When it comes to pineapple ukulele, I’m a very big fan of them.
While I have the standard “figure eight” regular body sopranos, when it comes to soprano ukulele, I like playing pineapples.
The origin of the pineapple ukulele is courtesy by Kamaka Ukulele’s (note: Kamaka Ukulele is regarded as the #1 top tier ukulele from Hawaii, made from koa wood and has a reputation for quality and a long history) Samuel Kaiailiilii, who invented it.
When Samuel showed his friends of his idea of an oval ukulele, his friends told him it looks like a pineapple.
And in 1928, Kamaka’s pineapple ukulele became popular to the point that he produced one painted with a pineapple and filed a patent in 1928.
It is said that the pineapple body is louder and sounds fuller and more mellow versus the figure eight version.
With that being said, while I don’t see myself owning a Kamaka HP-1 Pineapple made with Hawaiian Koa in the near future (as the price is about $1150), the good news is that for those who want to own a pineapple ukulele, you can find them for an inexpensive price.
Companies that specialize in selling pineapple ukulele for an inexpensive price are Kala, Luna, Lanikai, Enya, Flight, Ortega, Oscar Schmidt, Diamond Head and a few others. With the first two being the most popular in the under $100 category.
But when it comes to something similar to the popular 1928 Kamaka painted pinapple ukulele, is one of the most desired by collectors and its said that 50 were handpainted, Kala has the Kala KA-PSS Mahogany Soprano Pineapple Ukulele which pays homage to the Kamaka original but instead of having oranges and browns, this version is red to match the mahogany wood and is a silkscreened pineapple design.
Featuring the top, back, sides and neck made of mahogany, the ukulele also features a gloss finish, red tortoise binding, walnut fingerboard, GraphTech NuBone Nuts and Saddle plus Aquila Super Nyglut Strings. The tuners are Chrome Open Back with white pearl.
I absolutely love the neck and how it’s shaped with the five point crown and design-wise, I do like this one over my other Kala KA-P pineapple.
And as for the sound, I absolute like the fullness of this pineapple uke. It’s a bit different from the figure eight and describing it, is not easy but while different, it’s not a day or night type of difference. It’s a subtle difference.
As for tuning, I tuned it once and have been playing it and similar to soprano ukulele’s I own, I haven’t had to tune this all that much within a half hour time period.
For beginners, it’s important to note that in addition to the fret markers, you also get fret dots on the side of the fingerboard.
The retail for the Kala Pineapples are under a $100 and a kiwi (light green) and watermelon (dark green and water melon) are also available but for me I prefer the pineapple.
It’s important to note that most ukulele’s under $300 are made in China and this is the case with the Kala KA-PSS Mahogany Soprano Pineapple Ukulele and is well-made.
Overall, the Kala KA-PSS Mahogany Soprano Ukulele is an under $100 pineapple ukulele that is highly recommended!
