specialmike
Well-known member
Price: $226, that's with shipping from UkeRepublic.com
First Impressions:
Features- 8
This particular Red Cedar Soprano was assembled in June, 2009, in the USA. The soprano comes with fifteen frets; twelve to the body. My understanding is that all Mainland Ukuleles are solid wood instruments. So that should mean this ukulele will sound even richer as time goes on. I believe the Red Cedar ukuleles only come in a glossy finish, but I don't mind. The gloss isn't heavy and it DOES NOT muffle the sound or anything. The Bridge of this ukulele is just one of those simple bridges where you tie a knot on one end of the string and pull it tight through a slot. Nothing fancy, but that means the strings will require less effort to change. Mainland also offers a "semi-customizable" option. By that I mean you can choose your type of tuners, friction or geared; the color of the turning pegs, and the cover for geared tuners. Personally, I despise friction tuners and can't understand why someone would put them on ukuleles that cost more than $400... like Kiwaya. (rant) Anyways, I have golden covers and black pegs. They look nice, but I don't know the brand because the brand's name isn't printed on the tuners, like you would see on Grovers. The neck on the uke... it's about 1.25-1.5 inches at the top and about 2 inches at the bottom, wide! Overall, the neck is skinny, which makes for easy playability, but with my chubby fingers, a soprano is rather difficult. When you order the uke, nothing normally comes with it. It has a mainland poster, but that's about it. No Gig bag, no case.
SOUND:10 or higher
If you're looking for an ukulele with a cannon inside and not looking to spend too much, these Mainlands have to be it. I try any play anything happy and up-beat, so as long as my chubby fingers can move fast enough on the smaller frets, things will work out. by chubby I mean.. like 3/4 in. THe sound... for now is bright. It comes setup with Aquila strings, not sure how I feel about them yet. But it's a pretty versatile ukulele, not too expensive, and a great sound; overall a good value. I really can't say whether those tone is richer or anything...because it's so loud I can't really listen to it
IF you play it right, the tone can sound like a banjo, which makes this ukulele almost.. a two in one purchase. haha
Action, Fit, Finish: 8-9
Strings are very easy to press down and when viewed on its side, they're not high from the fret board. A very Marvelous Instrument. Now.. the finish. Overall, the body was done beautifully, but I noticed that there were some spots in the sound hole that weren't covered completely with finish. It's no big deal. After all, the finish detail that small wouldn't affect sound or anything. Not sure whether Mainland does that a lot, but frankly, it's not noticeable unless scrutinized. Everything else seems fine. Hardware on the uke is wonderful, again, not sure of tuning brand, but regardless, they serve its purpose.
Reliability/Durability: 8-9
Well, it's made of solid wood and the build inside is definite different compared to my koaloha. I intend for this ukulele to be my beat around uke. I can throw this one around... take it underwater... light it on fire. No. But this ukulele seems durable and it always makes noises when I strum, so I can say it's reliable. Strings are always in tune. The hardware, to me, looks very professional and she seem to be reliable. The turning pegs look kind of cheap, but meh, they're just pegs. Would I use it for a backup ukulele? Sure. I wouldn't know why I would need a backup, but if it the time were appropriate, I suppose so.
Customer Support: 10
Mike is a nice guy. Well, both Mikes are (www.mainlandukes.com,www.ukerepublic.com). Got the uke to me.. eventually. I ordered it Thursday, over the labor day weekend, so I can't blame them. I took UPS for ever to get it to me on Tuesday, luckily, I was at school all day long. I don't think Mainlands come with a warranty, but I could be wrong. Not terribly worried however. They're relatively inexpensive so if it broke on me, I'd just go something else, like another one!
Overall Rating:10
Nice ukulele, for the money. Great sound, great finish, looks great. And especially with the soprano size, it's very portable. I played it in the car the other day, while driving. I think everyone should have a Mainland. I once thought they looked stupid and were going to be like... a western fad going around, due to the rope binding. Anyways, it's a good ukulele. If you buy one, you should not be disappointed. I like KoAloha, but when it comes to paying $500+ for an ukulele that you'll treat like... gold, ehh... Not saying I won't buy another one again. But Mainlands are pretty nice. If you have two hundred to spend, buy a mainland, you'll love it.
video:lookee
pics:
<< yeah, I look pretty stupid.
