Kala Ukes

Kala makes a great variety of ukuleles, and my slothead cedar tenor is one of my favorites. I realized yesterday that I have probably never been with a group of ukulele players when there wasn't at least one Kala.

Do you have any good or bad comments about Kalas?
That was my first uke and I loved the sound. Too big for me so I traded it here for the concert model. I love that deep sound of the cedar. It's pretty much the only one I play. Maybe when I play better I'll try another, but this one makes me happy.
 
My first ukulele was a MG-C and I've loaned it out to four people, all of whom picked up the uke themselves. I also have an ASOV-T (what a great ukulele!) and my son has a KA-S. I think they offer the best bang for your buck when it comes to tone, looks, and playability for a price. I think anything beyond a Kala is bought for specific reasons (now I want a radiused fretboard, I want koa, I want fancier appointments, etc) and that's fine, but Kala offers players quite the deal.
 
Kala, the working man's (or woman's) "K" brand.
 
I love my old Kala KA-SMEC-C. It's solid mahogany, and the reason I liked it when I bought it, was because Mim set it up.
I soon discovered, however, that my left hand was actually getting sharp, stabbing pains from playing it for a long time, like 30 minutes at a stretch. I took it to a luthier, and he took off a lot of excess wood from the huge neck, and it fits my hand perfectly now. He also made me a chamfered arm rest to put on it, so it's comfortable to play. I fitted it with some Oasis strings last time, that it seems to agree with much better than Aquilas.
Over the years, I think about 8 now, it has really been beat up, but it sings very nicely. It has sung many a hospice patient to sleep.
KALAs are the most common brand in TBUS, our club, by far. We have two local Kala dealers.
It isn't the only Kala I've ever owned, but it's the only one I have left.
My wife plays an older UBass, and she loves it, except that the darn pickup keeps coming loose, breaking the tiny wires attached to it. I remember that when I gave it to her, she hugged it and grinned from ear to ear.
 
I realized yesterday that I have probably never been with a group of ukulele players when there wasn't at least one Kala.
How true, I live and play in Petaluma, home of Kala Ukuleles. I don't have a Kala and I am almost alone in that aspect. I do have a preference for ukuleles much older than the Kala company.
 
My own personal problems with the company have precluded me from ever buying their products, or recommending them to others with any earnestness.

For the money, I’d rather have a Kiwaya laminate any day of the week and twice on Sunday. And the solid models I have played have been pretty average and unremarkable to my ear.

To me, they did a great job of branding and marketing themselves, an ok job making ukuleles en masse, and pretty horrible job with the company culture. They aren’t in it to bring the ukulele to new people: they are in it to bring their ukuleles to people. The difference creates a culture where profits are the only real concern, and for me that is hugely problematic. It creates a lot of blind spots around the way a company operates and decisions they make towards sustainability and their impact on the environment* (please note, this is a general comment towards how mass produced “things” generate a lot of pollution and waste, not any inditement against Kala for any unethical practices, real or imagined)

Does Kala make ukuleles? Yeah. Would I ever buy one, regardless of the model, knowing what I know about how things happen behind the curtain*? Never. (Again, a reference to the office culture, not some shady business practices)

I would be supremely happy if they faded into obscurity, and took things like the awful fruit-painted “novelty line” with them.

Again, just my opinion, which I’m sure is not a popular one.
 
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My own personal problems with the company have precluded me from ever buying their products, or recommending them to others with any earnestness.

For the money, I’d rather have a Kiwaya laminate any day of the week and twice on Sunday. And the solid models I have played have been pretty average and unremarkable to my ear.

To me, they did a great job of branding and marketing themselves, an ok job making ukuleles en masse, and pretty horrible job with the company culture. They aren’t in it to bring the ukulele to new people: they are in it to bring their ukuleles to people. The difference creates a culture where profits are the only real concern, and for me that is hugely problematic. It creates a lot of blind spots around the way the company operates and decisions they make towards sustainability and their impact on the environment.

Does Kala make ukuleles? Yeah. Would I ever buy one, regardless of the model, knowing what I know about how things happen behind the curtain? Never.

I would be supremely happy if they faded into obscurity, and took things like the awful fruit-painted “novelty line” with them.

Again, just my opinion, which I’m sure is not a popular one.

Tom I’ve always been a supporter of Kala and Makala products though I would not rush to buy a Waterman or (after Baz’s review) one of their painted fruit novelties - even though a few friends like theirs. For what it’s worth I’m delighted with one of their standard Pineapples (the KA-P). Anyway, my own support for Kala products aside, I’m rather puzzled by your critical comments about the company and wonder whether you feel able to add a bit more supporting detail to your comments, please.
 
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Kala deserves as much credit as any company in existence for getting ukes into the hands of the masses.

I consider the modest Kala KA-15S my go-to entry level laminate for children's charities, gifts, and parent referrals.
(My wife calls me the "ukulele fairy", LOL)
I prefer it over the Makala because no plastic in the tuners. Sounds and looks so dang good for the money ($54 with a gig bag and Aquila strings, really?). And if you're willing to go black on a 15S, there are still close outs on Ebay for $33 that have come to me with pretty good set-up, right out of the box.
The KA-SLNG looks fantastic for the money (gloss finish, multi-ply binding) and has a little more "umph" with the long neck. All for under $100.
I will say, the new walnut fretboard is lackluster compared to the earlier rosewood - them were the days.

