Kala KA-MK-S Makala Soprano Ukulele

My daughter loves this little Uke! Great quality for the price. Came in perfect condition, shipped wonderfully! The Ukulele came with quality strings, she didn't have to do any kind of adjustments to the instrument. The fret board to string level was perfect. It has a great sound, it's loud and punchy and very warm, compared to other Ukuleles. This is the only caveat -- one of the tuners was slightly loose (when it arrived), as it slips when she tunes or restrings. It simply requires a little more work before playing. We would highly recommend this instrument for beginners to seasoned musicians. Ooohhh...she loves it for how light it is and she loves to travel with it!

I ordered two Ukulele's for my daughters. One was this Makala and the other the Lanikai. They both cost about the same and we wanted to have them be different to avoid any conflicts between the girls. Amazon shipped them quickly and they were both very well packaged, as usual. Christmas morning the girls opened them up and the difference was immediately apparent. The Makala looked like a much better instrument. The Lanikai looked pretty, but it also looked pretty cheap. The difference in tone was astounding. The Makala sounded so much warmer, sweeter and musical. The Lanikai sounded tinny and cheap. It looked like an instrument, but it didn't sound like one. The Makala was quick and easy to tune. And it held its tune from the get go. The Lanikai struggled to hold its tune generally, but on of the machined tuners simply would not hold a tune. I contacted Amazon and they gave me a full refund on the Lanikai. It is shipping back today. I ordered another Makal but with the black tuning pegs to maintain a difference for the girls. I am super pleased with the Makala. It is surprising great quality for the money. I highly recommend it!

I bought this a couple months ago, it's really great, i would recomend getting it. I've played a lot of professional ukuleles and this one compares well especially for the price. People keep writing reviews saying it goes out of tune to quickly, that's not true... at all. Any strings, especially nylon stings, have to stretch out when they are first being used, so yes, it goes out of tune within a couple seconds when you first pick it up, but that's how it is with any string instrument, there is an easy process for stretching the strings, i think the last time i tuned it was two weeks ago and its still in tune, so its not a problem. Also, of course it is shipped out of tune, common people. The neck is surprisingly sturdy, even more so then alot of expensive ones i've played. Going back to the tuning the pegs and gears are really great, they don't slip at all, it really can play in tune for a long time. Also build quality of the body is really good, the bridge is sturdy, its not easy to break (believe me) and the acoustics of the body are great. The action on the strings is perfect and the frets are perfect, sadly some cheaper fretted instruments have lop sided frets that just create uneven tones but that isn't the case with this ukulele. Ive actually recorded and preformed with this ukulele and its great, i couldn't find something to complain about with this thing, and i'm pretty good at that.

If your are budget minded, like I am, this is a good middle of the road starting instrument with good to decent sound. Over Christmas the big local guitar store had Ukulele's for $25 which was a good price. But when I went to purchase them, I played one and found them to be really chinsy! I came home, hopped online to do some research and found that the Makala Soprano is a good middle of the road beginner instrument to learn on. I don't know anything about Ukulele's and price was a factor so I went with this one. Also, I want to train my kids to have a good ear, so buying cheap, chinsy sounding instruments was out of the question. I purchased six of them, and they are a hit with my family. They have been played everyday, several times a day since Christmas. The strings will need to be tuned repeatedly at first till they start to hold a tune. I tuned each of them probably ten times the first hour. They seem to be settling in, and the ones that are played the most are holding the best. I've read on here that "Aquila strings" should be put on them; that is my next project. I will also state that they do not all have the same sound quality. Two seem to have a much better sound than the others, and one seems to be sub-standard to the rest. I'm a guitar player and my ears are pretty good, so I can tell there is a difference with the sound quality. This doesn't affect the sound, but I have also noticed the finish chips easily. Two of them already have been dinged and pieces of the wood have chipped off. Granted I do have kids, but I hope that is not a harbinger of bigger issues. Because of the strings and the sound, I rate it more like a 3.5 than a 4, but again, there is no 3.5 rating. Having said that, I'd definitely recommend.

I bought this for my niece who liked playing my OS OU-5. It's a great starter for a child. Good materials, excellent workmanship, tunes easily and is in tune all the way up the neck. It is a laminated (ply) construction but has a strong voice and very, very passable tone. Laminates are fine for kids because they need very little maintenance and are rugged. Also great for an adult player who wants a good playing, good sounding second uke for the beach or campground without risking their expensive instrument. NEW PLAYERS TAKE NOTE: All ukuleles use nylon strings. These can take several days to 'settle in' and stay in tune for long periods. If you buy a new ukulele and it keeps going out of tune, do NOT complain or despair. Just keep re-tuning until the strings stretch out and stabilize. ALL UKULELES go through this process whether they are beginners or professional models.

Well, I have absolutely zero experience as this was my first ukulele, but I will say what my reaction was as an impulse-buyer. It has a great sound, definitely loud enough for practice or singing along. The build quality seems like it should cost something triple than it did, and the strings feel/sound fine (though I have guitar callouses). The finish looks nice (not cheap), as does everything else visually. It does go out of tune overnight, but I have only been playing it off-and-on for a couple of weeks, and more experienced users have said this should go away. Either way, it does not go out of tune while playing, and a quick tune-up each day isn't a big deal. It's also very light, and cheap. What else is there? If you were thinking of something different from a guitar and inexpensive, this is your bet.

I love this ukulele! the comments and reviews were really helpful to me. at a great price, it sounds really great! even though the strings are plastic, after tuning, is just fine. its everything i was looking for. when you first get it, it needs major tuning but thats really easy to do. once its tuned, start playing! but at first you need to keep on tuning it until it stays in tune. it may be a few days but its worth it and easy. i have never played a string instrument before and i am picking it up really easily! these are really easy to play and i definatly recomend one.

These used to be an amazing deal where you received a fantastic Ukulele at a great price point. Those were the Chinese manufactured ones. After the pandemic production of this model was moved to Indonesia. Last year I’ve bought 5 of these new Indonesian made versions & they have all been terrible. Bad intonation's, dead sound, sloppy craftsmanship (eg.badly finished frets) & they have even changed the construction of the scarf joint (joining the headstock to the neck). If you can find an older Chinese version buy it but otherwise avoid the new Indonesian ones.