Youz guyz betta not be lyin'!

OldePhart

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Okay, all you Mainland fanatics twisted my arm, unabashadly fanned my UAS to fever pitch, etc., so I just called Mike and pulled the trigger on a mango tenor with Mi Si pickup.

Actually, I just still haven't been able to "connect" with the LU-8E in spite of it's really being quite a decent uke and I need something with a pickup for our Christmas music. Well...I guess technically "need" might not be exactly the right word, but it will do. :)

I suppose the good news is that if this mango tenor is even on the same planet with my KoAloha concert then I am probably done buying ukes. Honest, I only have UAS/GAS until I get something really good. Haven't looked at another acoustic guitar since I bought my Taylor 9 years ago (and it's a rather plain 3-series), haven't bought an electric since I had my custom SG built four years ago, etc - don't need more than one really good thing of each. Maybe that means I don't really have aquisition syndrome at all - or is that called denial?

Anyway, I have it on really good authority that Santa is bringing me a Flip camera, too (hey, somebody has to help the economic recovery, right?) so look for videos after the turn of the year.

John
 
Woo hoo Mango w/Mi Si !!!! Congratulations. I'm looking forward to the proof. (video or it didn't happen).
DAP
 
Woo-hoo! Congratulations! I don't have a Mainland Mango yet... hmmm.......
 
no more after? what about u-bass, or risa stick, or risa les pauls, or resonators, or 6 strings, 8 strings, guitalele, spruce, walnut, acacia, mahogany, koa, mango, cedar, low g, low g high g paired, double necked, baritone, soprano, concert, tenor, all them pretty custom ukuleles, and so on?
 
Lemme know how you like it John; I've been saving some money for a new ukulele for a while know and am considering a mainland mango tenor.
 
same planet as a koaloha concert? maybe but that is a big step difference. . I like my red cedar mainland but it is no where near my koalohas. you will be happy more than likely b/c it will sound good and HH takes care of them ukes. I don't think you will be done. You have a koaloha concert. the only way to satisfy that craving is a koaloha tenor.
 
Aloha John,
Congrats for purchasing your new Christmas gift of the Mailand Mango Tenor....Your forget the power of the uke...it draws you in....unlike guitars you can feel satified with one, I think??he he....
Who you fooling, you don't have UAS??? if so, you're a rare breed among us.....Denial of course...you meant the economic recovery or you meant recovery from UAS? Anyways Have
Fun and Enjoy!! Happy Strummings Buddy! Let us Know how the Mainlaind works out for you!! MM Stan..
 
I think you will love your Mango Mainland Tenor, if it is anything like my Mainland Mango Concert. First time I played mine, I was immediately reminded of the KoAloha I had tried. I don't have a KoAloha to do a side by side comparison though, but when I heard my new Mainland Mango Concert, it made me remember the feeling I had with a KoAloha, which was bright and sparkly.

–Lori
 
I have a Mango concert and I really dig it. Its punchy.
 
no more after? what about u-bass, or risa stick, or risa les pauls, or resonators, or 6 strings, 8 strings, guitalele, spruce, walnut, acacia, mahogany, koa, mango, cedar, low g, low g high g paired, double necked, baritone, soprano, concert, tenor, all them pretty custom ukuleles, and so on?

Heh, heh. Got the UBASS. Got the 8-string, don't really care for it. Every spruce / cedar / pine uke I've heard clips of just sounds too bright for my tastes. Plastic ukes don't take my fancy either, though it's fun to watch Gus and Fin go to town on them. Low-G sounds too much like guitar to me. Bought a soprano for my granddaughter for Christmas and find that the scale is a little short to be comfortable for me. Have a KoAloha concert. For baritone I'll just capo my classical guitar. Not crazy about mahogany though I like it better than spruce or cedar. Got the acacia (pocket uke) - scale too short but I bought it for traveling. Pretty-schmetty - when I had a custom SG electric guitar built for me I had it painted solid "aged white." Could have had an AAAAA flamed top for the same price but then I'd be afraid to take it out of the house! Don't get me wrong, I love a beautiful instrument, but I'm pretty much content to admire them from afar - I'm a player, not a collector. :)

Okay, have I covered all the basses? No, let's see - Risa Stick, yeah, if I end up traveling more frequently I might get one of those. Double-neck, didn't know they made double-neck ukes - if it's a 4 / 8 string then I probably wouldn't be interested for the previously mentioned reason. Resonator - yeah, I could see myself picking up a resonator, and maybe even a banjolele, some day.

