Disappointed with Mainland?

Marcy325

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So I bought a Mainland mahogany concert a few months ago as a
50th birthday treat for myself. I had read reviews and watched plenty videos, I liked the sound, even when played by people who weren't all that great. I'm wondering why I was disappointed with it and sold it a couple months later, when so many people really love their Mainlands?

I know that loving the sound of a particular uke is very subjective, but I felt that it was a little too dull sounding. I don't think it was the set-up as I ordered it direct from Mainland and I assume (maybe mistakenly) that it was set-up well. Maybe I had been used to the sound that my tenors made, and my spruce top is especially loud and bright, with no dullness? Maybe I was taken in by the (to me) beautiful look of Mainlands even before I bought my first starter uke? So, anyway, a guy on ebay got a good price for a nearly new Mainland, and I went back to my trusty KALA brand and got a solid mahogony concert that's deep sounding and loud and not dull. I'm wondering if anyone else had high expections for Mainlands but they didn't work out for you?
 
Quite the opposite for me. My Mainland outshines other things in my collection. Just this morning my husband commented while I was playing the Mainland "I think those two are your best sounding." The other one he meant was my Martin.
A week ago I was doing a quick show off of a few of my ukes to a friend who'd yet to be made savvy of Mainland. I handed it over for him to play. Wowed. And immediate price inquiry. Guess he wants one of his own.
My Mainland mahogany soprano is my uke I'd save first in a fire.
 
I actually had a solid mahogany kala concert then bought a mainland gloss tenor and I felt the opposite. So much so I sold the kala soon afterwards to buy a misi pick up for my mainland
 
Perhaps it was the particular strings? They can make a huge difference in the "brightness" of the sound.
 
Interesting responses and it makes you wonder. Maybe a lessor sounding one slipped by Mike and that is what you got. Strings do make a difference. I have personally had three Mainlands, all Mahogany, and loved them all. I sold my first because I had a friend that was over the top in love with it and I sold my soprano because it had geared tuners and I want to get one with friction. I am kicking myself for that sale. I found all of them to have a sweet and mellow sound.
 
Strings do make a big difference. I was ready to sell my Lanikai LSM-C solid mahogany concert because it sounded dull. It came with Nylguts. Decided to try different strings before taking the drastic step of putting it up for sale. Installed Worth medium clears. Big difference in a positive way and it's now a keeper. A $7 investment to avoid a big misstep.
 
just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is sound. I had a Mainland and I thought it sounded fine . I had the top of the line Kala [solid koa soprano] and it really didn't sound all that much better than my dolphin . go figure.
 
I had Aquila on my soprano and I have tried several types of strings on my concert. The Kamaka strings dulled the concert but it still had a great mellow sound. Wouldn't you just love to be in a room with a bunch of ukes and people and have an assessment to hear what others thought about and how the opinions differed from one another. It guess it will have to remain a mystery. Have you spoken to who bought your Mainland? Do they like it? Maybe you are among many anti Mainland folk that just don't speak up because Mike and the Mainland brand is so well liked. I have only played Kala laminates so I have zero experience with that brand. I always ask others to play my ukes because the way they sound while I play them opposed to being on the other side of the uke while another is playing makes a world of difference IMHO.
 
Strings were aquila which I have on my others.

That's the "go to" strings that many ukes come with including Moore Betttah customs. But, I really preferred something like the Martin 600's or Worth clears on my two tenor Mainlands that I had. Anyway... as you said, somebody else got a good deal on "the bay" & you got the sound you wanted from the other Kala. Win/win.
 
That's the "go to" strings that many ukes come with including Moore Betttah customs. But, I really preferred something like the Martin 600's or Worth clears on my two tenor Mainlands that I had. Anyway... as you said, somebody else got a good deal on "the bay" & you got the sound you wanted from the other Kala. Win/win.

I have worth clears on mine, aquilas are too bright I want some Guadalupe strings but cost a fortune to get them to the uk as I had to buy 5
 
I bought an all hog Mainland tenor and thought it was pretty good. It didn't have the volume of my KoAloha concert which seemed odd to me. Looking back I think it was a nice uke for the money. If I were to get another Mainland I would go for a concert, probably a spruce top.
 
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I agree with what was stated above. If I could only save one uke it would be my mainland Red Cedar tenor.
That being said, I spent over an hour at Mike's shop playing all the ukes there and IMO the mahogany ukes were my least favorite (but they still sounded good) My favorite obviously was the red cedar followed closely by the mango. The spruce hadn't come out yet at that time.
I also noticed subtle tone differences between ukes of the same model.
As far as setup goes, I'm sure Mike would have set up the uke any way you wanted. btw, I sold my Kala tenor after I got my Mainland. Nice uke but IMO didn't measure up to the Mainland
 
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mmm this post is confusing me, i'm after my first solid wood uke and was thinking about the mainland and as I live in Scotland I have to heavily rely on forums for information when buying a ukulele as we don't have an abundance of Music stores that stock a good range of ukes. I'd guess there isn't one shop in the whole of Scotland that stocks mainland ukes ( I nip over to Ireland quite a lot on weekends and I'm guessing there isn't one there either). There my be one In England but you get the idea, it's not ideal crossing boarders to check out ukes! Nevertheless, there still appears to be a lot of positive feedback here in relation to the mainland ukes.
 
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I was not a fan of the width of the necks myself but then I tried a pineapple and it is now on my UAS- "dar". Never thought of them as dull though.
 
I had the opposite opinion when I visited Mainland. I preferred the mahogany to the red cedar and while I liked the mango, the sweetness of the mahogany concert won me over. Worth clears made it sound really good. Great value for what you get, IMO.

I agree with what was stated above. If I could only save one uke it would be my mainland Red Cedar tenor.
That being said, I spent over an hour at Mike's shop playing all the ukes there and IMO the mahogany ukes were my least favorite (but they still sounded good) My favorite obviously was the red cedar followed closely by the mango. The spruce hadn't come out yet at that time.
I also noticed subtle tone differences between ukes of the same model.
As far as setup goes, I'm sure Mike would have set up the uke any way you wanted. btw, I sold my Kala tenor after I got my Mainland. Nice uke but IMO didn't measure up to the Mainland
 
I'm expecting my Mainland Mahogany Concert Tuesday, and I'm hoping for the BEST. I have heard many wonderful things about it. I'm hoping it's mellow~ I'll let you know.
Any other postive comments?? (for me:)
 
I'm expecting my Mainland Mahogany Concert Tuesday, and I'm hoping for the BEST. I have heard many wonderful things about it. I'm hoping it's mellow~ I'll let you know.
Any other postive comments?? (for me:)

It will be mellow and sweet. Personally I would switch out the strings that it comes with to Worth clear, but either way you made a good choice. I would say 99.9% are happy with their Mainland purchase.
 
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