pdxuke
Well-known member
Many thanks for the great review and video. It makes me glad I have a sopranino (Ohana) which is a blast to play and at $125, the price I paid, looks like a bargain.
Impressions of the Kala acacia pocket ukulele
- Thread starter GX9901
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OldePhart
Well-known member
Heh, heh. I can't play anything in any tuning that I can sing along to. At least...not unless I don't mind the neighbors calling the ASPCA to accuse me of torturing dogs in my back yard... LOL
John
OP
OP
GX9901
Well-known member
In my mind the pocket uke really isn't something to be compared to a normal sopranino. If someone is in the market for a sopranino, the pocket uke is really not an option in my opinion. To me, the pocket uke is a pure novelty uke that happens to be something that can also be played.
By the way, one way to look at the pocket uke is as a soprano playing workout device for non-soprano players. After playing this thing, the soprano almost feels like a concert!
ukuleledaveey
Well-known member
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well i read through this thread with great interest, ihave my pocket uke (acacia) tuned to CFAD, have tried a few tunnings and my ear and the uke seems to prefer this, but i must say my uke is fairly quiet, so i have gone out and got some martin m600's i have these on my ohana sk35g at the moment and they sound great, so oldphart got me tempted top try them on the pocket uke, so shall re string the little gal in a while
Strummin simon
Well-known member
i tired all sorts with mine...couldnt get away with it. sold it on last week
grandpoobah
Well-known member
I had to get a setup done on mine due to the first fret going waaaaaay sharp. It's a lot better now. However the nut is still too darn tall. The first fret is so tiny that I often accidentally bar the nut and not the fret. I'm debating just filing down the top of the nut. The strings are practically buried in it anyway. As far as intonation goes, I can't play past the 7th fret so I don't really care, but after a setup it's pretty close at the 12th now. I had never gotten a uke that was more in need of a setup than this pocket.
I'm using the heavy strings from southcoastukes.com tuned gcea. Pretty happy with them. If you cut carefully you can get two sets out of them.
I'm using the heavy strings from southcoastukes.com tuned gcea. Pretty happy with them. If you cut carefully you can get two sets out of them.
Howdy! I thought I would ring in on this ongoing discussion, however old it is. First, the most played Uke I have is my KoAloha Noah, which of course as a Sopranino is larger than the Kala Pocket, a Sopranissimo.
The Aquila Nyglut Strings, no matter how much playing or stretching I did, struggled to stay in tune. And, then, of course, the blisters on my fingers and cramp in my left hand were the second clue that the action needed to be lowered. The combined fat Aquila Strings with the high action made for a bad combination.
I lowered the action at the nut only and it made a HUGE difference on the playability and strings staying in tune. Then I went and put on a set of Worth light Clear strings. EUREKA!! Paydirt!! No more cramps or sore fingers from having to crush the strings to play chords. I agree with earlier posts, the sustain was noticeably better/longer, and the intonation better as well. As far as tuning, I have NEVER deviated from GCEA, and I don't regret it. I think it sounds fine.
I must also agree that finger position as well as pressure on the frets are CRITICAL with this Uke if you want to be anywhere near in tune or consistent on your sound. Not always an easy thing on such a small fretboard. The body is the same size as my hand!
The Kala solid Acacia Pocket Uke will probably never sound as loud, in tune, or as good as my KoAloha Noah, but it is so much fun to play! I do not regret buying it, and I truly love it. I have hand rubbed the satin finish to a high gloss, it is beautiful.
It's probably not for everyone, and yeah, I can only finger to about the 7th fret, but I take it with me everywhere. What a fun Uke!
The Aquila Nyglut Strings, no matter how much playing or stretching I did, struggled to stay in tune. And, then, of course, the blisters on my fingers and cramp in my left hand were the second clue that the action needed to be lowered. The combined fat Aquila Strings with the high action made for a bad combination.
I lowered the action at the nut only and it made a HUGE difference on the playability and strings staying in tune. Then I went and put on a set of Worth light Clear strings. EUREKA!! Paydirt!! No more cramps or sore fingers from having to crush the strings to play chords. I agree with earlier posts, the sustain was noticeably better/longer, and the intonation better as well. As far as tuning, I have NEVER deviated from GCEA, and I don't regret it. I think it sounds fine.
I must also agree that finger position as well as pressure on the frets are CRITICAL with this Uke if you want to be anywhere near in tune or consistent on your sound. Not always an easy thing on such a small fretboard. The body is the same size as my hand!
The Kala solid Acacia Pocket Uke will probably never sound as loud, in tune, or as good as my KoAloha Noah, but it is so much fun to play! I do not regret buying it, and I truly love it. I have hand rubbed the satin finish to a high gloss, it is beautiful.
