How does Mango Wood Sound?

For my 2nd ukulele that I plan on getting next year or around Christmas, I've been thinking about getting this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Lanikai-SM-C-...cal-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1282145045&sr=1-2

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

So, what is your review on this Ukulele? But, the point of this topics in the title. How does Mango Wood sound? I've heard it's very mellow and less bright. Is that good? Should I get this Ukulele?

Edit: Oops! Sorry. I posted this in the wrong section. Can a Moderator move t to Buying Tips for me? Thanks.

That's really pretty. Can't help with sound or experience, just commentary

SimonAlojipan said:

For my 2nd ukulele that I plan on getting next year or around Christmas, I've been thinking about getting this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Lanikai-SM-C-...cal-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1282145045&sr=1-2

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

So, what is your review on this Ukulele? But, the point of this topics in the title. How does Mango Wood sound? I've heard it's very mellow and less bright. Is that good? Should I get this Ukulele?

Edit: Oops! Sorry. I posted this in the wrong section. Can a Moderator move t to Buying Tips for me? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Compared to mahagony or red cedar, I find the mango to be brighter, more even. It is closer to koa than either of the first two. THe seller describes it as solid wood top, back and sides so that's a good thing. I would also check out http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=37&categoryId=3 I have one of their Mango concerts and it sounds very nice and plays really well.

haha yes it is I consider design to be a big factor to me, which is why I pinpointed a lot of research that points to this one.

And thanks for all these quick replies. My avatar is actually that Ukulele inverted in color.

I personally prefer the looks of spalted Mango like on the Lanikai over non-spalted like the Mainland which looks a tad boring. Being a woodturner I would always let my Mango logs spalt before turning a piece to give it much more charactor.

I'm not in love with either its looks or its sound. The tone is alright, but there isn't enough volume for me. YMMV.

I don't know what they sound like, but they're GORGEOUS!

It certainly is beautiful, i'm with Honu on the spalted thing...i think its much prettier with some spalting....So that lanikai is certainly great there, I don't think i care for the sound of mango generally. The Mainlands, though some are a little boring (though they have a beautiful ripple-like sanddunes from space grain to them) the mainlands are my favorite sounding mango yet, but that isn't saying much. I too just much wanted a mango uke til i played them...and found that mahogany really is about my favorite. That being said, the lanikai mango does have an interesting tone, which is pretty in its own right. But it has next to zero bass (from what i can hear in the video) and doesn't seem to sustain very long, both things i look for (which is why i prefer mahogany). It certainly is bright, but it sounds like the wood may be just a tad thicker than I like, as i prefer the thinnest top i can get my hands on...(in my opinion that is why the kala travel ukes sound as good as they do, paper thin soundboard) Anywho, Honu posted the video there for you to listen to...most importantly if you like the sound of it GET IT (or 5) that is the best rule

I love mango! However... I think the sound varies significantly among different makers. I've played a Lanikai spalted mango and didn't care for it at all. I thought it was too quiet and rather thin-sounding. I used to have a Pono mango baritone and loved the deep honey-like tone that it had. I now have a Pono mango tenor with sprucetop and I think the added brightness and volume of the spruce is a nice complement to the more quiet, mellow sounding mango. I've also tried a Mainland mango and it was much more plain-looking than the spalted mango made by other makers, but sounded great.

Come to think of it, I used to have a Kala mango tenor that was laminated, but still sounded fantastic. If you're looking for a combination of beautiful wood and nice tone, I think mango is right up there with highly flamed koa. (In my humble opinion...)

Here's a few video samples of my own mango ukes...

Spalted Mango can sound different from kiln dried Mango depending on the degree of spalting. Too much spalting and you loose some wood density.