different pick shapes and thickness and also you can select how much spring tension you desire.  From the review picks that we received I personally preferred the higher tension picks so that stay securely on my thumb while picking.  These are the first thumb picks to utilize a spring and they are extremely comfortable to perform with.  Black Mountain picks were invented by Cole McBride who was a full-time guitar instructor seeking the perfect thumb pick for his own playing style.  You can select heavy gauge, medium or jazz tipped picks currently.  The variety pack is probably the best option so you can try out different spring tensions and thickness of picks.  Black Mountain has also released a Slide Ring for slide guitar players.  They’ve done an incredible job of merging flat pick benefits and thumb pick requirements into one device at Black Mountain – check them out!