Just to add that I LOVE Hilos on my Mainland sopranos!!! Yes, the underrated even despised Hilos.
Too lazy to review the Mainland mahogany in a more formal manner except to say this: the mahogany, heavier in weight (than the red cedar) is a very full balanced sexy soprano that I must admit I pick up more often than the red cedar. The Hilos provide the red cedar with more fullness. I look for that. And balance. With the Hilos, the tendency to C and A string imbalance with the Aquilas on the red cedar (which I could compensate for with playing style) is gone. Both ukes with the Hilos allow for single note articulation in the midst of chordal play minus the finger noise of the brighter yet drier Aquilas and with more than "sufficient" volume. I like a warmer sound overall. With Hilos I always feel I can dig in more when I need to with my left hand. My sense while playing these ukes with Hilos: more expressive and more solid and more real. I do think there's something true not infrequently said about Aquilas and not necessarily really bad: you can get the sense at times that you're playing the strings more than you're uke. Not so with the Hilos.
In short, this review is a nice or not so nice way of saying that those who bash Hilos IMO are somewhat clueless. They are clueless at least to this reality: we all don't have to share the same ubiquitous tonal preference. Nor the same volume demands. String choices are NOT a religion. I already have a religion. I'm a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, which BTW has some very fine singing (minus instruments) and far less control freakery than many string choice/instrument options discussions.
Trust yourself is what I've learned. Go for the sound YOU want. I got that sound with Hilos on both these Mainlands. With even better intonation!!!
Hey, it's only been a few days so I won't state a favorite between the 2 ukes except to say in maybe 3 reviews in one that I'm very happy. It's a testimony I think to the overall quality of the Mainland sopranos that these ukes could probably accomodate more than a few players with differing tonal preferences though various string options. As a mini-editorial: I think playing style gets undervalued in string choice discussions. I like the Hilos on these ukes for both strumming and fingerstyle and everything in between!!!
Let the weekend begin!!!
Too lazy to review the Mainland mahogany in a more formal manner except to say this: the mahogany, heavier in weight (than the red cedar) is a very full balanced sexy soprano that I must admit I pick up more often than the red cedar. The Hilos provide the red cedar with more fullness. I look for that. And balance. With the Hilos, the tendency to C and A string imbalance with the Aquilas on the red cedar (which I could compensate for with playing style) is gone. Both ukes with the Hilos allow for single note articulation in the midst of chordal play minus the finger noise of the brighter yet drier Aquilas and with more than "sufficient" volume. I like a warmer sound overall. With Hilos I always feel I can dig in more when I need to with my left hand. My sense while playing these ukes with Hilos: more expressive and more solid and more real. I do think there's something true not infrequently said about Aquilas and not necessarily really bad: you can get the sense at times that you're playing the strings more than you're uke. Not so with the Hilos.
In short, this review is a nice or not so nice way of saying that those who bash Hilos IMO are somewhat clueless. They are clueless at least to this reality: we all don't have to share the same ubiquitous tonal preference. Nor the same volume demands. String choices are NOT a religion. I already have a religion. I'm a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, which BTW has some very fine singing (minus instruments) and far less control freakery than many string choice/instrument options discussions.
Trust yourself is what I've learned. Go for the sound YOU want. I got that sound with Hilos on both these Mainlands. With even better intonation!!!
Hey, it's only been a few days so I won't state a favorite between the 2 ukes except to say in maybe 3 reviews in one that I'm very happy. It's a testimony I think to the overall quality of the Mainland sopranos that these ukes could probably accomodate more than a few players with differing tonal preferences though various string options. As a mini-editorial: I think playing style gets undervalued in string choice discussions. I like the Hilos on these ukes for both strumming and fingerstyle and everything in between!!!
Let the weekend begin!!!
Last edited:
