i'd try one first, they are not everyones cup of tea
I think Simon's right. And funnily enough, if you want to know what they sound like, I've just posted a vid of me on my Kala Pocket Uke in this week's Seasons of the Ukulele.
[video=youtube_share;JQIgWVWq79k]Season 57 Of The Ukulele[/video]
Yes, it really is tuned to F, and no, that's not an affectation. F is one of the two tunings recommended by Kala. The other recommended tuning, G (an octave above a baritone), turns the strings into cheese wires. Tuned to C, the strings just flop on top of the fretboard.*
If you want a piccolo-sized uke that plays in C or D tuning, go to Sven Nyström
http://argapa.blogspot.co.uk. He produces the most wonderful little ukuleles, for not a lot more than Kala - and they are really loud!
The reason the Kala needs to be tuned so high is that it's kinda overbuilt. I think Sven told me he reckons Kala use about 28 separate pieces of wood in the construction of whereas he uses about half the amount (his are certainly half the weight). Consequently the strings need to be of a fairly high tension in order to cause the body to resonate when the strings are plucked.
However, the Argapa is about two inches longer than the Kala (about the same length as an Ohana sopranino), which may of course be something you need to consider.
