Plastic Makala Dolphin ukes

leftovermagic84

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So the wife gave a shakey ok to order a plastic makala, and I want to pull the trigger before she changes her mind...does anyone know if the makala dolphins that MGM is selling are the new plastic body ones? I sent him a message, but I realize he's super busy. Thanks guys!
 
I bought a purple plastic Makala dolphin from MGM last month. The back and sides are plastic, the top is wood laminate and the neck is wood.

Not all the colors were in at the time though. Here's what MGM sent me:

Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 3:49 PM
To: Brandt, Alan
Subject: Re: You've received a message from an eBay member

blue black and purple for sure are plastic that i have

EDIT: Make a note to MGM specifically requesting a plastic one. He might have some of the older wood ones left in those colors. But I don't know.
 
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The Orange-Burst one he sells is plastic too. Shoot him an email and see what he has color-wise ;)
 
Not sure about MGM but I was told by ukerepublic that all the new makala dolphins will be plastic. I am curently playing and holding one in my lap as I type this. It sounds just as good as thye wood ones. Kala went with plastic to keep prices down is the word on the streets.
 
Seems like all good reviews. Does anyone this side of the pond have one (from European supplier)?
 
I bought my friend one, she loves it! The sound is really good, I say if you are thinking about one go for it!
 
I'm looking at a nice tacky red one. I plan on pulling the trigger as soon as I hear back that it's the new plastic model. thanks guys.
 
What??? The dolphins are all goin' plastic?

That's kind of a bummer. :(

JJ
 
I'm actually kind of excited about it. Hopefully they'll have the durability of a flea, but at 1/3 the cost. The people who've tried them have all been pleasantly surprised.
 
What??? The dolphins are all goin' plastic?

That's kind of a bummer. :(

JJ

We're all a few months behind the curve... I first mentioned this back in July after hearing about it from my local shop, which is obviously here in New Zealand (a.k.a. ass-end of international shipping lines.) Surely someone else here knew earlier than that?
 
I know I want one of these. I'm thinking the justification I can give for adding this one would be that it could become my lunch break uke.
And other times I can wear outfits to co-ordinate with whatever color I get. Ooh-wee!
Anyone know if the ones that Compass Music Sales has are of the plastic variety?
 
I know the uke-king on ebay is selling the plastic ones, but I really wanna hold off until MGM gets back to me about his. I'd really prefer to buy one that's been set up properly.
 
You know, for that kind of money you could have bought a nice custom uke...?
;)

I give them away as gifts and prizes locally. They have decent intonation and action for the price. My personal uke is an Ovation Applause acoustic/electric UAE20. It has a lyracord (plastic compound) back and a solid spruce top. One of the sweetest sounding ukes acoustic or electric. I've played many nice customs, but the UAE20 is my go to uke. I perform with it at a minimum of two times each week. The Makala Dolphin's make good ukuleles to give away and not be ashamed of the quality. Ric
 
Just thought I'd mention this for the people in the UK but I bought a Makala Dolphin on eBay last week for my little girl and it arrived today and it does appear to be the plastic bodied version.
I bought it from seller rickytempo and they have the yellow and pink colours in stock. You may want to contact them first to see whether all their stock is plastic just in case.

It's says postage by courier but it's actually by Royal Mail (2nd class I think) so expect to wait an extra day or two because of the Xmas rush.
The strings do still need time to settle but overall it was a nice price (£21) so I can get some Aquilas to put on there instead so that's not really an issue for me. :)
 
Thanks for that UK link , though that is highlighting the problem I am finding.

The web listing is showing this as being an agathis body (ie the wood one) and I strongly suspect the plastic stocks are working their way in, but the dealers dont know the difference!

I emailed another ebay seller, and he replied by simply saying "I have no idea!". Surely there must be something else (other than looking inside, which, yes, admittedly, shouldnt be too hard for the seller to do) that gives away the plastic body.

When a seller puts up a dolphin that is listed as plastic, I am buying!
 
Thanks for that UK link , though that is highlighting the problem I am finding.

The web listing is showing this as being an agathis body (ie the wood one) and I strongly suspect the plastic stocks are working their way in, but the dealers dont know the difference!

I emailed another ebay seller, and he replied by simply saying "I have no idea!". Surely there must be something else (other than looking inside, which, yes, admittedly, shouldnt be too hard for the seller to do) that gives away the plastic body.
Yes I do understand what you mean. I wonder if the model numbers are slightly different to reflect the change? I don't know enough about the brand to know but I did notice that the listing says model MK-SC but the box it arrived in says MK-SD

But yes looking inside wouldn't be too hard. Even to my untrained eye the fact that the inside edges look moulded not joined is obvious.
It has a "Made in China" sticker on the back if that helps. lol
 
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