Review Details

Kala KA-STG Solid Spruce Top Tenor Gloss

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on October 10, 2013):

I received the Kala KA-STG from Hawaii Music Supply a few months ago. So far I have been very pleased with it. Solid spruce top with laminate mahogany back and sides is very common for acoustic guitars, but is not as common for ukuleles. As such you don't exactly get that traditional tone produced by ukuleles made of koa. The sound is somewhat brighter, however it still has plenty of depth and is quite pleasing to my ear. The solid top also allows it to project very well and this ukulele can be very loud if you want it to be.

In my experience with ukuleles and guitars, solid top instruments are almost always the best value. The quality of the top of the guitar has by far the highest impact on the sound. You can usually very easily hear the difference between a solid top and a laminate, but it is generally more difficult to discern between solid top and all solid. Also the price difference between laminate is relatively small compared with the step up from solid top to all solid. I think solid top always gives you the best bang for your buck and this ukulele is an excellent example. You get a very high quality instrument with excellent sound for less than $200.

The setup by HMS was excellent, the action and intonation were perfect.. It is well worth paying for shipping to get the free setup they include on every ukulele. Ordering from them is definitely the best value. All the parts were high quality and it has stayed in tune very easily since the strings have been stretched out. The only exception is the bridge, which seems to be made of very cheap wood which is rough and gets caught on cloths during cleaning. Overall, I am extremely pleased with my purchase and I would highly recommend this ukulele to anyone, just make sure that the sound is for you.