Mainland concert vs. Collings UC-1

GX9901

GX9901

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Messages
1,272
Reaction score
20
Location
Twin Cities, MN
I've been writing a series of comparisons (I'm calling it the Ukulele Smackdown:D) between the Mainland slotted headstock concert and the Collings UC-1 on my little blog. It's pretty much just for shiznits and giggles but could be mildly entertaining or informative for you guys.

It's not completed yet so I'll link the each new post here:

Weigh-in
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
 
Last edited:
I love your site. Can't wait to see who wins. I've been thinking of doing a Mele and Mainland comparison.
 
Well, I'm not necessarily planning to name a "winner". I'll present as much info as I can and you can be the judge. I'll of course share my personal thoughts about the comparison at the end, but hopefully there will be enough there for people to make their own conclusions. That's my goal anyway.

Stay tuned!
 
Last edited:
If the Collings doesn't win it could be the greatest upset of all time! This is with all due respect to Mainland. Just thinking of the price difference.
 
Great Website

Hey man, let me add my voice to the chorus:Ukulele Ghetto is great! You're a very good writer, and the photos look fantastic. It all looks super-professional.

You have been bookmarked....
 
Great sound comparison video.

My verdict. They both sound great. That Collings has a much nicer sound when you play individual notes, seems a bit louder, and seems to have better intonation higher at higher frets to my ear, but the Mainland wasn't bad at all and with regular "cowboy" chords it seemed pretty evenly matched.

Only time will tell if the Collings is better built to last and worth the extra cost, but if you have the dough and need something that edges out the cheaper competition I can see a player choosing the Collings.

I'm someone who will never have the money for a Collings but would be very happy with that Mainland.

Again, thanks for the well done side by side comparison. It's great that there are quality ukes for people of widely different budgets.
 
With that recording setup the Mainland stands up surprisingly well next to a far more expensive instrument. There seemed to be a bigger difference during the first passage of the song, but as it went on I could tell less difference between the two.
 
RevWill said:
With that recording setup the Mainland stands up surprisingly well next to a far more expensive instrument. There seemed to be a bigger difference during the first passage of the song, but as it went on I could tell less difference between the two.
Click to expand...

I agree. When the first couple of changes were made from the Mainland to the Collings I noticed the difference but as the playing went on they seemed to blend seamlessly.

Thanks George! Awesome playing.
 
the more I think about it, the biggest tonal differences had something to do with the soundboard's angle to the microphone, far more so than the differences between the ukes. At least that's what I think. I listened without looking a few times and had to peek to tell which one was playing more than once.
 
I think the Collings sounds better, but not 4.5X better. The Mainland is such a great deal.
 
Really well done video. I agree that they both sound great. I'm sure a lot of that is the playing, too ;)

What strings are the ukes strung with? Did I miss this somewhere?
 
ukeatan said:
Really well done video. I agree that they both sound great. I'm sure a lot of that is the playing, too ;)

What strings are the ukes strung with? Did I miss this somewhere?
Click to expand...

They are strung with Worth CD's. The stock strings are Aquilas for both, but I prefer Worth strings so I switched them. I did mention this in the blog, but I'm sure it's easily missed between all the Smackdown posts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jerryc41
Wanted Wanted: Mainland Concert
Replies
0
Views
76
Jerryc41
Jerryc41
Jerryc41
Wanted Wanted: A friend would like a Mainland Concert uke.
Replies
4
Views
251
thaidye39
T
T
Sold Mainland Mahogany Long Neck Concert Pineapple Tenor Scale w/ Case
Replies
4
Views
356
cletus
cletus
Doug W
Mainland Mahagony classic cutaway and Mahagony classic concert
Replies
1
Views
310
bazmaz
bazmaz
S
Mainland - Red Cedar Concert (all solid)
Replies
3
Views
647
Neil_O
Neil_O
Top Bottom