John
 
same planet as a koaloha concert? maybe but that is a big step difference. . I like my red cedar mainland but it is no where near my koalohas. you will be happy more than likely b/c it will sound good and HH takes care of them ukes. I don't think you will be done. You have a koaloha concert. the only way to satisfy that craving is a koaloha tenor.

Heh, heh. You might be right and that's why I said planet - I'm not really expecting it to be in the same ball game. But, I don't really have a "craving" for a tenor - if I'd been trying to scratch that kind of itch I probably would have held out for a K brand. However, the only thing I really need a tenor for is performing with the band and that pretty rarely (I'm needed on bass for most of our stuff). Actually, I don't really need a tenor, I could have done as well having a pickup put in the KoAloha concert but I don't trust my own woodworking skills in that regard (not on my K-baby!) and I trust my skills more than those of any of the local guitar butchers I know of around here.

I'll be using it plugged in with the band most of the time and I suspect that plugged in and amplified the difference between mango and koa (and between a good build and an amazing build) is probably not going to be that noticeable. Even the Lanikai LU-8E laminated top sounds quite decent plugged in - I'd be perfectly happy with it for that chore except I just can't connect with the 8 strings.

I've found through years of experience on guitars that the difference between a great top and a good top just doesn't show up in recordings from under-saddle pickups. Those pickups are basically a compression device and they measure the pressure between the saddle and the top at the bridge - most of the more subtle tonal nuances that make a KoAloha what it is, for example, occur because of the wood and bracing of the top and are generated well away from that main pressure point. This is why Taylor has gone to the "expression system" on their newer guitars - it picks up not only the saddle vibrations but top vibrations at other points as well. I've seriously considered sending my Taylor off to have it retrofitted with the expression system - it makes that much difference.

So, hopefully my itch is scratched. I suspect that if I do succumb to UAS again in the future it will probably be for another K-brand concert scale (with a pickup) or, as Dane mentioned, a resonator or banjolele.

John
 
Im not sure which brand mango he plays, but daddystovepipe, a really good blues uke player, plays a mango and loves it. take a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUkmOtpqpzE Good luck. Sounds like a super duper Christmas present. love to hear sound clips after you get it. Lozark
 
Yeah, love daddystovepipe from before I got interested in ukes. It was his mandolin videos that hooked me. I think he could string dental floss around a barbed-wire fence and make it sound great!

John
 
Heh, heh. Got the UBASS. Got the 8-string, don't really care for it. Every spruce / cedar / pine uke I've heard clips of just sounds too bright for my tastes. Plastic ukes don't take my fancy either, though it's fun to watch Gus and Fin go to town on them. Low-G sounds too much like guitar to me. Bought a soprano for my granddaughter for Christmas and find that the scale is a little short to be comfortable for me. Have a KoAloha concert. For baritone I'll just capo my classical guitar. Not crazy about mahogany though I like it better than spruce or cedar. Got the acacia (pocket uke) - scale too short but I bought it for traveling. Pretty-schmetty - when I had a custom SG electric guitar built for me I had it painted solid "aged white." Could have had an AAAAA flamed top for the same price but then I'd be afraid to take it out of the house! Don't get me wrong, I love a beautiful instrument, but I'm pretty much content to admire them from afar - I'm a player, not a collector. :)

Okay, have I covered all the basses? No, let's see - Risa Stick, yeah, if I end up traveling more frequently I might get one of those. Double-neck, didn't know they made double-neck ukes - if it's a 4 / 8 string then I probably wouldn't be interested for the previously mentioned reason. Resonator - yeah, I could see myself picking up a resonator, and maybe even a banjolele, some day.

John

I didn't expect you to go over all of them but nice job haha. Resonator and banjolele would be very cool, I can't justify their prices at the moment though with all the other stuff that I need as opposed to want
 
My Mainland was my first Uke and I got a KoAloha a few months ago. While I think the KoAloha is definitely a step up, the main thing I got out of comparing the Mainland and KoAloha was how really really good the Mainland is for the price. Is the KoAloha nicer? Of course. Same planet? Yes. Same ballpark? Maybe even yes to this. I think you'll be very happy. Let us know.
 
dude - nobody is lying. Mainlands are great instruments. Whilst technically the base parts are on a par with say Kala and Ohana (as they are originally made in the far east), the fact they are hand assembled and checked over by Mikes team in the US makes a WORLD of difference.

Sure, they are not K brand ukes, but neither is the price. And to be honest, as a guitar player with terrible acquisition syndrome, ukes are like guitars - its diminishing returns. Above a certain price and base spec, you are paying for finished and flourishes. Does a $600 dollar uke sound three times better than a $200 uke - I personally doubt it - better, but not three times better.

The Mainlands are well made, look great and sound superb - in my book they could compete with any other uke
 
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