KalaKA-MK-P Makala Pineapple-Style Soprano Ukulele

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 - Soprano2) 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!

This little sweetie sounds so good and looks great. It's carefully built and finished well. I did a little bit of a "set-up" after I got it but not as much was I thought would be required.

My new Makala pineapple uke, a copy of Ukulele for Dummies, Aquila strings (as promised, after a few weeks they have stretched and stay in tune and sound good), Snark SN-2 tuner and some patience have made this a really fun addition to the other things I do. And all for less than $100 thanks to Amazon. I am moving forward s-l-o-w-l-y but surely and doing what the book says to do -- I consider the book an indispensable purchase. I was going to get a uke case right away, but just leaving it lying on top of surfaces around my house and work makes me pick it up for just a few minutes at a time, strum a few chords, dabble with a little note finger picking, then put it down and do the other things I have to do. If I had it in a case I would not be using it as much as I do, and for me to use it a lot in short bursts is keeping it in tune and getting a little better every day. I can see this is something I will be doing and enjoying for a long time. I have gotten a lot of inspiration, knowledge and ideas by also watching some of the many YouTube uke teaching and performance videos. If you have not yet looked, go to YouTube and search for Jake Shimabukuro and James Hill videos. And to see incredibly beautiful ukes go to ukemaker.com

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!

Très bon ukulele👍 très bonne sonorité je suis agréablement surprise pour les accords pas de souci il suffit de jouer un peu et ils tiennent très bien ,pour les cordes Aquila rien à dire elle sonne très bien. Il est exactement de la même taille que mon aloha soprano s20.Ce ukulele makala Kala MKP est une valeur sûre.👌

Certamente indicato per chi come me ha deciso di imparare a suonare uno strumento. L’ukulele è veramente uno strumento particolare e facile da conoscere.

Me gustó el diseño, el sonido y la calidad. Aún estoy aprendiendo, pero estoy muy satisfecha con mi compra. Además de que me llegó antes de los esperado.Lo recomiendo muchísimo!!

LOVE THIS UKULELE! It has a nice full tone for such a cute shape. I take it everywhere. It’s such fun to play. Nice for adults with smaller hands.

Suena muy bien. Es muy pequeño y cómodo de llevar a cualquier parte. La afinación aguanta bastante bien incluso recién sacado de su caja. Generalmente los instrumentos de cuerda se desafinan con facilidad al estar nuevos y necesitab de algún tiempo hasta que todo se acomoda a la tensión adecuada de las cuerdas. La forma y el color lo hacen un ukelele muy bonito y divertido