I recently bought a Makai MB-70 for my daughter and am happy with it. When I initially got it, while it physically looked good, I wasn't wild about the tone. I changed the GHS strings it came with out for a nylon set I had sitting there (Savarez Red nylon guitar strings) and the tone improved, but the intonation on the G strings (thickest one) was off, because the string was too thick. I just put flourocarbons on it last night (Southcoast) and now the tone is improved, and the intonation is back where it should be as well. So, if you got the Makai, I would get flourocarbon strings as well. I didn't try Nylgut one it (Aquilas), so those might be OK, but it definitely sounds good with Southcoast flourocarbons.
I have a Mainland mahogany baritone, so I have been comparing the two. The physical dimensions of the two are identical, the only obvious differences, aside from the different tonewoods, are the finish (Mainland is gloss, Makai is matte), and the tuners look a little different. The frets on both look fine; the Makai came with higher action than the Mainland, so you may want to adjust that.
The Mainland has much greater sustain and sounds warmer, but that is likely just a function of mahogany versus spruce. Between the two, I prefer the sound of the Mainland; it not only sounds warmer, but it seems like you can hear multiple tones in the decay of the notes, where on the Makai I hear fewer tones. Maybe this is a result of less sustain (faster decay of the notes). I don't know. I like them both quite a bit. I prefer the Mainland, but the Makai is a great deal, and they both should improve with age as they are both solid-tops.
Regarding the different tunings; I have the Makai now set up in the key of G, and just set up the Mainland in the key of A last night (both sets of strings are from Southcoast). While I have only had a few hours to play around with them, I am happy with both; I have already found a few songs that sound better with the "non-standard" A tuning.
