Kala Elite

pluck

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I applaud Kala for making some domestic ukes but I've got to ask:

Does the world really need another $1200 koa tenor?

I hope dealers will be able to discount for somewhat less than some of the Hawaiian models.

On the other hand, maybe there are a lot of die hard Kala fans just itching to upgrade.
 
I think Kala will be fighting an uphill battle. These may well be excellent instruments, but Kala has established a very effective brand which says "pretty decent, reasonably-priced ukuleles." I think it will be difficult for people to accept that Kala is now making a premium product-- and be willing to part with the large $$ required to own one. Understand, I'm not doubting the ability of Kala's California-based builders to make a top-quality uke; I do wonder If people will buy a $1200-3000 instrument from Kala.

I hope it does work out for them--as players, it's wonderful to have choices, and the ukes on their website certainly look nice.
 
It's a lot easier to bring an "upmarket" product down to a less expensive segment of a market, than it is to bring a "down market" product into the more expensive realm. I agree with Rich; I'm sure they are going to be very nice ukes, but are people going to want a Kala for the price of a Kamaka?

If the uke popularity was still at the peak of the craze phase I'd say they'd have a chance because there was a time when people were snatching up any quality uke. But in this case they are a day late and a dollar short. I suspect we'll see the prices on these come down and the Kala Elite series will fade away. Time will tell.
 
Kala seems to be pretty far ahead of the pack in terms of gaining "celebrity" endorsements. If they can stick an Elite model in the hands of all the semi-famous then they might have something.
 
I think that in that price range I would have to decide not to buy a Kanile'a, Kamaka, Ko'Aloha, and several other smaller custom builder's ukuleles before I decided that a Kala Elite was "the one". Unless the Kala Elite has superior sound quality to everything at or under its actual consumer price, there would be little to compel me to choose it over many others that are already available in that price range. Of course, there is also the competition from the used premium ukulele resale market to consider, as well.
Still, I would be interested in playing one to confirm or refute my UAS instincts. ;)
 
I think the problem is price point.

From a distribution standpoint they've got a lock. Every music store in town that has ukes has Kala. A local store can get an "elite" without any hassle through the sources they already use, where as if I go there and ask the local store for one of the other ones that start with K, they're going to have to do work to get those in the door.

I dunno that offering a new premium line is the issue. Toyota up'd to Lexus, Nissan up'd to Infinity, Honda up'd to Acura. You could say it's easier to offer premium if you have a history of good consistency.

So I guess the thing is what is the real price to pay? The kala waterman lists at $57 for the basic model. One of my local stores is preordering for $39, or 68% of list. If the Elite lists for 1200, and you could get it for 800 in a store, would you consider it?
 
I think the problem is price point.

From a distribution standpoint they've got a lock. Every music store in town that has ukes has Kala. A local store can get an "elite" without any hassle through the sources they already use, where as if I go there and ask the local store for one of the other ones that start with K, they're going to have to do work to get those in the door.

I dunno that offering a new premium line is the issue. Toyota up'd to Lexus, Nissan up'd to Infinity, Honda up'd to Acura. You could say it's easier to offer premium if you have a history of good consistency.

So I guess the thing is what is the real price to pay? The kala waterman lists at $57 for the basic model. One of my local stores is preordering for $39, or 68% of list. If the Elite lists for 1200, and you could get it for 800 in a store, would you consider it?

If I could hold one in my hands and decide whether I like it or not, that would certainly help me buy one. Am I in the market for one? No, but never say never.
 
um, yeah...no.
 
If I could hold one in my hands and decide whether I like it or not, that would certainly help me buy one. Am I in the market for one? No, but never say never.

Yes, I think that's exactly it. For example, I was aware of Compass Rose for years, but never felt particularly inclined to buy one. Then I finally played one out in Santa Cruz, and knew I had to have one (well, I've had two, actually).

Kala has a LOT of bricks-and-mortar dealers, so theoretically, they could get these ukes into a lot of people's hands. That doesn't change the fact that they are a value-price company trying to compete in the premium market; but it does mean that people might actually get to play them and decide for themselves.
 
Is Kala hand building these elites? I could not see paying that much for a factory built uke. I would also have to first consider the other hand built K brands before a Kala elite.
 
The one thing that I think Kala has going for it that might make it succeed is its connection to so many brick and mortar stores. If you want to try a uke and you go to Guitar Center, or your local music shop, you are going to have brands like Kala, Ohana, Lanikai and not any premium brands. So, if Kala can get its dealers to stock one of the elite, its likely to be the only premium uke that the potential buyer can sample locally. This is going to be especially true if the music store is somewhere other than a major city or on the coasts. For some people that will be their only exposure to a premium uke. So in that sense - if Kala can actually get the dealers to put at least one in stock - which might be difficult in that market - then they've got a chance of reaching where no one else can.

