Kala KA-MK-P Makala Pineapple-Style Soprano Ukulele

300-days use product review! (Pineapple Ukulele)Instrument played on average for 3 hours a day, every day for the past 300 odd days.Well, I'm a music teacher and a instrument's aficionado based out of Bangalore and I can tell you this is the BEST instrument you can buy to kick off your musical impulse. Compact, clean, easily stored, effortlessly transported and affordable, very few wooden instruments can be bought online of such quality. I have recommended this to everybody with no age barrier interested in learning an instrument or the ukulele.Also perfect for small parties & occasions to show- off your newly acquired musical talent. A great topic for conversations, too.This is stringed with average Aquila ukulele nylon strings that haven't lost its tone for 3 months now. Fret height and spacing is just perfect.Perfectly packaged, delivered on time, Not the slightest of blemishes. I cannot stress enough about the surprising premium yet artistic feel of this instrument.Cheers!

Good quality product. Keeping in mind the price a bag should be provided. And sound is actually perfect for size.

great awsome sound ....warm sounds build quality awesome

Good

Nice and quality product for beginner's.

my first ukelele.It's beautifully crafted and amazing to hold n play. It came equipped with nylgut strings. The sound of the instrument is warm. Perfect for beginners and amatures alike.

The knobs get loosened rather frequently. So have to take it to a service center. It is an ok product except for this trouble.

It’s not even pineapple sized

This Ukelele has a nice tone, and is very stable and easy to play. I bought it so that I could join our local Senior Center's Beginning Ukelele group, and I've had so much fun with it. It's easy to carry, and easy to play. You can learn about 3 chords, and then you can play a whole lot of music!

This ukulele is a wonderful choice for anyone who wants to learn ukulele AND buy a uke that will still be fun to play when they get really good at it.The body of the uke is stained wood (i am not sure if it is plywood or what, but it isn't plastic which is the important thing) -- since the wood is only treated with a protective stain and not painted, it allows the vibrations to come out very rich sounding! Also, this ukulele is SO beautiful and it's pineapple shape helps it stand out from the crowd. I always get compliments on it and people begging me to let them try to play it, too. One thing I guess that surprised me is how small a traditional uke is. This one spans only a few inches longer than the distance from my elbow to the tip of my middle finger. So it is really small. I am a girl and have unusually tiny hands, so this was perfect for me. But, if your fingers are not so small it might make playing this uke pretty difficult. I would suggest looking at concert ukes instead.As a beginner, I wanted a uke that would inspire me to play. With guitar, I had chosen the cheapest one I could because I wasn't sure if I would follow through on learning and I didn't want to waste a ton of money on a failed hobby. I have to say I believe this was a mistake. My guitar was so cheap that my poor playing skills on top of the poor sound of the guitar made me frustrated and disappointed. I gave up quickly. With ukulele, which I had heard was easier (and it is!!!), I decided I would go for a better than bottom-rung instrument so that I could hear my improvement as I went and not get discouraged. That is exactly what happened with this uke! Even, though I only know a few songs, I never want to put this instrument down! It sounds so good, even my friends are impressed and want to hear me play. Any beginner musician will tell you that is usually not the case! In less than a month I have learned 10 different tunes and can pick up new ones each day with no problem at all! They sound so good on this instrument, and the quality of the instrument allows me to hear my mistakes easily so I can correct them. No buzzing strings or warped neck on mine at least.So, while I don't know what a more expensive instrument might sound like, I do know what a cheaper one would sound like. If you are learning, this uke isn't so expensive that you can't take a risk on it! The dolphins that are around $20 play fine, but why spend $20 with the potential to want a nicer uke later on anyways? Get a nice-ish uke to begin with and then you'll only have to upgrade when you want to treat yourself instead of when you want to actually sound good.I gave this 4 stars because the black strings that come with this are definitely not good, like everyone says. I was really nervous to change them out because I have never done it before! I bought the nylgut aquilas strings everyone recommended along with this, though, just in case. Honestly, I couldn't tell that the black strings were bad until I put the Aquilas on. If you are scared to do it, don't worry! There are plenty of youtube videos for that and it took me less than 30 minutes my first time! Uke strings are different from guitar strings and that was something I had to learn when I got this instrument. They are basically fishing line instead of the metal strings you see on guitar. ALSO, they stretch a lot when they are new, so your ukulele will probably not even play a few lines of a song when you first get it without falling out of tune. You might feel disappointed because everything you play may sound awful. The strings have to stretch a lot (the black ones on the instrument originally along with any new strings you might put on). There are some youtube videos out there to teach you how to stretch out your strings so they hold tune more quickly, and that is what i did. Otherwise they can also stretch out naturally from play in about two weeks. If you choose not to stretch your strings, and want them to stretch with play, then tune your instrument literally every 5 minutes. Do not get used to the sound of an out of tune ukulele! That is a terrible habit to break.The other reason I gave this 4 stars is my ukulele doesn't have the white ring around the sound hole like the picture. I actually like it better without the ring (which seemed tacky to me), but (i know it's superficial) it was one of the things that made me almost not buy this uke so I took a star off so the seller can try to change the picture! The pictures people added though are accurate. I hope this helped!

