Mahilele 3.0 soprano review
I wanted a uke to keep in the car and take on picnics, camping, etc. I tried the Vorson all plastic, and the Waterman, but they disappointed. With camping and picnic season nearly here, I resumed my search and found this Italian uke, which completes my accidental Axis Powers ukulele collection. (Along with a German Bruko and Japanese Kiwaya.) Yes, it’s really made in China, but humor knows no national boundaries.
Barry Maz reviewed its label twin, the Alic, over two years ago, and it’s had an upgrade to 3.0 since then, so I thought it was time to do another. New to the model is a plastic neck which is lighter than the previous wood one, and is textured to “feel like wood.” Also new are silver colored frets and, I presume, a harder plastic for the fret board, as unlike Barry, I cannot mark this one with my fingernail.
Nor is the silver paint wearing off the frets. I don’t know about the wood feel. Once I’m holding it, I forget about how the neck feels, but I think that the slight texturing is nice. The neck is about the same thickness as my Timms. The nut is slightly wider than the standard 1 ⅜ inch nut width--I’d say 1 7/6--and it has a zero fret.
As before, it an ABS roundback with a laminate top. The top seems a good thickness for something that’s going to see use in places other ukes can’t go. It’s not too thick, but not so thin it’s in danger of cracking. And playing it causes pleasant vibrations on the back and all up the neck.
It has an non removable, but compensated saddle, and that, combined with the zero fret, has resulted in perfect intonation all up the neck. The 15 frets are as thin as those on my Kiwaya, and the uke is set up perfectly. It's a joy to hold and to play. I installed strap buttons, but it’s comfortable without using a strap. It has top fret markers in the shapes of flowers and a butterfly, and side fret markers that are small white dots.
The tuners may have been upgraded as well, because they are really nice. At one point I forgot which uke I was tuning and thought they were Grovers, they’re that good. They are not, however, Grovers.
And mine has skulls! At first I thought the illustrations of the top and headstock were some sort of sticker, but further investigation finds they are not. I’m not sure how they’re applied, but they aren’t coming off. Of course, you can get these in a zillion colors and with a variety of illustrations and soundhole designs.
Certain models, including one with a horse painted on the soundboard, have a wooden fretboard, for about $100. It's not mentioned in the description, but I checked with the company to verify this. I've thought about getting that, but the plastic fretboard is great, and the easy care is part of this uke's charm. No humidification issues or fret sprout.
I haven’t played a Fluke or a Flea, though I’d like to. If this does sound like one, I can see why Flea owners like them so much. No, it doesn’t sound as good as a Kiwaya or Timms, but it sounds great in its own way and it’s as easy to play as anything I own. I wanted it to live in the car exclusively, but I find myself bringing it in several times a week to play it. It’s just fun.
I was concerned about taking a uke on vacation and finding it such a chore to play, or sounding so terrible, that it wouldn’t be worth the bother. That’s not going to be a problem. I’d almost be happy with this as my sole uke. It would be great for children, but I wouldn’t limit it to them. In fact, if you get one for a child, I bet you’ll get one for yourself as well.
I think the knowledge that I can’t really hurt it adds to the joy of playing this. If it somehow damaged, though, I could buy a new one for about $70, which is what I paid for it, with shipping, from Amazon USA. Comes with a decent gig bag/dust cover. A great bargain for a sweet uke.
I wanted a uke to keep in the car and take on picnics, camping, etc. I tried the Vorson all plastic, and the Waterman, but they disappointed. With camping and picnic season nearly here, I resumed my search and found this Italian uke, which completes my accidental Axis Powers ukulele collection. (Along with a German Bruko and Japanese Kiwaya.) Yes, it’s really made in China, but humor knows no national boundaries.
Barry Maz reviewed its label twin, the Alic, over two years ago, and it’s had an upgrade to 3.0 since then, so I thought it was time to do another. New to the model is a plastic neck which is lighter than the previous wood one, and is textured to “feel like wood.” Also new are silver colored frets and, I presume, a harder plastic for the fret board, as unlike Barry, I cannot mark this one with my fingernail.
Nor is the silver paint wearing off the frets. I don’t know about the wood feel. Once I’m holding it, I forget about how the neck feels, but I think that the slight texturing is nice. The neck is about the same thickness as my Timms. The nut is slightly wider than the standard 1 ⅜ inch nut width--I’d say 1 7/6--and it has a zero fret.
As before, it an ABS roundback with a laminate top. The top seems a good thickness for something that’s going to see use in places other ukes can’t go. It’s not too thick, but not so thin it’s in danger of cracking. And playing it causes pleasant vibrations on the back and all up the neck.
It has an non removable, but compensated saddle, and that, combined with the zero fret, has resulted in perfect intonation all up the neck. The 15 frets are as thin as those on my Kiwaya, and the uke is set up perfectly. It's a joy to hold and to play. I installed strap buttons, but it’s comfortable without using a strap. It has top fret markers in the shapes of flowers and a butterfly, and side fret markers that are small white dots.
The tuners may have been upgraded as well, because they are really nice. At one point I forgot which uke I was tuning and thought they were Grovers, they’re that good. They are not, however, Grovers.
And mine has skulls! At first I thought the illustrations of the top and headstock were some sort of sticker, but further investigation finds they are not. I’m not sure how they’re applied, but they aren’t coming off. Of course, you can get these in a zillion colors and with a variety of illustrations and soundhole designs.
Certain models, including one with a horse painted on the soundboard, have a wooden fretboard, for about $100. It's not mentioned in the description, but I checked with the company to verify this. I've thought about getting that, but the plastic fretboard is great, and the easy care is part of this uke's charm. No humidification issues or fret sprout.
I haven’t played a Fluke or a Flea, though I’d like to. If this does sound like one, I can see why Flea owners like them so much. No, it doesn’t sound as good as a Kiwaya or Timms, but it sounds great in its own way and it’s as easy to play as anything I own. I wanted it to live in the car exclusively, but I find myself bringing it in several times a week to play it. It’s just fun.
I was concerned about taking a uke on vacation and finding it such a chore to play, or sounding so terrible, that it wouldn’t be worth the bother. That’s not going to be a problem. I’d almost be happy with this as my sole uke. It would be great for children, but I wouldn’t limit it to them. In fact, if you get one for a child, I bet you’ll get one for yourself as well.
I think the knowledge that I can’t really hurt it adds to the joy of playing this. If it somehow damaged, though, I could buy a new one for about $70, which is what I paid for it, with shipping, from Amazon USA. Comes with a decent gig bag/dust cover. A great bargain for a sweet uke.
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