Kala KA-MK-B Makala Baritone Ukulele

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 753 ratings

Price: 99

Last update: 04-04-2025


About this item

Injection Molded body
Agathis Wood Top
Rosewood Fingerboard and Graphite DOLPHIN Bridge
Mahogany neck
17 Brass Frets

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Kala KA-MK-B Makala Baritone Ukulele

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Purchase Person
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great uke for the price, could use better strings
    Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2012
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    This is a well-made, great-looking and great-sounding baritone ukulele. The standard tuning is the same as the first (top) 4 strings of a full-sized guitar in standard tuning: DGBE. I retuned mine to DGBD which is the same as open G tuning on a 5-string banjo (without the 5th string) because I'm more familiar with that tuning. I should have bought the carry bag with it at the same time, since I ended up buying it later anyway.

    The only issue I had with this uke was with the strings (which is why I only rated this 4-stars instead of 5). The 3rd & 4th strings are wire-wound, which is not unusual, but these particular ones are VERY dead feeling and sounding compared to other wire-wound strings and the 1st & second strings on the uke, which are black nylon. This makes the upper and lower strings contrast in quality quite a bit. The lower strings did improve in sound over time with playing, but I will be replacing all the strings with nylon (not available on Amazon as far as I could tell) soon.

    Update 9/3/12: This uke was restrung with all-nylon Worth brown strings. For comparison with the original, a video is on[...]. Now I have a 5-star baritone ukulele.
  • Jake Sanford
    5.0 out of 5 stars If you play guitar, you need one of these.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2022
    First of all, the quality is excellent. Not only is it made well but it's also set up with a nice low action right out of the box. It also comes strung with a set of top-shelf strings so you don't have to immediately replace them like a lot of beginner instruments. The tone is rich with strong harmonics and shockingly loud for such a small instrument; we're talking almost steel-string guitar volume when you use a pick. Now for the best part: It's tuned DGBE which means anyone who plays guitar can pick this up and immediately play it with very little effort. Obviously, you have to change some chord shapes a bit but if you already know your fretboard notes, you can easily play scales and melodies. I don't think I would recommend a beginner to buy a baritone ukulele because there aren't many song tabs available online but I would 100% recommend it for a guitarist who has at least a few years of experience.
  • Ven
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great choice for a beginner baritone ukulele
    Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2023
    Overall a wonderful beginner instrument with that affordable, decently good quality you always get at Makala. I would recommend this to any beginner to intermediate baritone ukulele players, though advise you to replace the strings with higher quality ones when they inevitably break.

    Pros: beautiful and sturdy real wood body, good sound, easy to use, stays in tune well. Cons: cheaply wound strings that break after medium use, sharp edges on nut that may dig into your hand, buzzing from loose strap button. All of these issues are fixable with replaced or altered parts, though it will require additional work and/or money.
  • Linda L.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleasantly surprised.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2024
    Sounds MUCH better then I had expected considering the price. Looks good sounds great. I wish the neck was a bit wider. I have fat fingers. Would be fine for other adults.
  • LHC
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love my beautiful Lovechild. Great quality and value.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2020
    I used to play a standard gCEA uskulele. Then I moved to GCEA tuning. Then I decided that wasn't what I wanted either and got a cheap guitar. My fingers proved to be too short and fat to make that work gracefully. Finally, I settled on this baritone ukulele from Kala's Makala line. A lot of people confuse it with a guitar, and I'm okay with that--at least no one is asking me to play "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" for them anymore. For anyone who really wants to know what instrument I'm playing, I tell them that a guitar and a ukulele got together and had a beautiful Lovechild. I've used it in videos for Youtube. I've played it in a group with other musicians.

    Kala does a great job with their Makala series of ukes. They make them affordable while still keeping good quality control. I used to have an MK-P and it was also great. The intonation on these isn't perfect, especially as you go higher up the neck, but a visit to a luthier could probably fix that pretty easily, and it's not off enough that most people would notice--only if you have perfect pitch (I don't. I only know it's a little off because of my digital tuner). For chord-playing strummers who mostly stick to the first 5 frets, this does the job just fine.

    The finish is great. The Aquila strings are great. The only things that make these less luxurious than Kala's low-priced mahogany laminate line are that the tuners, nut, and bridge have ivory-colored plastic parts and this uke is made of agathis laminate (which I actually think is prettier than mahogany). The tuners still hold the uke in tune just fine (after the strings finish stretching in, of course), so the quality issues are all based on cosmetic preference.

    I installed strap buttons on my uke with the help of some Youtube videos. It was not hard.

    The uke does not come with a case/gig bag, tuner, metronome, extra strings, capo, strap, etc. you will have to buy those things separately if you want them. The Snark Chromatic clip-on tuner is a good choice. I have a bunch of other stuff, but the only thing that is absolutely essential to buy when you get a ukulele is a tuner.
    Customer image
    LHC
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love my beautiful Lovechild. Great quality and value.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2020
    I used to play a standard gCEA uskulele. Then I moved to GCEA tuning. Then I decided that wasn't what I wanted either and got a cheap guitar. My fingers proved to be too short and fat to make that work gracefully. Finally, I settled on this baritone ukulele from Kala's Makala line. A lot of people confuse it with a guitar, and I'm okay with that--at least no one is asking me to play "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" for them anymore. For anyone who really wants to know what instrument I'm playing, I tell them that a guitar and a ukulele got together and had a beautiful Lovechild. I've used it in videos for Youtube. I've played it in a group with other musicians.

    Kala does a great job with their Makala series of ukes. They make them affordable while still keeping good quality control. I used to have an MK-P and it was also great. The intonation on these isn't perfect, especially as you go higher up the neck, but a visit to a luthier could probably fix that pretty easily, and it's not off enough that most people would notice--only if you have perfect pitch (I don't. I only know it's a little off because of my digital tuner). For chord-playing strummers who mostly stick to the first 5 frets, this does the job just fine.

    The finish is great. The Aquila strings are great. The only things that make these less luxurious than Kala's low-priced mahogany laminate line are that the tuners, nut, and bridge have ivory-colored plastic parts and this uke is made of agathis laminate (which I actually think is prettier than mahogany). The tuners still hold the uke in tune just fine (after the strings finish stretching in, of course), so the quality issues are all based on cosmetic preference.

    I installed strap buttons on my uke with the help of some Youtube videos. It was not hard.

    The uke does not come with a case/gig bag, tuner, metronome, extra strings, capo, strap, etc. you will have to buy those things separately if you want them. The Snark Chromatic clip-on tuner is a good choice. I have a bunch of other stuff, but the only thing that is absolutely essential to buy when you get a ukulele is a tuner.
    Images in this review
    Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image
  • Little Elvis
    3.0 out of 5 stars Won't Stay In Tune!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2020
    A nice looking and decently constructed baritone ukulele. No frills, just wood and strings. I am a professional musician and own over twenty stringed instruments. The Makala baritone ukulele is frustrating to play.

    The dang thing WILL NOT stay in tune, not even for a few minutes. I've spent more time tuning it rather than playing it. The tuners are garbage and I will have to upgrade them so I can play it at a gig.

    Hope you have better luck with the Makala baritone ukulele than I did.

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