It's probably not for everyone, and yeah, I can only finger to about the 7th fret, but I take it with me everywhere. What a fun Uke!
Paul Dominic Martin
Well-known member
I know the kala pocket is 16". What is the exact length of the Koaloha Noah? I know it's 2/3rds the size of a regular soprano but I was wondering what that was exactly. I just got an Ohana sk21 and am trying it out to see how I feel about it.
The Noah is 19 1/2" from the butt of the body to the very tip of the crown head. The scale is exactly 12" and the body is 8 1/2" long. The neck is 1 3/8" wide at the nut, which seemed narrow to me originally, now I'm used to it. --That's the same width of the Kala Pocket.
I got my KoAloha from San Diego, CA, www.theblueguitar.com Everyone else was out of stock, meaning you would have to order it and wait....potentially MONTHS. The Blue Guitar still has one listed on their website, a really nice shop. I think KoAloha is only building Noah's on an order-by-order basis, they are kind of a 2010 thing now...
I'd post pictures of the Kala next to the Noah if I were smart enough, but I'm old and not savvy and don't know how. I could e-mail you pics from my phone if you like.
I CANNOT say enough good things about the KoAloha. The intonation, sustain, and VOLUME!! It is louder than a full body dreadnought (laminate) guitar I have! Truly a great ukulele. The action was absolutely perfect from the factory, a real joy to play. Let me know if you'd like to see or have any other questions. Oh, yeah, I put a strap on the Noah, it helps me go up and down the fretboard better without slipping or dropping. The Kala is smaller and I have a way of holding it that works without a strap.
Finally, I just measured my Kala, it's actually 16 1/4" from the butt to the tip of the head.
I got my KoAloha from San Diego, CA, www.theblueguitar.com Everyone else was out of stock, meaning you would have to order it and wait....potentially MONTHS. The Blue Guitar still has one listed on their website, a really nice shop. I think KoAloha is only building Noah's on an order-by-order basis, they are kind of a 2010 thing now...
I'd post pictures of the Kala next to the Noah if I were smart enough, but I'm old and not savvy and don't know how. I could e-mail you pics from my phone if you like.
I CANNOT say enough good things about the KoAloha. The intonation, sustain, and VOLUME!! It is louder than a full body dreadnought (laminate) guitar I have! Truly a great ukulele. The action was absolutely perfect from the factory, a real joy to play. Let me know if you'd like to see or have any other questions. Oh, yeah, I put a strap on the Noah, it helps me go up and down the fretboard better without slipping or dropping. The Kala is smaller and I have a way of holding it that works without a strap.
Finally, I just measured my Kala, it's actually 16 1/4" from the butt to the tip of the head.
Lardy Fatboy
Well-known member
Well I finally got a Kala Pocket, did a review of it for Ukulele Corner and thought I'd post something here. I suspected there would already be a review for me to add one too and there is, so before I start my review thing I'll just make a couple of comments about what has been said before. I agree the Aquila Nyguts are a bit heavy and thick for it (but remember the new Sopraninio Aquila strings are made for a smaller scale than this) however the intonation on mine is fine all the way up. So one with my review and first a picture (in case anyone doesn't know what they look like)
My Ukulele was made for Kala in China in 2011. The body is all solid acacia with a matching acacia veneer on the headstock over a fairly fat mahogany neck. The fretboard and bridge are rosewood and the nut and saddle are plastic. The fretboard is 12 frets long, with three MOP fret markers at 5, 7 and 10 with matching white dots on the right hand side and meets the body at the twelfth fret. The finish is a very nice even satin and the bookmarking of the top and bottom is beautifully done, really nicely showing off the grain. The Ukulele is a fraction over 16in (41cm) long with an 11in (28cm) scale length and the neck width is on the narrow side for Ukuleles though it looks wide in perspective, given the small stature of the overall package. The tuners are good quality friction ones but are a bit big for the Ukulele meaning they can get in the way of each other when tuning; and when playing too. The bridge is an odd stringing arrangement where the strings double back under the saddle, this is good for space but does make the saddle sit high above the soundboard. Overall the build quality appears excellent and my only criticism is the large tuners, and the nut is possibly a bit large for the size of instrument too, but this doesn't matter that much
When playing it, the first and biggest issue is, (and it has been said before - lots of times by lots of people), this is a difficult Ukulele to play. This can be said for all Sopraninos but with the Pocket the small size of the neck and the closeness of the tuners is added too by the bridge being very close to the bottom of the Ukulele. This makes it difficult to hold without your strumming arm deadening the strings at the bridge end. When I first got it I found this really annoying and was going to be very critical of it but as I have noodled more I have found the technique is to hold your arm at more of an angle and strum lower down the neck that you would normally; it works but is a fiddle when swapping between this ukulele and a bigger one.
