My husband and I started playing ukulele this summer. We wanted small instruments to take camping. I was afraid the soprano would be too small, so I bought a concert size Kala in electric blue (I thought the color was fun). My hubby got a tenor Kala in Mahogany. Within a month I realized my shiny blue concert was too slippery and slid down my belly while playing in a standing position. I put a couple of small velcro squares on the back to prevent slipping but it didn’t help much. I decided to get a soprano in Mahogany and ordered a Kala since the first two were well made.

When the soprano Kala it arrived I was happy to see it came with Aquila strings which are better quality than the original strings on the other two Kalas. We changed the strings on the other two ukes for Aquilas based on recommendations from seasoned uke players.

The soprano size is plenty big enough for me, although my husband says his big fingers have trouble fitting on the smaller neck after playing his tenor. The tone is snappy, and the workmanship is exceptional for such a cheap musical instrument. Since we now have three Kalas and none have flaws, I wholeheartedly recommend this brand.

I work at Eckroth Music in Bismarck, ND and we started receiving these ukuleles as a new product item to replace shabby, low-end ones we were getting from a different vendor, but at a similar price range. Boy, what a difference in quality! I wasn’t a uke player until I started messing around with this one, and I bought my own KA-15S ukulele to get started because I love the tone and the quality construction of it. I have to admit that I didn’t know the correct tuning, because the G string is higher then the C string right below it, and I ended up breaking my A string because I had it tuned an octave higher than I should have. Then I watched a Youtube video on how to re-string and tune the uke, and pretty soon I was learning to play a Queen song. Just fabulous. I re-strung it with Martin M600 flurocarbon strings, but the Aquila strings that come on the uke are the most popular brand around, and for good reason. The next time I have to re-string, I’m going to get Aquila Nylgut strings. Some tips for would-be uke players: if you use a pick, use a lighter gauge pick, like a .50 or lighter, to get the best tone from your strumming and minimize the twang.

I’ve been trying to think of a caveat, but I just can’t. This thing gets better every time I play it.

I’ve tried dozens of ukuleles of all makes and sizes in stores in California and Hawaii, and I had to get up to the 0 range before I found a ukulele that sounded better than the Kala KA-15S. I decided to get ukuleles for my nephews, and after trying many different ones, I picked without hesitation this KA-15S and a Kala Makala Soprano Pineapple Styled Ukulele. I became so enamoured of the ukuleles that I decided to get one for myself. After multiple visits to some of the best ukulele specialty shops anywhere, I ended up buying another KA-15S. The tone has beautiful color and sustain, there is no buzzing on the fingerboard, the intonation is very good, and this little flea just sings! Contrary to the description here, Kala come standard with Aquila strings, now reputed to be the best.

I tried a wound G string, and the ukulele gives it a red carpet treatment in transmitting its rich bass timbres.

The natural brown finish is simple, but elegant and appealing. The machine pegs work very precisely. What more can I say?