Although I am a beginner, I have one and I really like it. I learned on a Kala KA-ASOV-S and bought the KA-SRT-SC. Two actually. The first tenor had been sitting in the shop and demoed for what I believe is a couple of months so it had settled in. These are solid spruce tops ,BTW. I exchanged this first tenor because it either developed a slight top warp or had it from when I purchased it, and I was not comfortable seeing that. The replacement was very new. Just shipped in from the factory. So, I had a chance to play one that was broken in and one that had not settled in yet. Very different sound. I could really hear and feel the tightness of the new uke. But, it is now settling in nicely. I've manually stretched the nylgut strings several times and all the little anomalies are gone. Only a few days with her and the sound is coming out. I have a pretty good ear and experienced with the violin and classical music. And I am liking what I hear. I have, however, ordered a set of Living Water strings and hoping the combination will smooth out the sound even more. I think a lot of players like the combination of Living Water and solid spruce. Now, so far, most of what I play, I use my thumb and not my nails. So keep that in mind. The gloss finish is super. Fairly thin on the top board and slightly thicker on the back and sides. The overall construction is really nice. It is well made. It is made in China. I am assuming there is a really tight Quality Assurance inspection going on so that is not a problem. I also assume their humidity control during manufacture is good. The cut-away/scoop is very cool. I have not used it yet. But, it has to be helpful.