Entrega perfecta como siempre. Viene en una caja de cartón con un plástico, servirá para unos días mientras llegue la funda.Lo compré después de dar muchas vueltas por Internet, no quería comprar ese Tiger de aspecto y precio sospechosos (esos packs llenos de trastos, puas, afinadores, todo por 30€... que vale realmente el Ukelele entonces?) y tampoco comprar en paginas como Ukecosas y pagar de más por el envío ni esperar más (cuando te entra la ansia lo quieres ya). Es el primer Ukelele que compro pero no quería un juguete, quería algo más serio a un precio alcanzable para poder llevarlo encima sin preocuparme demasiado.La madera es muy bonita y agradable al tacto, mas de lo que esperaba. Los clavijeros parece que aguantaran bien la afinación y no encuentro ningún desperfecto en el acabado. La verdad es que se siente muy bien en las manos, y su forma no afecta para nada al cogerlo, ya que por su tamaño tampoco puedes apoyarlo en las piernas por la parte superior del cuerpo.Buen Ukelele, de la gama baja de Kala a ese precio no puedes esperar nada mejor. Busca en Thomann.es, hay exactamente el mismo modelo a 70 euros más gastos de envio (20 euros), con muchas mas reviews que aquí y mas fotos, el instrumento es el mismo, la unica pega es que este no trae funda (Thomann añade la suya).Trae buenas cuerdas de serie (Aquilea), agradables al tacto y hay que afinarlas un par de veces hasta que se asienten bien, que luego viene el típico necio a poner comentarios negativos porque a la 3a vez que afinan aun no suena bien, cualquier persona que haya practicado un poco con instrumentos de cuerda sabe perfectamente que hay que tener un poco de paciencia.Aún así nunca esta de mas añadir unas cuerdas nuevas de repuesto en la misma compra por si acaso, no mola pagar 6-7€ mas en el mismo pedido, pero puede que en un momento clave las necesites y entonces si da pereza ir a buscar unas o esperar a que las traigan.En conclusión un grandísimo instrumento a un precio absolutamente imbatible, muy recomendable para principiantes, para regalo o incluso decoración.

Let's start by saying I'm not a uke expert at all - only 3 weeks in at this point. I decided I wanted to re-establish a new musical foundation for myself after a few years of musical atrophy and began my search for the perfect cheapo uke (classically trained on viola, self taught drums & analog synth). For 50 smackers I wanted something that was going to last and sound good enough to encourage me to play. This bad boy fits the bill, with the added bonus that I don't have to hear comments like "what is that a mini guitar?" The fret board seems well made so far and the action height seems adequate, or perhaps on the low side. The low-ish action makes it easier to hit the right fingerings but also easier to create string buzz when I play really hard. I was surprised at how stylish and sturdy the wood looks and feels - big bonus. The faux ivory parts are all cheap plastic, some of which have those plastic break off nubs from when they were cast, making those parts look and feel cheap (as expected). I got a chance to play a blonde Lanikai soprano uke recently (martin strings) and could tell that it was probably worth its price at 3x the cost of this, but if you're just starting out or need a beater this pineapple can't be beat.I don't normally plug other products in reviews but I feel that these two form the essential uke starter kit:1) Don't waste your time with the mystery strings shipped with this instrument. If you're going to take the time to tune up properly then get some strings that can keep up. It took me about 3 hours of tuning, playing, and working the strings to get it to hold a solid tune, and I'm glad that when the process was over that I had good sounding strings at the end of it as a payoff. Aquila, Martin, or D'Addario:  Aquila Premium Ukulele Strings - Soprano 2) I highly recommend the Ukulele for Dummies book for the first timer. Have a gander at the reviews... Since I'm no expert at this instrument I will usually take the book around with me if I'm taking the uke. They're travel buddies, especially if I'll be jamming or playing with a friend. Add a few chord family printouts and you're good to go. Ukulele For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) ** I tune up with a pitch pipe from a viola & I recommend this as a good way to stay mobile and in tune in all weather and in all modes of dress! Aquila Premium Ukulele Strings - SopranoUkulele For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))

I purchased this ukulele to learn how to play due to loving its sound and uniqueness. After reading plenty of reviews for other ukuleles, I settled on this one. Why I picked this over the Luna was due to the high reviews on here and style (bought the pineapple body).This instrument comes with aquila strings, which I do have to say are pretty nice and do sound great once the strings have time to stretch (about a week if playing everyday, but also depends on temperature/humudity). Others suggest to replace the strings upon receiving it, but these strings are perfectly fine once it has time to stretch. Quick note about the strings and tuning, the instrument needs to be tuned as mine was no where near close to being in tune. You can use free ukulele apps for tuning (not as accurate but better than nothing) if you do not have a tuner.One thing I do not like about the ukulele is how lightweight it happens to be. It almost feels as if you are lifting a box of tissues. The instrument is mostly in perfect condition, except a few "blemish" spots near the sound hole. Pretty much the area is not as polished as the other parts of the body, which is only noticable if the light hits it just right.Another minor complaint is that pressing down on the strings on the first fret require more strength than the other frets, which can make it hard to get a nice sound out of the instrument (especially if there are no calluses on the fingers yet).But for the price, this is a great ukulele. The pineapple has a warmer and louder sound to it, which is why I ordered it over the traditional body.