New Gear: Kala Pan Pacific Sopranos Pair Old-World Style and Contemporary Craft
BY EDDIE SCHER | FROM THE SUMMER 2026 ISSUE OF UKULELE MAGAZINE
The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and the city’s recovery from the 1906 earthquake. It also widely introduced ukulele and Hawaiian music to mainland U.S. audiences. Yes, both were already here, but the Hawaiian Pavillion at the corner of Baker St. and Marina Blvd. attracted 34,000 visitors a day. Those visitors experienced Hawaiian music, dance, and food, and had the opportunity at the gift shop to buy a Joseph Kumalae soprano ukulele, made in Honolulu, Hawaii.
With its new solid-wood Pan Pacific Figure 8 line of soprano ukes, Kala pays tribute to those Kumalae ukuleles. We got our hands on the Standard mahogany (KA-F8-MHG-S) and Deluxe koa-top (KA-F8D-KMH-S) models for this review.
The Look
You know you’re looking at an early 20th century Hawaiian ukulele when you see that classic figure-eight shape, with the top and bottom bouts at almost the same diameter. On most modern ukuleles, or guitars for that matter, the top bout is much narrower than the bottom bout. The near symmetry of the bodies of these Kala ukes gives them that classic look and feel.
These Pan Pacific ukuleles also feature Kala’s homage to the “Gold Award P.P.I.E. 1915” (Panama-Pacific International Exposition) decal carried on Kumalae headstocks sold at the fair and for decades after. Both models feature Kala’s own decal with an updated crest that pays tribute to the company’s hometown of Petaluma, California, known as the wrist wrestling capital of the world (though we called it “arm wrestling” at College Gardens Elementary in 1977).
The Standard features an all-solid mahogany top, back, and sides. The Deluxe is the same except with a koa top. The necks on both are made from okoume, a sustainable African hardwood that luthiers use for a similar sound and look to mahogany. Both feature beautiful maple and rope rosettes, paying tribute to another distinct feature of the old Kumalae ukes. The headstocks feature coverplates that match the body wood.
The fretboards (ebony for the Deluxe and rosewood for the Standard) are a modern update to those early Kumalae models that featured frets mounted directly into the neck. They look great and I find them to be an improvement in feel over thin-necked vintage slab board ukes. The necks are a comfortable D-shape, giving plenty of grab room for my adult-size hands.
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Both models feature ebony bridges and bone nuts and saddles. Planetary ratio tuners—Standard in chrome and Deluxe in gold, both with pearl buttons—operate much more securely than friction tuners of old, and still retain the vintage look that fits with these instruments. In addition to the koa top, the Deluxe also has solid dark binding with a striking line of rope purfling that runs around the top. Because the neck lines up flush to the body, the purfling runs uninterrupted around the top, a great-looking feature that I’m accustomed to seeing only on the old Kumalae ukes.
The Sound
These Pan Pacific ukes provided a rare opportunity to compare the differences between koa and mahogany tops with other variables held the almost exactly same. Of course, the first thing I noticed were the similarities.
There was a cheerful directness and a vintage ting to both—a feature of a soprano ukulele that was maybe helped along by the old-style figure-eight shape. They each had a bright, lively, focused tone with a crisp attack and quick decay, exactly what you want in a soprano. But both were also articulate, meaning that even though the sound is happening in a pretty limited range (it is a soprano, after all) the strings and notes are distinct. The punchiness almost sounded like a 78 rpm record to me, but I’m not sure how much of that is coming from the instrument and how much from my interest in all things 1915. Either way, both of these ukuleles delivered on tone.
Now for the differences. The mahogany-top Standard had a rounder, warmer, and mellower tone. It really excelled when fingerpicked and played gently, achieving its full volume without much effort and delivering a beautiful, tropical voice. The Standard handled my digging in and harder strumming, which is a big part of my playing, while retaining its musical tone but not producing more volume. It almost felt like natural compression, limiting the loud and amplifying the quiet volumes.
The koa-top Deluxe had a brighter, more dynamic tone with a touch of sparkle in the high frequencies. I think this is why Hawaiian builders gravitated to koa in the first place. The sound was less punchy, less percussive than the Standard, but with slightly more sustain (although we’re into the realm of nuance here, as soprano ukuleles are not usually prized for sustain). Some of the qualities of koa might get more easily lost in ensemble playing, but the reward of the koa is a lively, downright enchanting tone.
All in all, these ukes share first-class playability and build quality, not surprising coming from Kala but still worth noting given their affordable price tags.
KA-F8-MHG-S
BODY Figure-eight soprano size; solid mahogany; maple rope rosette; open-pore semi-gloss finish
NECK Okoume wood; rosewood fingerboard; 13-1/2″ scale length; 1-1/4″ nut width;
12 frets; bone nut and saddle; Planetary 1:4 ratio tuners
OTHER Savarez fluorocarbon strings; gig bag included
MADE IN China
PRICE $399 street
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KA-F8D-KMH-S
BODY Figure-eight soprano size; Solid Hawaiian koa top; solid mahogany back and sides; maple rope rosette; rosewood binding; maple rope purfling; open-pore semi-gloss finish
NECK Okoume wood; ebony fingerboard; 13-1/2″ scale length; 1-1/4″ nut width; 12 frets; bone nut and saddle; Planetary 1:4 ratio tuners
OTHER Savarez fluorocarbon strings; gig bag included
MADE IN China
PRICE $499 street