On the other end, the American made Kala Elite 1MHG hog models are a personal favorite of mine. The satin doghair pore-filled finish is beautiful and tough, and they sound amazing.
I've sold off both Kanile'a and Kamakas in favor of these under-rated beauties.

It seems pretty normal for a large company/corporation to "promote their own products". I haven't seen them do it unethically. Am concerned to hear there are alleged environmental issues, would like to know more...
 
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Tom I’ve always been a supporter of Kala and Makala products though I would not rush to buy a Waterman or (after Baz’s review) one of their painted fruit novelties - even though a few friends like theirs. For what it’s worth I’m delighted with one of their standard Pineapples (the KA-P). Anyway, my own support for Kala products aside, I’m rather puzzled by your critical comments about the company and wonder whether you feel able to add a bit more supporting detail to your comments, please.

My personal experience dealing with the folks in the office is what has colored my view of the company. They talked the talk, but weren’t walking the walk of a company that really cares about what they are doing. I was dealing with middle management folks there, and I felt at various points misled or flat out lied to during my dealings with them. I’d prefer to leave it there, as my experience isn’t one others are likely to find themselves in.

But, what I got out of it was that I couldn’t tell you what their mission statement is beyond “make money selling ukuleles”...which is fine, but doesn’t make me feel great about supporting the products. That said, I couldn’t tell you what Ohana’s mission statement is, either, so maybe (likely) this is a totally bogus justification on my part in order to validate my already held opinion.

And, to be fair to Kala re: my initial post, I made it sound like they are dumping chemicals into rivers and clearcutting forests to build their more mass-produced models, which is unfair and a product of my emotions getting the better of me. I doubt they are doing anything worse than any other company that mass produces “things” for our consumer driven economy. So, again, I may be letting my overall feelings about how we’re treating the planet we live on creep into my outlook on Kala.
 
... Am concerned to hear there are alleged environmental issues, would like to know more...

My apologies for creating that doubt or suspicion. I’ve edited my original post, and hopefully it clears things up.

In no way did I intend to allege any wrongdoing on Kala’s part. I just don’t think we need more and more “stuff”, and I can’t imagine environmental laws in China (where the majority of their ukuleles are produced) are quite the same as they are here. Again, Kala isn’t alone in doing this, so my personal experience with the company likely makes me cut them less slack than others.

Then again, the EPA isn’t really doing much protecting of our environment anymore, so maybe I should just resign myself to a world full of petrochemicals and heavy metals in our food and water, and welcoming the oncoming environmental apocalypse with open arms. :(


Sorry for derailing the discussion. I’ve said my piece, which I thought would likely be the only “bad” view and wanted to share as a result. I’ll bow out now for cooler heads to continue the discussion.
 
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Thanks Tom for coming back and explaining your position. I was disappointed to hear of your negative experience, I appreciate that these things do happen because I have had negative experience with a major U.K. supplier whilst others rave about them ......

I think that you know my views about China already and I would support your stance that mass manufacture can and does lead to us all having more stuff than we need and the planet suffering from the process and end result. However that diverts the thread and doesn’t really add value here. Thanks again for your comments and clarification.
 
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Thanks Tom for coming back and explaining your position.

The people who answer company phones have such a great responsibility. That person is the company, and if they are good or bad, that colors your opinion of the whole company. Of course, company policy also controls what that person says and how he deals with your problem.
 
Strange how China is portrayed as an environmental disaster zone in this thread.

Cast your minds back a few decades when China was just starting to modernise.

The USA, UK, and all the major industrialised nations could not get there fast enough to offer their services to help build up the Chinese industrial modernisation.

What goes around, comes around.

We brought this on ourselves.
 
I like "stuff" - particularly when it is ukulele shaped.

John Colter.
 
I have been trying to post in this thread for two days, but I was on the road and only had my phone--and every time I started typing, I lost my response when I accidentally swiped the screen and lost everything.

There has to be a better solution for forums on mobile devices. UU doesn't work well on a phone.

Anyway...

I have a number of Kala products, including my first ukulele, a Makala CE. My thought about Kala, particularly the laminates carried in the stores near me, is that they are sort of the Toyota of the ukulele world. I like Toyota...

Most of the Kalas I see are built well and sound okay...pretty much the same as most imports these days. Some of the Kalas look fantastic (zizicote, arch tops), but the sound is just okay.

But a few weeks ago, I bought a SSLNG that was here on UU. I had heard people rave about the SSLNG, and I simply thought that it would sound like any other Kala. The SSLNG has really blown me away (Solid Top Spruce), and I'm now open to trying one of the cedar tops that are out there as well. I now have a different recommendation for a first ukulele, if someone wants to spend $200 (instrument, hard case, humidifier).

And while I have played some Kala Elites (one of the local music stores used to stock them--no longer--they just didn't sell), I can't really speak to those instruments other than to say that they are a completely different item than the imports that make up the majority of the Kala catalog.
 
I will say that while I really like Kala's imports, I have yet to play an Elite that impressed me to the same extent as other American makers in that price range.
 
One of my first uses is a Kala KA-SC, concert. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides. Feels and sounds WAY better than most other under $200 ukuleles I've played. Incredibly clear, warm tone with great intonation.

I'm currently getting rid of a few ukuleles with an eye toward upgrading a bit, but that Kala is never going anywhere.
 
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