New Uke Day pics and soundclip

Gwynedd

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Ok, here is the Mainland Tenor and a sound clip (excuse the playing, I've been at this about 2 months only, using my Dolphin until the Mainland arrived.)

http://soundcloud.com/user8183733/kuu
 

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Very nice. No need to apologize. Thanks. That Mainland sounds sweet .
, not punchy like some ukes that get sampled.
 
Sounds great! I love the back of it...talk about crazy wood grain!
 
Great samples!

How do you find it jumping from the Dolphin to the Mainland, sound-wise and size-wise (soprano to tenor)?

What strings do you have on the Dolphin?
 
Size-wise, the tenor is larger, easier to play, for me. The action is of course better, having been optimized by Mike & co so it's also easier to play than the Dolph. Both have the same nygut Aquilas. I was the same distance to the mic or thereabouts, the Dolphin is a bit louder, the Mainland is sweeter and has more dynamic range.
 
You sound like it's easier to play the Mainland. It looks like you got some bonus wood there on the back too!
 
The wood has a sort of "X" pattern on the back--someone took time. The dark area in the upper quadrant is the wood reflecting at a funny angle. What is really nice (noted by others who reviewed Mainlands) is the chatoyant look of the mahogany grain, at least under the gloss finish. Quite pretty, and as noted, the purfling is not bright white and black, it is a mellower blond wood and black. All in all, the manufacture is blameless. The sound is sweet--though I may lean to the notion that Aquilas are overkill on mahogany. I will try Worths or South Coast next time around when I need strings.
 
Yeah, I agree with you on all fronts. I felt like with my Mainland concert, that I wished the factory could know how nice we feel these ukes are. I go with this school of thought that says mahogany = flouros, and (most) koa = Aquila. I got a blog post coming up about that. Unless you're a Koaloha, it seems to be a formula that works. With the Koaloha I should just use Worths and be done with it, but I want to step out of that Worths comfort zone and see what else is out there first. :)
 
Wow, beautiful uke (nice score on the back) and lovely sound!
 
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