Kala Ukulele, Bass & Folk Instrument Accessories

Kala Ukuleles was founded in 2005 and is known for quality instruments — the ukulele & Original U•BASS. From the handpicked wood to the best structural pieces, every Kala Elite USA Ukulele is built by hand at their shop located in Petaluma, California. Known as the most recognizable and trusted name in ukuleles, Kala offers more models than any other brand in the world. Across genres like Pop and Folk, musicians like Twenty One Pilots, Vance Joy and Nik West are a few of the many artist who play a Kala instrument. Tom Lee Music is proud to carry a complete range of Kala ukuleles, cases, and accessories. Shop online or through our retail stores in Vancouver, Richmond, Coquitlam, Langley and Victoria.

HISTORY OF KALA

While living and working in Hawaii in the 1990s, Mike Upton first fell in love with the ukulele and its distinctive tone and craftsmanship. However, despite their enormous potential for greater usage and appreciate outside of the island, Upton found few alternatives beside the high-prices, artisan instruments and cheap, poorly constructed toys available at the time.

Upon returning home to California, Upton took matters into his own hands and founded Kala Ukulele to design and manufacture affordable ukes to increase access to the instrument he loved. From their humble beginnings, Kala was established in 2005 out of a converted chicken hatchery. In the renaissance decade of boutique interest in the instrument throughout indie music circles in the United States, Canada, and England, Kala was able to expand its production and distribution to a national scale, becoming a leading brand in ukuleles (baritone, tenor, soprano & concert ukuleles). Kala's KA-15, the first satin mahogany series offered by the brand, laid the groundwork for an expanding catalog of sizes and woods previously unknown to ukuleles but now synonymous with the company, such as Pacific Walnut, Exotic Mahogany, Striped Ebony, Flame Maple and Zizicote.

Almost a decade after Kala's business began, the popularity of the ukulele had reached a peak, with groundbreaking pop stars giving the instrument unmatched visibility. With more than 40 years of experience, Kala is recognized as the world's leading brand of ukuleles. Their original values remain the same: player-ready quality, affordable prices, and inspirational instrument design.