Tone wise, as with all Sopraninos, its size means it doesn't have a lot of depth, a lot of sustain and is very quiet. The volume is not helped by the thickness of the saddle or the lack of lower bout to generate volume, Sustain wise, its certainly not helped if you arm does deaden the strings at the bridge end. But when you do get it all to work properly it is a pleasant sweet treble tone. The Aquilas it comes with do seem a bit heavy and don't work very well on a C tuning or even a D one. The person who had it before me used an F tuning! and while I haven't been quite so drastic I am using a E one (this adds to the treble-ness), I may try some lighter strings on it later?
Build wise it is all very solid and really feels it, the neck is quite chunky the bracing is full on and it weighs more than some of my Sopranos. I really do think this one will last well including the finish - but that is partly because this is never going to be one of those Ukuleles that is played a lot. Its too quiet and too fiddly for any sort of gig, even taking to impromptu picnics. Its too quiet and too fiddly for anything really except having in a collection and pulling out occasionally to show people. It comes back to my thoughts when I first saw one - its a novelty - OK for a collector when they already have enough "playing" Ukes but very limited beyond that. Would I get one again if I lost it? Yes, especially now Kala have discontinued it, I think its quite pretty as an object and fun to own. It wouldn't be top of the list to replace but if I know I was going to build up a big collection again I would want another one.
To summarise - its a nice object but not a great working Ukulele and definitely NOT for beginners
For more photos and a sound clip visit Ukulele Corner
My Ukulele was made for Kala in China in 2011. The body is all solid acacia with a matching acacia veneer on the headstock over a fairly fat mahogany neck. The fretboard and bridge are rosewood and the nut and saddle are plastic. The fretboard is 12 frets long, with three MOP fret markers at 5, 7 and 10 with matching white dots on the right hand side and meets the body at the twelfth fret. The finish is a very nice even satin and the bookmarking of the top and bottom is beautifully done, really nicely showing off the grain. The Ukulele is a fraction over 16in (41cm) long with an 11in (28cm) scale length and the neck width is on the narrow side for Ukuleles though it looks wide in perspective, given the small stature of the overall package. The tuners are good quality friction ones but are a bit big for the Ukulele meaning they can get in the way of each other when tuning; and when playing too. The bridge is an odd stringing arrangement where the strings double back under the saddle, this is good for space but does make the saddle sit high above the soundboard. Overall the build quality appears excellent and my only criticism is the large tuners, and the nut is possibly a bit large for the size of instrument too, but this doesn't matter that much
When playing it, the first and biggest issue is, (and it has been said before - lots of times by lots of people), this is a difficult Ukulele to play. This can be said for all Sopraninos but with the Pocket the small size of the neck and the closeness of the tuners is added too by the bridge being very close to the bottom of the Ukulele. This makes it difficult to hold without your strumming arm deadening the strings at the bridge end. When I first got it I found this really annoying and was going to be very critical of it but as I have noodled more I have found the technique is to hold your arm at more of an angle and strum lower down the neck that you would normally; it works but is a fiddle when swapping between this ukulele and a bigger one.
Tone wise, as with all Sopraninos, its size means it doesn't have a lot of depth, a lot of sustain and is very quiet. The volume is not helped by the thickness of the saddle or the lack of lower bout to generate volume, Sustain wise, its certainly not helped if you arm does deaden the strings at the bridge end. But when you do get it all to work properly it is a pleasant sweet treble tone. The Aquilas it comes with do seem a bit heavy and don't work very well on a C tuning or even a D one. The person who had it before me used an F tuning! and while I haven't been quite so drastic I am using a E one (this adds to the treble-ness), I may try some lighter strings on it later?
Build wise it is all very solid and really feels it, the neck is quite chunky the bracing is full on and it weighs more than some of my Sopranos. I really do think this one will last well including the finish - but that is partly because this is never going to be one of those Ukuleles that is played a lot. Its too quiet and too fiddly for any sort of gig, even taking to impromptu picnics. Its too quiet and too fiddly for anything really except having in a collection and pulling out occasionally to show people. It comes back to my thoughts when I first saw one - its a novelty - OK for a collector when they already have enough "playing" Ukes but very limited beyond that. Would I get one again if I lost it? Yes, especially now Kala have discontinued it, I think its quite pretty as an object and fun to own. It wouldn't be top of the list to replace but if I know I was going to build up a big collection again I would want another one.
To summarise - its a nice object but not a great working Ukulele and definitely NOT for beginners
For more photos and a sound clip visit Ukulele Corner
