Got my Mainland Cedar Pineapple Today

Paul December

Paul December

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...well, I actually got it yesterday, but didn't have a chance to play it until today. Since I'm a teacher, I'll make my observations in a grade format:

Sound = B
The brighter notes are quite nice, except for the open A string that is a bit "plunky". I'm hoping this will improve as the Aquila strings stretch. I do wish it had a bit deeper tone, possibly I'll just have to change the strings entirely. Suggestions?

Neck = B
Narrower than I expected, but not a problem for me. Fret ends do not stick out, but many feel sharp. Shouldn't be a big problem to fix up.

Fit & Finish = B-
The stain is uneven in some small spots, the rope binding is a bit messy in some parts, as is the glue where the fretboard meets the body. OTOH the the gloss finish is very even over the entire uke.

Overall Grade at this point = B , with the potential of moving up if I sort out the string issue.
 

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Congratulations on your new ukulele! I've heard that pineapples sound a little different than other ukuleles because of the body shape. I'm actually going to build a tenor scale pineapple ukulele from a kit in a class given by Rick Turner. I decided to take the class in part because I wanted a pineapple uke.
 
Get some advice on emery paper or whatever they use to smooth frets on the edges. Mine were a tad sharp but not bad on my Mahogany tenor.

The strings--try South Coast. Aquilas are ok, but I prefer South Coast.

I'm surprised the purfling is sloppy. Mine is practically perfect.
 
Gwynedd said:
Get some advice on emery paper or whatever they use to smooth frets on the edges. Mine were a tad sharp but not bad on my Mahogany tenor.

The strings--try South Coast. Aquilas are ok, but I prefer South Coast.

I'm surprised the purfling is sloppy. Mine is practically perfect.
Click to expand...

How is the tension on the SouthCoast strings? Do then have a bit more tone on the low end?
As for the rope, it isn't terrible, just could be neater especially where the ends meat around the sound hole. OTOH this only a $200 uke, so I may be expecting too much.
 
mds725 said:
Congratulations on your new ukulele! I've heard that pineapples sound a little different than other ukuleles because of the body shape. I'm actually going to build a tenor scale pineapple ukulele from a kit in a class given by Rick Turner. I decided to take the class in part because I wanted a pineapple uke.
Click to expand...

I wish Mainland would put out a Cedar Concert scale!
Odd that they came out with a concert body with a tenor neck first (mahogany).
 
Oops, I forgot to mention...
...I absolutely love the MOP friction tuners, they are beautiful! I am a hard core geared tuner fan, so this was a very pleasant surprise.
I have a Mainland mahogany concert that I now wish had the same tuners on it.

One final observation is this is a tiny uke, especially compared to my Kala novelty pineapple that has a wider neck and deeper body. I'm a bit disappointed that the cheap Kala sounds better on the low end, but hope a string change will fix that. BTW the Kala has Freemont blacks on it.
 
congrats, that's a beaut! Hang in there, my Mainland tenor began to open up after just a couple days of playing, sounds much better now.
Mine also has the sharp fret edges... razor sharp... not kidding, I cut my hand on one! When I get a chance I plan on smoothing them out a bit, just too busy lately.
Play the heck outta it, I bet you start noticing the difference in a few hours :)
Enjoy!
 
benjoeuke said:
congrats, that's a beaut! Hang in there, my Mainland tenor began to open up after just a couple days of playing, sounds much better now.
Mine also has the sharp fret edges... razor sharp... not kidding, I cut my hand on one! When I get a chance I plan on smoothing them out a bit, just too busy lately.
Play the heck outta it, I bet you start noticing the difference in a few hours :)
Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Same here...
...it is not that the frets stick-out (like on my FireFly), just that their edges are literally razor sharp.
 
ya, literally razor sharp :(
How bout the corners of the bone nut on yours? That was a quick fix for me but each fret will require some valuable spare time...
 
Talk to Dirk of Southcoast, multiple tension and tone options available. Get the bridge bone beads --great for restringing. As to $200, my tenor is so beautiful I can't believe it. Really gorgeous work.
 
Gwynedd said:
Talk to Dirk of Southcoast, multiple tension and tone options available. Get the bridge bone beads --great for restringing. As to $200, my tenor is so beautiful I can't believe it. Really gorgeous work.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I really prefer the feel of high tension.
 
Paul December said:
Like broken glass :eek:
Click to expand...
Paul, my nut was not glued in so watch out when you loosen the strings, it falls right out but this also made it very easy to round the corners...
If the nut is glued in, then I have some pics you can look at showing the process on my KoAloha...
It was not sharp, just very high... stuck up about 5mm above the strings so I took it down with a file and cardboard shield
 
I have or have had Mainlands in red cedar, mahogany, and mango. The mahogany tenor was the only one I liked Aquila strings on. The others were way to "bright" or "twangy" with the Aquilas. Try some Worth or Martin fluorocarbon strings (Martin would probably be the better choice if you're looking for a little more lows). You'll lose a bit of volume with the Worth strings, and maybe with the Martin, but it's worth it to get away from the Aquila twanginess.

Mainland doesn't glue the nuts in which I kind of like because it makes it easy to switch if you experiment with low-g and decide to go back and what have you. I think it does surprise a lot of people on their first string change, though! BTW, what I've done on my Mainlands is use just a dab of clear nail polish under the nut to secure it so it doesn't fall off when I change strings and whatnot. It holds the nut but is easy to tap free with no damage if I do need to change later.

I'm surprised about the issues with the bindings and sharp frets, though. The bindings are all but perfect on all three of my Mainlands (one of which was a second) as well as the one I let go and out of the four ukes I had just one fret that was sharp and/or overhanging (it was the g-side of the first fret though so it was pretty annoying until I took a bit of 400grit wet'n'dry sandpaper to it).

John
 
benjoeuke said:
Paul, my nut was not glued in so watch out when you loosen the strings, it falls right out but this also made it very easy to round the corners...
If the nut is glued in, then I have some pics you can look at showing the process on my KoAloha...
It was not sharp, just very high... stuck up about 5mm above the strings so I took it down with a file and cardboard shield
Click to expand...
Nut height is pretty good on this one.
 
Ya, I just mean when if you take all the strings off the nut will fall out so get ready to catch it :)
I took it out to file/sand the corners round.
 
I have similar issues on my mahogany concert, sharp fret ends, sharp nut edges, action a bit high. I expected these would have been addressed in "set-up".
 
Kayak Jim said:
I have similar issues on my mahogany concert, sharp fret ends, sharp nut edges, action a bit high. I expected these would have been addressed in "set-up".
Click to expand...
I got my mahogany concert a couple years ago and requested a low action and it too showed up quite high...
...I was happy that this one was on the low side :)
 
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