Most ukuleles look like ukuleles. The Kala Curly Mango Concert looks like a piece of art that also happens to play beautifully. The curly mango back and sides display swirling figured grain patterns that shift and shimmer as light moves across the surface. No two pieces of curly mango are identical which means no two of these ukuleles are identical. The one you buy is the only one exactly like it in the world.

Beyond the visual impact the mango wood delivers warm balanced tone with good projection and sustain that rewards players who have moved past the beginner stage and want an instrument that can keep up with their playing. The mahogany neck is stable and comfortable. The rosewood fingerboard plays smooth and responsive across all 18 frets. The satin finish feels natural under your hands and lets the wood grain breathe and show itself without a thick gloss coating getting in the way.

Graph Tech NuBone nut and saddle are a meaningful upgrade over the plastic components you find on entry level instruments. NuBone transfers tone more efficiently and adds clarity and sustain to every note. D'Addario clear nylon strings come installed and the instrument arrives ready to play. Concert scale at 14.8 inches gives you fuller sound and more volume than a soprano with comfortable fret spacing for complex chord voicings and fingerstyle work while staying compact enough to take anywhere.

At 259 dollars this is a serious step up instrument for the player who has outgrown their starter uke and wants something that looks as good as it sounds. Available at The Pied Piper Music Store New Albany Ohio showroom near Columbus. Come in and play it in person. The figuring on curly mango is one of those things that photographs well but looks even better in your hands.

Exotic wood. Premium components. One of a kind. This is the ukulele you keep forever.