Kala vs Ohana for a “knock-around” uke.

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brianodell

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I own an Ohana TK-70R tenor uke that I really enjoy. I want to grab a little soprano that I can leave out, take outdoors with me, camping, hanging out, etc. I’ve been eyeballing the Kala Ka-15s vs the Ohana Sk-10s. I like the idea of the Makala Dolphin, but I’m not too keen on the colors...

Any opinions?

Thank you!
 
I think they are both extremely comparable in terms of quality, playability, and sound. You will find fans in both camps. Will you have a chance to play either/both?

I have an SK-25, which is Ohana's entry level solid wood soprano, and absolutely love it! It is incredibly well built and solid! It has actually become my travel uke because of how tough it is while still having a great tone/sound as well as being easy to play. As you can see, I am in the Ohana camp. :D
 
What’s the difference between the sk-25 and sk-35?

The sk-10 is the laminate version, correct?
 
Yes, the SK-10 is laminate.

The difference between the sk-25 and sk-35 is the extra adornments on the sk-35. The sk-25 is bare bones. It has a rosette, but that it is. The sk-35 also has top and bottom binding and a fancier headstock. Not bad additions for $30 more. I got my sk-25 used for about $100 and can't find anything near that price that can touch it!
 
I'm just going to leave this here:
I won a basic Kala KA-C concert in a raffle about 4 years ago. It became my "beater" ukulele just because it is something I would not really buy for myself but as it turns out is a darn good ukulele,
by that I mean very playable, sounds OK, etc. I decided that it would live in my car "for emergencies" and has come in quite handy many times - a couple of professional musician friends have used it at gigs, I used it for an impromptu gig, I have it as a spare to share at Kanikapila, I have something to play when I go to the beach, when I am waiting for someone, etc.
I live in Ewa Beach, where it is often over 80 degrees outside, and the car it is living in is usually parked outside.
So far, so good!
I AM NOT CONDONING THIS BEHAVIOR, just sharing my experience.
This is one tough little ukulele and plays well, and is no worse for wear.
 
My thought has always been that any ukulele that you are willing for it to get banged up is a good enough ukulele to bang around. Frankly, I'm always amazed how much battering just a plain old ukulele will take. I'm talking about my Makala here.
 
brianodell said:
I like the idea of the Makala Dolphin, but I’m not too keen on the colors...
Click to expand...

Makala also makes a plain brown soprano; see https://kalabrand.com/collections/makala-classic/products/mk-s (but the retail price would be lower). The brown ones are laminate, the colorful ones composite. There is a black Dolphin and Shark; I got one 'cause I thought it would make me look badass. I prefer the sound of the composite ones, but all of this is subjective, of course.
 
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