Kala Travel Spruce KA-SSTU-S Ukulele
It might seem like the soprano ukulele is already an exceptionally portable instrument, but Kala have taken that idea one step further. They have made it even more compact by shrinking the width of the body (to an inch and a half at the widest).
The uke has a solid spruce top making it very much a serious ukulele (not just a gimmick).
There’s also the humorous (or tacky depending on your point of view) compass on the headstock.
On Video
Ken Middleton plays and reviews his soprano ukulele.
On eBay
On eBay UK
Video Review
BornAgainJeeper on his soprano Travel Uke.
Specifications
Size: Soprano
Construction: Solid Spruce top, Mahogany (laminated) back and sides
Fretboard: Rosewood
Frets: 12
Bridge: Rosewood
Neck: Mahogany
Tuners: Chrome die-cast sealed geared tuners
Finish: Satin
Binding: Black
5 Comments
I really think this Kala is surprisingly loud in terms of volume. It’s too bad they didn’t use friction tuners on it as I hear the headstock is quite heavy, making it somewhat unbalanced.
I picked one of these up on amazon for $145. Very compact, and rather loud, but the sound is a tad harsh and the tuners do make the headstock very heavy.
I own one and yes you can feel the imbalance, but it soon wears off when playing it, it was not as loud as I expected or as nice sounding as say the Kala SMHC solid mahogany for which I paid roughly the same price, would I buy another one? Probably not, but if you asked me to part with this one it would be through gritted teeth because once my dolphin gives up the ghost this will be my work horse soprano
I have a Kala tenor traveler with an electric pickup, and with heavy grade clear Worth strings (low G), I can’t say enough about it. The sound fills the room, even unplugged. Tone is great with the thin body (it has a curved back for great projection), and I improvised a nylon strap so it hangs free. With a Jim Dunlop Big Stubby 3.0mm pick it is one fine rig. It is all I want.
This is a brilliant instrument. I have mine (a soprano) strung with Concert 5ths Aquila Nylgut strings and play all my fiddle tunes on it. It is a great size for travelling on my Royal Enfield motorcycle, particularly as its excellent padded gig-bag is filled with long enough straps. But the instrument itself is well made, sounds great and although the headstock is a little heavy for the rest of it, that does not matter. I just love playing this beautiful, compact Uke.
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