Makala dolphin quality report

Gave my treasured blue burst dolphin to my daughter while visiting her in NYC. bought a new one [red burst], they were out of blue, from Amazon. I had heard the quality had declined, but was pleasantly surprised. came with the crap strings and the saddle needs to be shaved, but otherwise it's almost flawless, nice straight neck, and the dark burst looks great. how they can sell these shipped for $35 is beyond me, but I'm very pleased, I think they're the greatest uke deal out there. maybe I just lucked out and got a good one?

We have two at our house and we are very pleased too! Glad that you like yours so much!

Bought a black one for a friend last week and think it is just fine too.

Never tried one but will have to order one soon because of all the good reviews.

Aloha Strumsilly,
Congratulations on another uke purchases...yes they are fun ukes....glad to hear you visited your daughter in Manhattan and gave it to her..how cool man....Thanks for sharing,, MM Stan

I've played five Dolphins lately... two played and sounded great, two were good, and one was pretty bad. (I bet some nut filing or a replacing would fix that bad one, though.) A one in five chance of getting a ukulele that needs a little work isn't so bad for only $35. Same price for Mahalo, Stagg, and Diamond Head, but the odds of getting a nice ukulele are reversed---one in five (or so) sounds/plays well. That makes Dolphins the best ukulele deal in my town.

I bought two set up from Mim for my grandkids and they play great for that price. By the way get them from Mim. She changes the strings, does a good set up, and she is a really nice lady!

I just came back from buying new strings for my Makala MK-SN, and I had a play on a Dolphin while I was there. The guys at Harrison's Music in Adelaide do a great job of setting up. The one I played had excellent tone and playability. It's tempting to grab one as a travelling companion.

I took a fully set up Dolphin into the music shop in Grafton, NSW, yesterday, handed it to the guy behind the counter who I know is a uke player, I said "start playing this while I go grab a mahalo off your shelves", he looked a bit bewildered but he made a c chord and started stumming it, the look on his face changed to one of surprise, he strummed it again, he picked a few scales, he reached under the counter for the digital tuner, "how much did you pay for this ?" he says, "10 bucks more than your mahalos" says I.

By this time I am holding a red mahalo from their display tree.

I strummed it a few times, he strummed the Dolphin a few times, we both looked at each other, then we both turn and look at the owner of the shop, not a word is spoken, I put the Dolphin back in the case, nod politely to both of them and leave.

A beautifull moment, because I know they both got the message, ears do not lie.

Great story - hope a change is made in brand they stock now they know which is better.