This Kala ukulele is a soprano that brings a spirit of the past, with the traditional figure of eight, compact soprano body size that harks back to the ukulele’s earliest roots. The Kala KA-F8-KOA-S is a remarkable looking instrument in more ways than one. True it is an interesting idea, a nice tribute to the past and a lovely little ukulele. But to be honest the first thing that grabbed me is that it’s an all solid Hawaiian koa ukulele at this remarkable price. I genuinely did check the invoice three times AND contact Kala to make sure there wasn’t a mistake. This is the real deal at a fraction of the price I’d expected.

This is a limited edition uke, made from Kala owner’s personal stash of koa - wood that was bought a long time ago before the price of the wood rose to its current height. Refreshingly, this supply has been used to create a very attractive, interesting and affordable ukulele, rather than charge a premium basing the price on today’s value of koa. I think this is noble… though fairly surprising when really they could have charged more. I’d have paid more, that’s for sure! And unlike some limited editions, where the edition is only limited by the number of people who want to buy one - this is from a single supply of wood that has now been used, and so no more can be made.

The KA-F8D-KOA-S is one of a pair of soprano ukes made from this koa supply, differening from the other model (the standard model) only in the level of decoration. This one has decoration all round the edge of the top too (and is a little more expensive as a result), while the standard model’s decoration is more stripped back.

Aside from what is is and why it’s come about, it’s important to note that this is a really lively, punchy and sweet-sounding soprano. It’s fitted with Savarez strings which are great, and really get that koa top resonating nicely and producing a shimmering chime and a great attack. Really good stuff actually, they punch well (WELL) above their weight price-wise.

The nut width is 35mm, the finish is gloss and they are fitted with planetary geared tuners - which face the back and are therefore neat and tidy, look traditional (and so in keeping with the design), but contain gears so they work perfectly like modern geared tuners should. Spot on.

At the bottom of the page you’ll find some extras you can easily add on… however you can ignore the gig bag as the Kala KA-F8D-KOA-S comes with a nice padded bag. It will go in a hard case but its figure of eight design means you might need to pad it out a bit - so really, that well padded bag is just right.