NUD-Kala Waterman

She showed up this morning courtesy of Mim. I've been playing her on and off all day so here are some initial thoughts:

I ordered mine in seafoam green and was surprised to see that it's actually green not so much seafoam. Doesn't bother me in the slightest since green is my favorite color.

Also surprised to see that it was strung with Aquila SuperNylgut strings, currently my favorites. These feel much better than the standard Nylguts plus they seem to soften up the plastic-y sound. Not sure if they're heavy enough to drive the top properly. I'm going to keep them on her for a few days to be sure. I have some Aquila Lava strings that I'm going to try out if I do decide to restring her.

The tuners are crap. They hold tuning but it takes several turns to get the strings up to pitch. When I initially tuned her up I thought I had a bad E tuner because nothing was really happening. Finally when I was about to give up the string finally started going up in pitch. I'll more than likely get some Grover friction tuners sooner than later. For now they'll have to do.

Intonation is pretty good over all. Around the 10th it gets a little wonky but nothing horrible. Action is perfect.

The bag is quite simple but clever. It's a drawstring bag that opens from the top. The drawstrings also double as backpack straps. While I wouldn't use it if I was going on some major trip where I would have to check her in with luggage, for bopping around town and simple trips it should work just fine.

Looks great! I also ordered from Mim. One seafoam green and one orange swirl should get to me on Monday. Couldn't be happier with the turn around time!

Very cool and congratulations. I don't know what it is about plastic ukes but everytime I see one I want to buy one.

This is not helping........not at all

Nice work Captain, looking very sweet! A lovely clean design and the colour combinations are great.

DownUpDave said:

Very cool and congratulations. I don't know what it is about plastic ukes but everytime I see one I want to buy one.

This is not helping........not at all

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They're only $50 and like I said before, comes with a good bag, good strings and lots of cool colors including a clear on. Not that I'm trying to be an enabler...

I got curious and restrung mine with Worth CM's ... so far so good. I'll let them settle in, not sure if they are an "improvement" or not ... not expecting any tone miracles from a plastic uke, but I'm very curious to hear what strings folks try, and if they discover one that works magic.

I think I'm going to tune mine up to D. I'm still not entirely sure the Aquilas are heavy enough to drive the top properly in C tuning.

Congrats -- very cool!

Where have you found this uke listed from Mim? It's not on her website, and I can't find it in her ebay store either.

Very cool and congratulations. I don't know what it is about plastic ukes but everytime I see one I want to buy one.

This is not helping........not at all

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Same here!

Mim got them in late Wednesday and spent a majority of of Thursday and Friday checking them then shipping out all her initial orders on them. I imagine she just hasn't had time to update her eBay store. I'd call or contact her on Facebook to find out what she has left. Personally I prefer to order from her directly than eBay so she saves a few bucks on fees.

I found a phone number for Mim through a Google search and left a message for her. She got back to me super fast.

Captain Simian said:

She showed up this morning courtesy of Mim. I've been playing her on and off all day so here are some initial thoughts:

I ordered mine in seafoam green and was surprised to see that it's actually green not so much seafoam. Doesn't bother me in the slightest since green is my favorite color.

Also surprised to see that it was strung with Aquila SuperNylgut strings, currently my favorites. These feel much better than the standard Nylguts plus they seem to soften up the plastic-y sound. Not sure if they're heavy enough to drive the top properly. I'm going to keep them on her for a few days to be sure. I have some Aquila Lava strings that I'm going to try out if I do decide to restring her.

The tuners are crap. They hold tuning but it takes several turns to get the strings up to pitch. When I initially tuned her up I thought I had a bad E tuner because nothing was really happening. Finally when I was about to give up the string finally started going up in pitch. I'll more than likely get some Grover friction tuners sooner than later. For now they'll have to do.

Intonation is pretty good over all. Around the 10th it gets a little wonky but nothing horrible. Action is perfect.

The bag is quite simple but clever. It's a drawstring bag that opens from the top. The drawstrings also double as backpack straps. While I wouldn't use it if I was going on some major trip where I would have to check her in with luggage, for bopping around town and simple trips it should work just fine.

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Let us know if you restring to the lavas, please. I'd be curious to know how they sound. I got mine this morning .. In blue fun little bugger.

thaidye39 said:

Let us know if you restring to the lavas, please. I'd be curious to know how they sound. I got mine this morning .. In blue fun little bugger.

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I have a feeling sometime next week I'll order some friction tuner then restring her with the Lava strings. I did do a sound comparison with my Maccaferri which is strung with Fremont blacks. The Mac is definitely brighter and louder than the Waterman. The Waterman is quieter but deeper sounding than the Mac. Depending what sound you're looking for I feel that the Super Nylguts (which are great strings) may not be the best choice for this uke.

Captain Simian said:

I have a feeling sometime next week I'll order some friction tuner then restring her with the Lava strings. I did do a sound comparison with my Maccaferri which is strung with Fremont blacks. The Mac is definitely brighter and louder than the Waterman. The Waterman is quieter but deeper sounding than the Mac. Depending what sound you're looking for I feel that the Super Nylguts (which are great strings) may not be the best choice for this uke.

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How would you compare the sound/feel of the Waterman to a Flea?

I have fremonts on my fluke .. And couldn't be happier .. I have the same feeling that these strings may not be the best choice (for me) for this Uke. I do, however, very much like the Uke. I have such a thing for plastic ukes.

SteveZ said:

How would you compare the sound/feel of the Waterman to a Flea?

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I think they're on opposite end of the spectrum so it's a little difficult to compare-contrast. The Flea has a more rounded body shape which I think makes it much brighter and chimey sounding. The Waterman has a traditional body shape which makes it a little deeper sounding. I think both ukes feel great but I wonder how the Waterman will feel in a really hot, sticky climate. I live in the desert so that's not much of an issue for me. The Flea is definitely louder but I can't help but wonder if it's because of the strings. The Flea has Aquila Reds, the Waterman came with Aquila Super Nylguts. I love the SN's on the other ukes I have them on but they may be a bit too light and dark for the Waterman. As is definitely a great low volume practice uke. The paint on the Waterman's fretboard is not that resilient. After 4 days it's already starting to rub off. Not an issue for me but it may be for other folks.

thaidye39 said:

I have fremonts on my fluke .. And couldn't be happier .. I have the same feeling that these strings may not be the best choice (for me) for this Uke. I do, however, very much like the Uke. I have such a thing for plastic ukes.

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The big thing that's stopping me from restring mine yet is I can't decide between the Lava's or some Martin's. By next week I'll have made a decision when the new tuners show up.

Do you think putting clear nail polish or some sort of clear acrylic paint over the fret board or at least painted parts would help keep the paint from fading away with out messing up the sound?

Not really. Unless it's going to severely affect your ability to play it I don't think it's worth the effort. So long as the side dot markers don't rub off I think that's all the matter. Even if they do just do what I do with all my Fleas, I add my own with a silver sharpie.

How cute! I love the color. One of my faves, I have nail polish almost the same color. I wonder how it stacks up to the Dolphin?