Aloha! I lead a group of 120 musicians in Boise, Idaho called Boise Ukulele Group. Words simply cannot express my appreciation for Kala Brand Music's commitment to supporting our music communities let alone their commitment to creating top quality and AFFORDABLE instruments. I really do believe in and promote Kala Brand Music because they've made a believer out of me. Not just through their quality instruments but through their ethics and sincere dedication to promoting music and supporting our music communities. Since "connecting" with Kala about four years ago, I've dealt only with top quality people who care about what they do. My sincerest thanks to all of you. 21 years and already sitting on top. Happy anniversary! BUG-Daddy read more

Came with a broken tuner! It came with a tuner that seemed sticky but worked so I didn't worry about it. A year later when I went to change the strings I realized it was broken and would no longer hold. I called and told them about it and they said it was out of warranty. Then they sent me a link to order the part that had the part listed as out of stock. I'm calling them again now for the third time. I would not recommend this brand. They sold a broken product and where very cavalier about it. read more

My name is Kharma and I am a member of the Habilitat family. Working with Sandra was a lovely experience seeing how kind and generous she and her team at Kala Brand Music have been over the years. We are a non-profit recovery community program and have been self-supported for 52 years. Thanks to companies like Kala Brand Music helping us throughout the years we have been able to help save and change the lives of those who lost the will to keep pushing on so long ago. We appreciate their contribution to our cause. read more

I bought a Kala ukulele while on vacation in Maui. After a couple of months it randomly started buzzing. I took it to a music shop and they said it could not be repaired and I should contact the company about the warranty. I was worried, because I didn't have the original purchase receipt since I was on vacation couple of months prior when I bought it. I emailed the company and sent them a screenshot of my credit card statement and picture of the uke. They sent me a label to ship it back to them. Within a couple of days they have responded that they were not able to repair it to their standards, and they sent me a brand new one the next week. The email communication was quick and responsive, and my problem was solved quickly. Thank you Kala! read more

Through a general email I was responded to by the president of the KALA Company in a most positive way. I can not say enough good things about my experience. And the KALA Ukulele is a lovely instrument. On it my grand daughter has been able to teach herself how to play and enjoyed many hours of relaxation - so important for a stressed high school student (as they all seem to be today). I'm thrilled to know of the popularity of the Uke today. My granddaughter's great grandparent's generation, in the 1920's, used to walk around holding Ukes and never knew how to play them. How I wish they could see their great granddaughter actually playing the KALA KA-C (concert) ukulele. Again - thank you KALA for being one of the most responsive businesses I have ever dealt with and for making a great little instrument. read more

Kala has zero customer support. I purchased an expensive UBASS from them and it has never worked. After submitting multiple support tickets and call (only could speak to a receptionist) plus trying to contact them via social media I still haven't heard from anyone. Ridiculous. I might have to spend more money to get a local Luthier to try and get it to work. I can't even get information on how to send it back. My first Kala cracked after 3 months so I guess I won't being buying Kala anymore. #ukulele read more

