I spent a merry Saturday afternoon at the excellent Southern Ukulele Store choosing my birthday present. After playing through the entire range of Kala sops and concerts at Ron Jon's in Cocoa Beach FLA whilst on holiday I pretty much had my heart set on either their KA-CGE or KA-CE, but stuck a few more on my "try-it" list for when I went down to Bournemouth. As soon as I saw the Snail in the flesh I was somewhat smitten as I am a sucker for a bit of binding and the rosewood offsets it beautifully. All three ukes (and the KA-CEME and Brunswick BU 4CE) I tried had their merits (although the Brunswicks internal pre-amp was a bit of a screamer) but the pureness of the tone both with and without amplification finally convinced me to go with the Snail. I was delighted to then discover it came with a nicely branded soft carry case. Bonus! I have had to wait all weekend until my birthday today to have a proper go, but I am delighted so far. Can't wait to take it along to the Reading Ukulele Group on Wednesday to show it off.