Hawaii Music Supply- The Kala Elite Series (made in the USA)

I listened to the video 4-5 times and thought that it sound GREAT!. Very articulate and musical. I thought, from pictures, the fit and finish looked excellent. Koa was nice a bit plain but very nice. Good specs...... I would have liked to see a special Kala logo with Elite done up a little nicer. I think as they try to bring the more budget Kala brand into the higher end of price..........ELITE and fancy headstock would help. But for the price and the SOUND coming out of this all solid Koa Ukulele , I thought it sounded good. Curious what "custom strings" Kala has on it.
My .02 cents worth
 
I am particularly impressed by that tenor. If you can do without fancy wood and bling, it's a venerable bargain to my ears. ;-)
 
I thought the tenor and concert both sounded very good. I do think they look quite plain and the price is a bit high - there's a local shop selling Kanilea's in the 700-800 range.

Kala does know how to make nice ukes and some of their low end ones are very good. The California U-Bass that I have - which came from the Petaluma shop - is outstanding.
 
Sounds good but it would be hard to fork over $800-900 for a Kala. Maybe they should take a page from Toyota's play book and call the new line Kalexus. :p
 
Wow, that's the first soprano I've heard that doesn't make me think of Tiny Tim, and somebody raking fingernails over a chalkboard! I might even want one. I'd like to hear those on a good computer, this work craptop makes everything sound crappy. The concert reminds me of the new Martin series concert ukes. And that tenor, wow. If I had longer fingers.....
A thick 1.5" neck is gonna scare me away though.
I've noticed one thing, gradually becoming a better player, and listener, bling doesn't mean as much to me as it used to.....
 
I just visited Andrew today and the Kalas are really good. I played all three sizes and I really believe the ukes are
on par with other ukes in that price range.
 
nongdam said:
I just visited Andrew today and the Kalas are really good. I played all three sizes and I really believe the ukes are
on par with other ukes in that price range.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. In a way I'm not surprised. The California U-Bass is really great, and Kala does know how to build ukes. I do feels something of a psychological resistance to a Kala at the price of a Kanilea. If the U-Bass is any example, Kala California can do an excellent job.

Have fun in Hawaii Daniel!! I'm jealous.
 
katysax said:
Thanks for the info. In a way I'm not surprised. The California U-Bass is really great, and Kala does know how to build ukes. I do feels something of a psychological resistance to a Kala at the price of a Kanilea. If the U-Bass is any example, Kala California can do an excellent job.

Have fun in Hawaii Daniel!! I'm jealous.
Click to expand...

It's about $100 cheaper than Kanilea with the hard case. You are right about the Kala name stigma as they are known for the cheaper imports and trying to move to the hand built market...It might take some time to penetrate that market.
 
We got to see and play them today at the Koolau factory, in the three sizes..they were all in the satin finish
All were set up real nice, and comfortable to play too..
They also had some amazing sounding iiwis custom ukes ....oh my :)
 
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I'm sure the elite series are fine instruments and it's great that Kala is trying to do a "premier" line in addition to the affordable line of ukes. They just really should have gone with something to better differentiate between the two. Just as you have Pono, Islander, or KoALANA.
 
hammer40 said:
I'm sure the elite series are fine instruments and it's great that Kala is trying to do a "premier" line in addition to the affordable line of ukes. They just really should have gone with something to better differentiate between the two. Just as you have Pono, Islander, or KoALANA.
Click to expand...

I agree. Big Island has the Imua line made in Hawaii. Kala should have come up with a new brand name.
 
On the other hand, when (in a few years) the Kala Elite models are established, it could positively influence sales of the entry and mid-range models, too. It also gives people who are very happy with their cheaper Kala models a way to upgrade while remaining loyal to the brand. I don't really like the "Elite" tag, though. "Premium" or "Pro" would resonate more with me.
 
Just tried the deluxe Elite models at the GB Uke Fest. The concert and tenor sounded not too bad but the soprano was superb. Very deep for a sop....BUT...
£1900! That's about $3000 right?!!!
 
Mivo said:
On the other hand, when (in a few years) the Kala Elite models are established, it could positively influence sales of the entry and mid-range models, too.
Click to expand...

I agree that this is what they are trying for so they have very deliberately kept the headstock the same as the mass market models. What they want is for elite players to be seen playing Kala ukulele's which will have a market benefit for them in their regular market.

Basic marketing strategy. Its what automobile racing is all about.

Anthony
 
Mattyukaholic said:
Just tried the deluxe Elite models at the GB Uke Fest. The concert and tenor sounded not too bad but the soprano was superb. Very deep for a sop....BUT...
£1900! That's about $3000 right?!!!
Click to expand...

According to the Kala website there are three grades of Elite ukulele. The top grade runs from $1899 to $2299 which is getting up there, but the pictures look as if you'd be getting an appropriate grade of wood. Of course freight and taxes could well take it close to $3000 depending where in the world you live.
 
Mattyukaholic said:
Living in the UK makes Uke purchases very expensive. Gah!
Click to expand...

Yep, same for Germany. Then again, it removes a lot of the temptation I would otherwise have to battle when reading the Marketplace section here, or when watching HMS videos. It's not just shipping costs, but also customs and VAT (unless it's a gift).
 
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