ukemunga
Well-known member
Just an FYI for anyone interested in this uke.
I was more than a bit disappointed with it at first. Sounded very "plinky" and muted. Not much roundness or mellowness to the sound. Very one dimensional and blah. Not that I know what I'm really talking about. But compared to my Kala it didn't impress.
BUT - now that the strings have stretched out and, I would think, have considerably more tension the sound has become much more vibrant and resonant. Doesn't have the volume and projection of the Kala but it has a more mellow sound. Probably, I guess, from the longer scale.
I think the strings may really be Aquilas. I think they sound good. But if they are, I don't know why Mahalo doesn't make that known.
An interesting note about the scale. I wrongly assumed it had a concert neck because of the longer scale and number of frets. Wrong. The neck size and distance between frets matches the Kala exactly. Except the neck extends further into the body to make room for the additional (mostly unusable despite the cutaway) frets.
I do really enjoy playing it. My right ring finger rests perfectly in the cup of the cutout and I find the neck very easy to play. It is thinner than the Kala.
The genuine artificial, soft leather-like, velour-lined gig bag is actually quite nice.
Maybe just because of the newness and the fancy, probably overdone, gloss finish, I find myself reaching for this one much more than the other 2. Except to keep comparing the sound of them with the Mahalo.
This is a fun uke. I bet the model with the pickup would be a great time with retro-style mini amp.
Hey, for $53 delivered from Amazon, what've you got to lose? Other than $53.
I was more than a bit disappointed with it at first. Sounded very "plinky" and muted. Not much roundness or mellowness to the sound. Very one dimensional and blah. Not that I know what I'm really talking about. But compared to my Kala it didn't impress.
BUT - now that the strings have stretched out and, I would think, have considerably more tension the sound has become much more vibrant and resonant. Doesn't have the volume and projection of the Kala but it has a more mellow sound. Probably, I guess, from the longer scale.
I think the strings may really be Aquilas. I think they sound good. But if they are, I don't know why Mahalo doesn't make that known.
An interesting note about the scale. I wrongly assumed it had a concert neck because of the longer scale and number of frets. Wrong. The neck size and distance between frets matches the Kala exactly. Except the neck extends further into the body to make room for the additional (mostly unusable despite the cutaway) frets.
I do really enjoy playing it. My right ring finger rests perfectly in the cup of the cutout and I find the neck very easy to play. It is thinner than the Kala.
The genuine artificial, soft leather-like, velour-lined gig bag is actually quite nice.
Maybe just because of the newness and the fancy, probably overdone, gloss finish, I find myself reaching for this one much more than the other 2. Except to keep comparing the sound of them with the Mahalo.
This is a fun uke. I bet the model with the pickup would be a great time with retro-style mini amp.
Hey, for $53 delivered from Amazon, what've you got to lose? Other than $53.