About Kala Brand Music Co.™
Who We Are
Kala Brand Music Co.® is the world’s most-popular ukulele brand and the founder of the Original U•BASS®, family-owned and operated in the sunny Northern California city of Petaluma.
Kala's extensive catalog of ukuleles offers a diverse range of sizes, styles, and tonewoods, all united by our commitment to high quality and creative vision, because everyone deserves music in their life.
Kala is also the brand of choice for major artists like including Vance Joy, Twenty One Pilots, Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon), John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band), Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt), and many more, with instruments sold and enjoyed in over 50 countries around the globe.
Our Story
A California-born & raised musician, Mike Upton first fell in love with the ‘ukulele and its uniquely beautiful craftsmanship and tone while living and working in Hawaii in the 1990s. But for all their immense potential for more widespread use and enjoyment outside the islands, at the time he could find very few options available between the high-cost, artisan ukulele makers and poorly-built toys.
After returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, and settling in Petaluma, California, Mike founded Kala Ukulele to begin to design and build affordable ukuleles to make the instrument he loved more widely accessible. The first team of Kala sales and instrument techs was formed in 2005, working out of a converted chicken hatchery. With a keen sense of design and quality, Kala was able to rapidly expand its production and distribution to a national scale. Kala then quickly emerged as a leading name in ukuleles, during a renaissance decade of boutique interest in the instrument throughout indie music circles in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
From the KA-15, the satin mahogany series that became the brand’s early flagship, Kala was also able to turn heads with an expanding catalog of sizes and internationally-sourced woods previously uncommon to the ukulele and now synonymous with Kala, such as Pacific Walnut, Exotic Mahogany, Striped Ebony, Flame Maple, and Ziricote.
In 2009, Kala made waves in the ukulele and bass communities alike with the introduction of the U•BASS®, the original short-scale bass, a concept that came from the discovery of the massive tonal capabilities of thick, lightweight rubber strings atop a baritone ukulele body. After some early support and endorsements from venerated players in the world of bass like Bakithi Kumalo, Abraham Laboriel Sr., and Hutch Hutchinson, the U•BASS® developed a reputation as a small, but mighty powerhouse in the future of bass.
Just a decade into Kala’s business, the global levels of awareness and interest in the ukulele had reached an all-time high, with breakthrough pop acts like Vance Joy, Twenty One Pilots, Walk Off the Earth, and Eddie Vedder giving the instrument unparalleled global visibility.
In 2013, to better meet the needs of brand new players and schools on a budget, Kala finalized and released The Waterman: an all-weather, plastic ukulele inspired by the 1950s Maccaferri ukuleles. Between 2015 and 2025, Kala has undertaken a massive donation initiative providing over 30,000+ Waterman and other Kala ukuleles, valued at over $1.5 million, to schools and charities throughout the country to seed and support music programs. The Waterman earned a fast reputation for playability and durability, and to this day remains one of the most commonly used ukulele in American classrooms.
After the widespread success of Kala’s imported instruments, Mike was able to realize a lifelong dream in 2011 by forming a team of local luthiers and builders to introduce the first of Kala’s USA-Made offerings: the California U•BASS®, a solid body counterpart to the then-established success of the Acoustic-Electric U•BASS®. The Kala California U•BASS® was followed by the creation of the Kala® Elite USA Series in 2015. Taylor Guitar helped to provide Kala with our first side-bending machines to make these premium models in our USA workshop.
In 2023, Kala partnered with renowned UK luthier Pete Howlett to introduce the Kala Revelator – a multi-award winning electro-acoustic ukulele described as an "Acoustic Anomaly”, as inspiring to view as it is to play. The very next year, the 15th anniversary of the U•BASS® was punctuated by the release of the newest generation of the California U•BASS®, featuring custom hardware made in partnership with Graph Tech® for an amazing play experience and flawless intonation.
The 2010’s also saw Kala introduce our first artist signature series instruments for artists like Nik West, Bakithi Kumalo, and America’s Got Talent’s Mandy Harvey with her own Learn to Play Tenor. Since 2020, Kala has followed these releases with the Limited Edition Elvis Signature Learn To Play Series and Artist Signature ukuleles with the likes of mxmtoon, Sunny & The Black Pack, and Emi Sunshine. 2025 sees the return of the Hutch Hutchinson Signature U•BASS® and the introduction of the James Hill Collection.
Today, Kala enjoys a phenomenally supportive base of players internationally and the hard-earned status of the world’s best-selling ukulele brand. With our 20th Anniversary year in full swing, Kala remains just as committed to our original values today as we were in our first year: player-ready quality, affordable prices, and inspired instrument design.
“About Us” Mini FAQ
How do you pronounce “Kala”
“Kala” is pronounced KAH-lah, with the first syllable stressed; it rhymes with “Gala” and “Koala”. In traditional Hawaiian, the pronunciation is kah-LAH, with the second syllable stressed.
What does “Kala” mean?
“Kala” is a Hawaiian word meaning free, release, or unburden. However, like many Hawaiian words, it historically has had many different meanings and uses.
Where is Kala located?
Kala was founded and is based today out of the city of Petaluma, California, just an hour north of San Francisco. We also have warehouses in Honolulu, Hawaii and Ashland, Virginia. In 2024, Kala Brand Music UK, Ltd. was established in Wales to better serve the UK.
What does Kala do?
We design and manufacture instruments, specializing in the ukulele and the U•BASS®. We also produce unique variations of the acoustic guitar, as well as percussion instruments like the cajón. In addition to instruments, we provide extensive resources to help you learn to play the ukulele and further your musical journey, including free video lessons, a Kala play-along app, and more!
Where are Kala instruments made?
All Kala models are designed in California and manufactured by teams in select locations throughout the globe, depending on the model; we have a variety of products manufactured in China, Indonesia, Portugal, Vietnam, India, and Brazil. The Kala Revelator™ Nautilus Series and California U•BASS® Series are built in the United States at the Kala USA Workshop in Petaluma, California.