I have to say, I love my Kala ukuleles. I started playing on a soprano Yellow Shark that I received as a "thank you gift" for donating to my local public radio station KRCB back in November. Kala supports these stations by donating quite a few ukuleles to encourage donations. I started playing then, and was beginning to sound pretty good by Christmas time. I then decided to attempt to teach my Sixth Grade class in Sonoma how to play. I emailed Kala to see if they would donate some uke's to my school. I didn't hear back from them for about two months. I see from the previously posted reviews that getting a hold of people and getting a timely response can be an issue. I didn't get to worked up about it... I figured that I was probably just one of the thousands of Public School teachers hoping for freebies. In the end they replied after several re-submissions to my request and directed me to apply for a grant for next year. This year's grants were exhausted, I was told. Being far too impatient for that, I urged the parents who could afford to to go buy one as a Holiday gift, and then I began to search Craig's List for cheap used ones. I ended up buying several used ones in the $20-40 range for the students who didn't get one for Christmas and my 21 students began playing (almost) daily in January. We are awesome now, can play dozens of songs, and no longer need to rely on Chord charts. The class and I love to play together and have performed for the school at an assembly. It has transformed our music program and made us into performers. We love to play, and the class complains whenever we skip a day... Now, about the Ukuleles themselves: I passed that Yellow Shark on to a student who has dropped it a half dozen times already... and it still works perfectly. These things are really solid! Highly recommended for kids. Another student brought in a shark with a broken neck which I glued back on with Gorilla glue. It actually sounds better that the new ones do... Curious... We have about half a dozen sharks of various colors in the class and they all work great and stay in tune really well. I treated myself to a Kala Satin Concert size for New Years and I love it. I actually bought it used for $100 dollars which was probably a mistake since you can get a brand new one for the same price. Ooops! But is sounds fantastic, has really good intonation, and is really a deal for the money. And the Concert size is just way easier to play if you have adult sized hands. I bought a couple of others, used: I got a Kala Soprano Pineapple for $40 that was just like new and has held up well to my less that careful Sixth graders. I also bought a beautiful soprano Luna brand at a thrift shop which has amazing sound quality. That one was also like new and I gave it to my own kid to play. Too nice for school I decided. Another student was given a Luna tenor size with a pickup in it that also sounds very good and is really fun to play through a guitar amp with a "fuzz" distortion setting! That sums up the good ones... Now for the Bad and the Ugly! Several parents bought cheap uke's online and they are all just miserable. I won't go through all of the brands, but every one of them are just awful. They look so attractive: They usually came with an accessories package like a deluxe case and a tuner... But they sound terrible and the quality is really poor. And you will need that tuner CONSTANTLY! These so called 'instruments' go out of tune in minutes and are so out of tune by the next day you wonder how it is even possible for them to go so far off. Don't be fooled... There are a world of cheap junk ukulele's on sites like Ebay, and your playing experience will end in frustration and failure if you go this route. The cases are nice, though... So, now that I've been at this for six months, I've reached some conclusions. If you are buying a ukulele for your child of yourself, I recommend you start out with a Makala or Kala brand instrument. The plastic ones are nearly indestructible but the sound quality suffers. If you are an adult, go with the Kala Concert size. The Tenor size is cool as well but looses some of the charming tone of the smaller bodied uke's. Yes, the Luna brand uke's are a bit cooler looking and sound just as good but do cost more. A pickup equipped instrument is fun and plugging in is cool, but it won't help you learn and takes away from the ease of just picking it up and playing anytime. My Suggestion? Start now! Leave it out on the couch and play every day until you get the hang of it. Get song books out of the library or look online for sites and videos, and then buy one of the "Rise Up Singing" books. You have to be a bit obsessive about it to get over the hump and start to get good enough to play the songs you love, but this will happen quickly if you keep at it. Go get one and get started... Pretty soon you will be the coolest one at the party, and you will feel like a star... And you will be! read more

Kala, nice products totally negated by terrible customer support. Had some questions about re-stringing my UBASS. Called them and was transferred to Eric. He never got back to me. Still waiting for his call, that was two years ago. This past week I need a part for my Ubass. $20 for the part and $25 for shipping, for a shipment that weights less than one ounce. They said it would be sent FEDEX, but actually it's coming regular USPS. I sent their online support people a note, and I got back a response that said they all would be getting together to discuss. If I had to do it all over again, I would never, ever give this company one more dollar. read more

I have a Kala Rumbler and I love it! I saw the new Kala roundwound strings and wanted to try them After I got them I looked online on changing the strings because on short scale u bass it's a special knot and technique to get the strings on a in tune I saw plenty of reviews of the strings but no information on changing from the rubber strings to the roundwound ones I called customer service and the receptionist is going to have the tech service people call me and I hope make a video so we don't have to ask how to change strings Good experience, friendly people! read more