Tried a Tenor - Was Bitten

So I went to pick up my mandolin (it was in for repair) at the Homestead Picking Parlor. And they had an Oscar Schmidt OU-7T in spalted mango that I made the mistake of playing. It's the first tenor I've ever tried. Actually I've only been playing uke for about two months but have the uke bug real bad.

I thought it might be too big for my small hands. Man did it ever feel comfortable and play oh so nice. They have it listed at $275.00. I'm seriously thinking about an after Christmas gift for myself. I had been thinking of getting Mainland Concert, now I'm really wrapped up with indecision. Concert or Tenor? Mainland or Oscar Schmidt?

I've heard all the great things about Mainland, and love to support independent and local. Hmmm, let's see, it's about a 10 hour drive from St. Paul, MN to Nashville, IN. Maybe I should take a road trip and go try a Mainland.

I'm getting ready to hunker down for a three-day snowstorm. If anyone wants to weigh in with their thoughts on this weighty matter (the ukes, not the snow) - I'm open to listening!
--G

there's always mainland tenors...i'm just saying...

gnordenstam said:

I had been thinking of getting Mainland Concert, now I'm really wrapped up with indecision. Concert or Tenor? Mainland or Oscar Schmidt?

I've heard all the great things about Mainland...
--G

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I have yet to hear one bad word about Mainland. For the price, they're hard to beat. Personally, I was underwhelmed with the Oscar Schmidts I played, but that's just me - could be the models I tried. I know a lot of people love them. If you want some audio samples of raw and recorded Mainland concert mahogany, check out my (or others') youtube vids! There are lots of them out there to listen to.

Good luck!

G,

Last June, I picked up an Oscar Schmidt from the Homestead for my son's birthday. I believe it was a concert size but I don't remember. My wife and I liked it because it played in tune all the way up the neck and we had played a lot of out-of-tune ukes up until then. We used to live in N.E. Minneapolis but now we are out on the western edge of Minnesota (Montevideo), kind of a shortage of music stores out this way.

Have you checked the Podium in Dinkytown?-One of my favorite places.

I just ordered a mahagony tenor cut-away from Mainland which should arrive in the next few days. If you can hold off, I will let you know what I think. This is my first mail order instrument of any value but I read a lot of good things about Mainland ukes here at UU so I decided to take the plunge.

I'm getting ready to hunker down for a three-day snowstorm.

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My wife is on her way back from the cities. Last update she said she is doing 30 to 40 miles / hour and the road is getting worse by the minute.

Doug

Doug W said:

G,

Last June, I picked up an Oscar Schmidt from the Homestead for my son's birthday. I believe it was a concert size but I don't remember. My wife and I liked it because it played in tune all the way up the neck and we had played a lot of out-of-tune ukes up until then...

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See? Another satisfied Oscar Schmidt user! I really don't mean to knock them. All I really know right now is the Mainland and a few others I've either owned in the past or tried at stores. Sometimes I feel a bit like a cheerleader for Mainland (hoosierhiver has no shortage of us here), but there are plenty of ukes to wade through. You'll know the right one when you touch it. Mainlands are hard to come by in stores, obviously, so I took a gamble based on all the raving, and I'm not sorry I did.

I've heard a lot of complaints about Oscar Schmidt in that their uke's wood is too thick and doesn't project very well, but that might be just their lower end ukuleles - their higher end ukes may be great.

I have never played a Mainland, so I can't make a comparison. However, I play an Oscar Schmidt OU-5 tenor and use it for live gigs. It's a great sounding, not to mention gorgeous, uke that stands up to some much higher end ukes I've played. I think it's hard to beat for the price range.

Got called into work today and when I got home my Mainland cut-away tenor was waiting for me. Luckily my wife was at home so it didn't stay in the cold front porch all afternoon where UPS left it.

I have only had about an hour with it but I love it. It has that feeling of an instrument you can keep forever. Pretty instrument with a velvet tone.

However, I would not want to talk you out of an instrument you are smitten with. I found this review of the Oscar Schmidt online. That spalted mango is some nice looking wood.

http://ukeeku.com/2009/07/01/oscar-schmidt-ou7t-no-strings-attached-review/

Doug W said:

Got called into work today and when I got home my Mainland cut-away tenor was waiting for me. Luckily my wife was at home so it didn't stay in the cold front porch all afternoon where UPS left it.

I have only had about an hour with it but I love it. It has that feeling of an instrument you can keep forever. Pretty instrument with a velvet tone.

However, I would not want to talk you out of an instrument you are smitten with. I found this review of the Oscar Schmidt online. That spalted mango is some nice looking wood.

http://ukeeku.com/2009/07/01/oscar-schmidt-ou7t-no-strings-attached-review/

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Thanks for the info on your new Mainland tenor! I'm going to hold off until after the first of the year before I make a decision. How bout this snowstorm? Took over three hours to clear the driveway and sidewalks. The rest of you don't know what you're missing! Well, maybe you do.

I've owned an OU-5 which was crap and 2 Mainlands which are FANTASTIC. Now I'm not gonna tell you what to buy, since you have played the OU-7, and liked it, but I will tell you that I will NEVER buy an OS again. IMO, for the price, Mainland can't be beat. Just my :2cents:

I bought a Mainland Concert. One other thing that hasn't been mentioned about Mainland is Mike, the owner of Mainland. You will not get a better customer service. The uku's are beautiful instruments, especially for the price. but it's nice to know you can call and talk to the owner directly and he will do what ever it takes to make you happy. I bought a mahogany, concert slotted head Matte finish from him on januar 6th. It arrived January 11th. I alrady have a beater that is matte finished so when I receivedc it thought is wass beautiful, I realized that i should have ordered a glossy. I called maike. he couldn't have been nicer and more understanding. He said send it back and he work out what ever I want. When you have such a high quality instrument backed up by that type of customer service you can't go wrong. BTW I did play it for 2 days before I mailed it back and it was gourgeous. I almost kept it because I didn't want to be without it. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

I have an Oscar Schmidt OU6 that I absolutely love, and an Oscar Schmidt OU12 that's pretty decent (good enough for my budget anyway). If I had to judge OS based on my own experiences, I'd say that they're terrific -- on the other hand, from what I've heard, they can be kind of inconsistent when it comes to their instruments. Even though I'm a proud double-OS-uke owner, I'd go with Mainland.