First Impressions:
Features- 8
This particular Red Cedar Soprano was assembled in June, 2009, in the USA. The soprano comes with fifteen frets; twelve to the body. My understanding is that all Mainland Ukuleles are solid wood instruments. So that should mean this ukulele will sound even richer as time goes on. I believe the Red Cedar ukuleles only come in a glossy finish, but I don't mind. The gloss isn't heavy and it DOES NOT muffle the sound or anything. The Bridge of this ukulele is just one of those simple bridges where you tie a knot on one end of the string and pull it tight through a slot. Nothing fancy, but that means the strings will require less effort to change. Mainland also offers a "semi-customizable" option. By that I mean you can choose your type of tuners, friction or geared; the color of the turning pegs, and the cover for geared tuners. Personally, I despise friction tuners and can't understand why someone would put them on ukuleles that cost more than $400... like Kiwaya. (rant) Anyways, I have golden covers and black pegs. They look nice, but I don't know the brand because the brand's name isn't printed on the tuners, like you would see on Grovers. The neck on the uke... it's about 1.25-1.5 inches at the top and about 2 inches at the bottom, wide! Overall, the neck is skinny, which makes for easy playability, but with my chubby fingers, a soprano is rather difficult. When you order the uke, nothing normally comes with it. It has a mainland poster, but that's about it. No Gig bag, no case.
SOUND:10 or higher
If you're looking for an ukulele with a cannon inside and not looking to spend too much, these Mainlands have to be it. I try any play anything happy and up-beat, so as long as my chubby fingers can move fast enough on the smaller frets, things will work out. by chubby I mean.. like 3/4 in. THe sound... for now is bright. It comes setup with Aquila strings, not sure how I feel about them yet. But it's a pretty versatile ukulele, not too expensive, and a great sound; overall a good value. I really can't say whether those tone is richer or anything...because it's so loud I can't really listen to it
IF you play it right, the tone can sound like a banjo, which makes this ukulele almost.. a two in one purchase. hahaAction, Fit, Finish: 8-9
Strings are very easy to press down and when viewed on its side, they're not high from the fret board. A very Marvelous Instrument. Now.. the finish. Overall, the body was done beautifully, but I noticed that there were some spots in the sound hole that weren't covered completely with finish. It's no big deal. After all, the finish detail that small wouldn't affect sound or anything. Not sure whether Mainland does that a lot, but frankly, it's not noticeable unless scrutinized. Everything else seems fine. Hardware on the uke is wonderful, again, not sure of tuning brand, but regardless, they serve its purpose.
Reliability/Durability: 8-9
Well, it's made of solid wood and the build inside is definite different compared to my koaloha. I intend for this ukulele to be my beat around uke. I can throw this one around... take it underwater... light it on fire. No. But this ukulele seems durable and it always makes noises when I strum, so I can say it's reliable. Strings are always in tune. The hardware, to me, looks very professional and she seem to be reliable. The turning pegs look kind of cheap, but meh, they're just pegs. Would I use it for a backup ukulele? Sure. I wouldn't know why I would need a backup, but if it the time were appropriate, I suppose so.
Customer Support: 10
Mike is a nice guy. Well, both Mikes are (www.mainlandukes.com,www.ukerepublic.com). Got the uke to me.. eventually. I ordered it Thursday, over the labor day weekend, so I can't blame them. I took UPS for ever to get it to me on Tuesday, luckily, I was at school all day long. I don't think Mainlands come with a warranty, but I could be wrong. Not terribly worried however. They're relatively inexpensive so if it broke on me, I'd just go something else, like another one!
Overall Rating:10
Nice ukulele, for the money. Great sound, great finish, looks great. And especially with the soprano size, it's very portable. I played it in the car the other day, while driving. I think everyone should have a Mainland. I once thought they looked stupid and were going to be like... a western fad going around, due to the rope binding. Anyways, it's a good ukulele. If you buy one, you should not be disappointed. I like KoAloha, but when it comes to paying $500+ for an ukulele that you'll treat like... gold, ehh... Not saying I won't buy another one again. But Mainlands are pretty nice. If you have two hundred to spend, buy a mainland, you'll love it.
video:lookee
pics:
Last edited:
