Nud!!

went to my local guitar(and uke store) today in hopes of picking up a Makala dolphin. I knew they had a red one in there the last time I visited and I was hoping they still had it. I went in and, lo and behold, they had a whole wooden palm tree full of dolphins! (including the red one) I played most of the other colors just to compare quality and still liked the red one the best. I bought him, and now he's mine! I am a happy uker!

On a side note: I noticed some of the dolphins had a dull sound or loads of fret buzz while others sounded and felt fantastic. Anybody else experience such a variance in quality with dolphins? Just curious.

At the lower end of the price range setup quality, and even build quality (thud vs. sing) is kind of a crap shoot. Just the nature of the beast. A manufacturer can't really do setups or even tightly control basic construction quality at such a low price point. Which is why having a store with a whole "tree" full of Dolphins to test drive is great, eh?

John

howdy ukularwarhead

I've not seen or played any dolphins where I live, but the closest comparable uke in terms of price and setup would be the mahaloU30's where we are, all of which come in those sweet colour variations...

And the answer, at least from here, is YES. Big variations in sound quality between what you'd think are exact model copies. I have 6 little mahalos, 3 of which sound great and the other 3 have trouble staying in tune and have higher actions, one has a nasty string buzz...just goes to show, if you're confronted with a whole wall full of them, it really is worth your while to play them all and make sure you're not getting a dud.

In the past I've had friends complain about several types of instruments being not so good.
Myself I've had most of the stuff they had as well and mine were all top quality for the price.
Maybe I'm just lucky?

At the average out-of-the-box-and-onto-the-wall store, you're bound to find a few that are unplayable and one or two that are decent. Some have sky-high action and terrible intonation, some have a serious buzz, and others have glaring fit and finish problems (especially the sides of the fretboard; they can be a total mess). I guess it's expected in that price range, but if they vary that much, you're probably better off paying the extra 10-15 bucks and getting it from a dealer that goes the extra mile to set it up.

Aloha Ukularwarhead,
At the lower entry level ukes always has inconsistancy issues...but there are Definetly gems there to be found, if you play them side by side for comparisons.. "One who looks, finds.."