KALA - A peek at their HQ and happenings. Any questions?

blue_knight_usa

blue_knight_usa

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KALA - March 20th, A peek at their HQ and happenings. Any questions?

Hi All, I am going to be a Kala HQ this week for an interview and tour. I wanted to bring some questions from UU members and add them to my interview.

If you have any specific questions, post them here. No promises your question will be selected but if selected, your question will be included in my video interview which will be posted in a few weeks.

I am excited for the opportunity to see the HQ of one of the biggest uke and uke accessory manufactures. Maybe I will even get some goodies for a UU video contest :)

I will make a final post next week listing which questions were selected.

Cheers!
 
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How do they produce relatively consistent ukuleles at a very reasonable price? Have they considered moving into the higher price range, something along the lines of Cordoba's studio series and Pono's Pro series? Do they build all of the instruments at the same factory? What type of factory operation do they have? Is it a more recent facility, or do they plan to upgrade like some guitar manufacturers have done in China. How big is their dealer network? Their website does not include all Kala authorized dealers, so they need to update that (per a conversation I had with Kala a couple of months ago). What's in the future for Kala and the more advanced player? They offer a few nice all solid models, but are they satisfied with those few?
 
Sounds exciting! Hope you have a great time.

I'd be interested to know if they've considered using other strings than Aquila, as standard on any of their models. Some of their stuff is fine with Aquila, but others you can get a big improvement with other brands - why don't they try some options on each prototype they get for new models, and get the factory to use the strings that suit the instrument best?
 
I would love to be able to buy off their web site. There are a couple of specific models i would love but finding just that one available at a dealer in your area out of the huge range of instruments is a hard task. Any plans on opening a web store?
 
I'm a big Kala fan too. Wish I could peek over your shoulder during the tour!

I see they have their custom shop running for US made banjoleles and are also doing some custom work on existing models if sent in. I'd love to see an all solid wood, nitro finished, US made Kala soprano and tenor. Any plans for that?
 
"Oh, and more pineapples please!" In the ASAC quality range. Maybe even Mahogany....
R
 
Still waiting for Ohana or Kala to make a taropatch....concert size or shorter. The world doesn't need another 8 string tenor.
 
I would really like to see them built in America. Or at least a country that is friendly to us....
any word on if they are going to offer a high gloss finish?
(I'm on my third Kala)
 
Does everyone in the office play the uke? Do they get to jam out in meetings? What's the dress code like? Are they hiring?
 
Can I trade in my Kala KA-R-T-SB tenor reso-uke with the absolutely horrible intonation that I bought new in 2012 for one of the newer models? ;)

- FiL
 
I would like to find out if Kala is planning to offer a uke in their line-up comparable to the Cordoba TM-20 & the Ohana TK-20 soon. They have solid mahogany tops & laminate bodies; street price ~ 170 dollars in US.
Their plans could influence buying decisions, so a yes or no is the only useful answer.
~ Dick ~
 
Hey Fred, I tried calling you a few times from your vm a few weeks back...hope you are coming to my jam on March 29th. I'm actually doing my visit between clients so it's going to be a whirlwind tour. Maybe next time when I head to Austins to interview Bill Collings? ;-). I'm heading to Australia soon and will be doing an interview with Allen McFarlen (on UU Luthiers forum) from Barron River so if you want to come beat the bush, meet me in Cairnes in a few weeks and I'll buy you a drink!

Keep those questions coming, there are some really good ones listed!
 
In the last few days I thought I would step up from the $200-$300 pedestrian ukes I have to something around $350-$500. I read good things about the Kala KA-ATP-CTG-CE solid cedar top/acacia koa body, tenor cutaway with pickup.

I then went to McCabe's and they had one. Very high gloss finish, played very well, lots of presence, good balance on the pickup, $375 US. But I decided to hold off and go for something in the $750-$1000 range in a few months. So I also wonder if Kala will have anything in that range.

Kala Cedar.jpg
 
kohanmike said:
I then went to McCabe's and they had one. Very high gloss finish, played very well, lots of presence, good balance on the pickup, $375 US. But I decided to hold off and go for something in the $750-$1000 range in a few months. So I also wonder if Kala will have anything in that range.
Click to expand...

I spoke with Scott at Kala last Friday, and they're ready to start building ukuleles in the U.S. later this year. They're tooled up and ready to go, according to Scott.
 
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kohanmike said:
In the last few days I thought I would step up from the $200-$300 pedestrian ukes I have to something around $350-$500. I read good things about the Kala KA-ATP-CTG-CE solid cedar top/acacia koa body, tenor cutaway with pickup.

I then went to McCabe's and they had one. Very high gloss finish, played very well, lots of presence, good balance on the pickup, $375 US. But I decided to hold off and go for something in the $750-$1000 range in a few months. So I also wonder if Kala will have anything in that range.

Kala Cedar.jpg
Click to expand...

This is discussed in the interview: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...enes-at-their-HQ-and-interview&highlight=kala
 
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