First uke...sort of

cpmusic · Sep 11, 2011

Last weekend I bought a Cordoba concert uke on impluse at Guitar Center. As it turns out, the Cordoba has a sweet tone but the intonation is a little off across the board, so I'm returning it.

Its replacement, which should be here in about a week, is a Mainland Mahogany Tenor. I'm taking a bit of a chance as I have yet to play a Mainland, but based on reviews here (a great starting point) and elsewhere on the web, along with their pre-shipping setup, I feel like I'm in good hands. They don't have their standard mahogany model in stock and I didn't want to wait, so I bought the one with a slotted headstock and no rope purfling.

Now I just have to wait....

3nails4holes · Sep 11, 2011

sounds like you've made a wise choice. i've never been a fan of cordoba ukes. it's interesting how they price them to be a mid-range uke in the stores, but they just don't have the sound or details to justify the price above a decent lanikai or kala.

enjoy the mainland!

uke4life · Sep 11, 2011

Congrats...I've played a couple at GC and actually liked them too...However, the sales people were complete knuckleheads and pissed me off so I wasn't about to give them a sale...They sounded good, but not that good and it would have been an impulse purchase...But none the less, I was surprised at how some sound really good and others don't...But GC and it's sales staff are jokes!!!!

rem50 · Sep 12, 2011

When I first started I played a cordoba @ GC and loved it. I then got "smarter" and figured I could find one on line cheaper. I did. It was. What a piece of junk. I since took the back off just to see how it was made. I also drilled a sound hole in the side and am in the process of trying to decide what kind of back I want to put on it. We'll see. I played some mainlands saturday at NC Ukulele academy and they sounded great. You are going to be very pleased.

mascompro · Sep 12, 2011

@ rem50 I love the NCUA. I keep hoping he will get a LoPrinzi Nova Soprano in, so I can play it, fall in love with it, and then start saving for it.

hibiscus · Sep 12, 2011

I think you will be thrilled with your Mainland! I've tried the Concert Mahogany & the Mango Soprano~ both wonderful instruments.

Mouthy1 · Sep 12, 2011

I love my Mainlands but when they first arrived, I was disappointed in all of them. Give them a chance to open up. Took me about 2-4 months before they sounded exceptional. Just a thought in case you are expecting a Kamaka and it doesn't sound quite at the same level like that out of the box yet. It will(ish) but not yet.

cantsing · Sep 12, 2011

cpmusic said:
They don't have their standard mahogany model in stock and I didn't want to wait, so I bought the one with a slotted headstock and no rope purfling.

Congratulations on your purchase. A month ago, I bought a Mainland mahogany concert with slotted headstock and no rope purfling, and I love the way it looks. Very clean and simple. I still smile every time I pick it up!

cpmusic · Sep 12, 2011

Mouthy1 said:
I love my Mainlands but when they first arrived, I was disappointed in all of them. Give them a chance to open up. Took me about 2-4 months before they sounded exceptional. Just a thought in case you are expecting a Kamaka and it doesn't sound quite at the same level like that out of the box yet. It will(ish) but not yet.

Thanks for the tip. Some instruments sound better out of the box than others, so I appreciate the heads-up. My uke shipped today, and it's due here by Friday, according to UPS. I'm not very good at waiting....

cpmusic · Sep 12, 2011

rem50 said:
When I first started I played a cordoba @ GC and loved it. I then got "smarter" and figured I could find one on line cheaper. I did. It was. What a piece of junk. I since took the back off just to see how it was made. I also drilled a sound hole in the side and am in the process of trying to decide what kind of back I want to put on it. We'll see.

I'll be curious to see what comes of it when you're done.

I can't speak to Cordoba's uke designs, but some of their guitars are quite nice. However, they have a quality control problem among their Asian models. I have a Fusion 14 which I like a lot, but it was the only one among three in the store that had a proper neck angle.

First uke...sort of

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