In the decade since the company was founded in 2005, Kala has become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ukuleles, building a wide variety of instruments with standard and non-standard designs, including this JTE/2TS tenor. Looking a bit like a miniature jazz guitar, this uke demonstrates how Kala has taken ideas from other instruments and applied them to its growing ukulele family. The JTE/2TS is built with an arched spruce top and mahogany back and sides. It has two f-holes, a sunburst finish, and is equipped with a Shadow Nanoflex pickup system that includes onboard controls for volume and tone. The JTE/2TS has a standard 17-inch tenor uke scale length, and it comes strung with Aquila Nylgut strings.

SPECS: Tenor ukulele. Arched spruce top. Mahogany back and sides. Mahogany neck. Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. 17-inch scale. Enclosed chrome tuning machines. Shadow Nanoflex electronics. Made in China. $424.99 list. kalabrand.com.  

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