It's not impossible to go upmarket but very very hard. You'll notice that Honda, Nissan and Toyota created new brands Acura, Infinity and Lexus to reach for a new market segment. They weren't selling the "Honda Elite". They sold them at different dealers. Even then, Lexus is the only one that really firmly caught on. Acura and Infinity have always been problematic for the companies; they've never developed the anticipated market share.

My gut reaction is that a "premium" Kala has no appeal. If it were a company marketed by Kala as something like "Petaluma Premium" (just made up and silly name) and marketed as a specialty boutique uke built for Kala, the same uke might have more appeal. Obviously if they turn out to be really great ukes I might feel differently. I do own a California UBass that is significantly better than the Chinese one that it replaced. No doubt that Kala is capable of building a solid product. But I don't know if they can tap the right emotional chord.
 
I applaud Kala for making some domestic ukes but I've got to ask:

Does the world really need another $1200 koa tenor?

I hope dealers will be able to discount for somewhat less than some of the Hawaiian models.

On the other hand, maybe there are a lot of die hard Kala fans just itching to upgrade.

I was shocked to see a $1,000 Kala "KOA" banjolele at my local music store the other day. I didn't know Kala made anything in 1k range and I don't see the point in making a banjolele out of koa.

It looked like brown wood, played nice though.
 
Is Kala hand building these elites? I could not see paying that much for a factory built uke. I would also have to first consider the other hand built K brands before a Kala elite.

Have you ever seen a machine, where you push a tree in one end, and uke pops out the other?

I know it's the convention to talk about "hand built" vs "factory", but every time I read it, I imagine people imagining buildings with black smoke billowing pollution into the air, and full of people that have accidentally had their hands cut off pushing buttons on giant machines with their arm stubs and somehow it pops out a laminate uke that somehow would have been better if they had all their fingers.
 
Very PRETTY but like others say, KALA is know for lower price & quality at that price. I too would rather buy a Kanilea top Luke than these high end Kala's. Maybe around 800 or so would get them really moving
 
Very PRETTY but like others say, KALA is know for lower price & quality at that price. I too would rather buy a Kanilea top Luke than these high end Kala's. Maybe around 800 or so would get them really moving

Well, the basic one has a list price of $1200... it will probably have a street price of around $800. I still think they will have a tough time going against the established brand at that price point.
 
It will be interesting to see how it goes. To my mind, it's a natural progression if you recall recent business history, with Japanese autos first being inexpensive and then transitioning up. Seiko now has done a good job of selling very expensive watches to a higher end market. I don't think anyone can definitively say what the future holds here: I do know the USA banjo stuff is apparently excellent. I suppose the price could be reduced if they moved out of California, though.
 
Have you ever seen a machine, where you push a tree in one end, and uke pops out the other?

I know it's the convention to talk about "hand built" vs "factory", but every time I read it, I imagine people imagining buildings with black smoke billowing pollution into the air, and full of people that have accidentally had their hands cut off pushing buttons on giant machines with their arm stubs and somehow it pops out a laminate uke that somehow would have been better if they had all their fingers.
What a mental image, very dark....with lines of workers carrying bags of finished ukes slung over their sholders to the awaiting ships, marching in lockstep chanting "O E O":)
 
I have two Kalas, as you all probably knew. I'm pretty happy with both of them, for what they are. Kala IS the largest of all the brands. It seems like they have the Midas touch, too. I think they may be responding to the new "custom" high end koa uke that Lanakai just announced, for example. It seems like a VERY competitive race to garner the most customers these days, by appealing to all of us, broke or rich. I think that the mid to high end market will eventually flood itself, and taper down. I'll bet Kala will continue to thrive by selling ukes for kids, and the other budget priced ukes. Look at the Ubass, now all kind of other friggin companies are mimicking it.
I would love to try the new Kala, if it's a concert with a nut that's not too wide for my hand....I remember once last year, that they ONLY soprano I played that I liked was a Kala....and it wasn't exactly cheap....
 
I dunno that offering a new premium line is the issue. Toyota up'd to Lexus, Nissan up'd to Infinity, Honda up'd to Acura. You could say it's easier to offer premium if you have a history of good consistency.

Yes, but these companies also created a completely seperate name and image in order for this to be successful. VW tried something similar in the mid-2000s offering an $80,000+ Phaeton. They tried to compete with BMW & Mercedes. By all accounts, it was a solid car. Powerful engine, great interior, standard AWD, but no one wanted to pay that kind of $$ for a VW. It lasted 3 years. Kia is trying it now offering a $60,000 car. I see it ending the same way.

IMHO, the elite line is going to have to be VERY special to pull customers away from a similarly priced K brand. And even then, people will still choose the K brand because of the name, reputation and even re-sale value.
 
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