Mainland? Again?! Seriously?? - Tenor purchase advice Poll

Yes, I too am struggling with which might be the better choice of Mainland tenors. I've narrowed down to mango and mahogany. I think I'm ok with the tone of each wood - so near as I can determine without actually holding one. Things get a little fuzzy and the room starts spinning after that.

Please choose one and, if not too tired of Mainland questions, share why.

got a Mahogany tenor slot in the other day and im in love with it. i only have laminates like kala, luna etc to compare to but its definitely way better. the only thing is that its plain and has no inlay or artistry whatsoever. so if you want something that has more to it, i would go classic but i dont think they have in stock
edit. they do have them.. cool. i was thinking slothead classic

I can't vote because you have three mahoganies and one mango. The three mahoganies are basically the same instrument with just different looks and that has to be your choice. However the cut away is good if you are going to be playing way down that far on the fret board (or is that up the fretboard. I always get that confused). the cut away makes it easier to reach. The other two is just what YOU like best. I would personally go with the classic and Mahogany is my favorite tone wood. I have three Mainlands and love all of them. I think they are the best bang for the buck.

i wanted the warmer tone and went with mahogany, a slotted headstock for the cool factor. i would be afraid the mango would be too bright.
any of 'em would probably be fine in the end. good instruments.

Yup, the slot-head and cut-away features are eye candy, as I don't see myself needing that feature to play up the neck - I get a little excited when I venture as far as the 7th fret - but eye-candy is nice too. The problem with shopping at Mainland is that they all are so dang appealing. These are my version of high-end ukulele extravagance and hope to get it right. It's really a mango or mahogany question, as RoxHam said, but it's helpful to hear from those who went with the slot-head and/or cut-away. I'm assuming there's not an appreciable difference in tone between the standard box and the cut-away? I wonder about the brightness of the mango too. Think I'd be fine with it, but do wonder how bright is 'bright'.

One of the things I appreciate about my Mainland mango concert is its ability to have a unique voice in a group. It is brighter than mahogany, but please don't think its tinkly or brittle; the slight emphasis on the treble works great on a concert and probably works even better on a tenor. I find that as you move into larger body sizes like a tenor, the larger box combined with the inherent mellowness of mahogany can make a uke sound more "guitar-y" and less "uke-y." The mango helps impart that ukey quality, IMHO.

BTW, I took my Mainland mango to my acoustic jam session yesterday, which is mostly populated by guitarists. Based on its appearance and its ability to hold its own with 10 guitars going, the other participants (whio admittedly don't know anything about ukes) assumed that it was a high-dollar uke. They were genuinely surprised when I explained that was a very reasonably priced instrument.

Everybody wants something different, but I can tell you as a Mainland mango player for a few years now, I am very happy with my decision.

Decision made, ukulele in transit.

It's a little embarrassing to find myself running with the herd, but mango it is. Was leaning that way from the gitgo based on impressions gleened from OldePhart and Mr. Chadwick on his site. RichM pushed me off the balance beam. Thanks for the responses here. I'll bet there's still a cut-away mahogany in my future somewhere.

I didn't expect to make an order so quickly so the poll remains open for a while. Additional thoughts and preferences would be interesting and welcome.

Now the wait for UPS...

Mainland Mahogany

TG&Y said:

Yes, I too am struggling with which might be the better choice of Mainland tenors. I've narrowed down to mango and mahogany. I think I'm ok with the tone of each wood - so near as I can determine without actually holding one. Things get a little fuzzy and the room starts spinning after that.

Please choose one and, if not too tired of Mainland questions, share why.

Click to expand...

I got the no-frills mahogany model, no rosette, no rope purfling, and it has a nice feel and tone. Came with Aquila Nylguts, which I keep on my guitars, but it was a little bright. I started down the Long String Hunt trail. Southcoast with two wounds were okay. It seems to like Worth Browns, better, with the low-G, but I have several other string brands waiting in line I'll try, Living Water, Ko'olau, like that.