Concert Arabic Egyptian Kawala

a few days ago I received a kawala in A, and I am very happy with it: good strong sound, good intonation, nice to look at (except the black tape, that I replaced by red thread). If you don't like the smell of rosewater you should mention it in your order . . .

I want to update my previous review, where I gave this kawala 4/5 stars. It turned out that the kawala I received had some cracks that I didn’t notice right away, which made the lower two notes almost impossible to play. Ethical Music was kind enough to send me a replacement after I paid for the shipping. Since then, I’ve also ordered the kawala in E, and now I have all three tunings. I highly recommend this kawala — the sound is really beautiful, and the one in E is definitely one of my favorite instruments to play at the moment.

This is the second concert Egyptian kawala I’ve ordered from here—the first one was in La, and this one is in Sol. The Sol is much thinner, and although it has a nice sound and a very neat finish compared to my other, cheaper kawalas, it doesn’t feel quite as good as the first one. I still enjoy playing them, and the sound is pleasant. However, considering how much instruments under this listing can vary, I feel that compared to other options on the market, a price about 30% lower would be more justified.

I was a little hesitant to buy the kawala at this price, but it has completely proven itself to me after around 30 hours of playing, so I just ordered a second one. I still cannot play well yet, but compared to my cheaper kawala I can sense the possibilities of sound, which are richer in a way, although it is also a little harder to play because of that richness. It has a very neat finish. You can see that all the details have been carefully attended to, and there is no rushed treatment of the reed. It is a nice, thick reed, and the instrument is also very pleasant to hold, not just to play. The only downside is that thicker reeds tend to accumulate moisture more quickly during playing, so you need to be careful, take good care of it after each session, and let it rest. That is why I got the second one. I also removed the tape slowly and carefully because it looked too unattractive for me aesthetically. I am also a little sad that a kawala priced like this does not have the maker’s signature on it, but that is okay—the quality is still exceptional.