OldePhart
Well-known member
So, today I received my Mainland satin mango soprano. I think everybody here knows I'm a fan of Mainland ukes so we'll get that out of the way right up front. I'm also a pretty steady customer so I wouldn't be surprised if Mike cherry-picked the whole stable for me so we'll get that out of the way as well.
Even so, this thing is mind-bogglingly good. I'm not joking when I say I got out my 2.5x magnifying hood trying to find anything that qualifies as a flaw. Now, I don't usually go to that extreme to try to find a flaw with a new uke - in fact I'll often buy a second if it will save me a few bucks because I'm just not a bling guy. Still, this thing was just too good (and light) and I don't believe anything from anybody deserves a perfect score - if I was a teacher I'd be that guy the kids all hate
.
I thought I'd finally found a tiny flaw in the side at the heel but what looked like it might be a tiny tool mark is, I think, a tiny insect track across the grain in the wood. Considering how hard I had to look to find it I don't think that quite qualifies as a flaw.
Well...it took a while but I finally found my "flaw." If you hold uke so the neck is pointed at the floor and look down the string holes in the back of the bridge you can see where the finish was scraped away so the bridge could be glued down. LOL Yeah...that's not really a flaw either but it was the best I could do.
The reason this uke got such a close inspection is not because I usually feel it necessary to inspect a uke that closely. The reason it got such a close inspection is because the moment I lifted it from the box I was impressed with how lightly it's built. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's built almost as lightly as my KoAloha. That was what I couldn't believe and why I looked at it so closely.
My Mainland tenors and concert have all been great ukes set up perfectly but they weigh about average for a "factory" uke. This soprano is light enough it was the first thing that I noticed about the uke. In fact, it weighs 12.5 ounces - in contrast the Kala solid acacia pocket uke weighed 11 ounces and my KoAloha longneck soprano weighs 14 ounces (it has a longer neck of course and a slightly larger body so it is still more lightly built than this soprano - but not by a lot).
The back is slightly rounded which really surprised me in a uke in this price range. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems it just has to be more expensive to build a rounded back. I think it's worth it though because it adds strength and allows the bracing to be lighter.
The binding front and back is absolutely perfect.
So, how about sound and playability - the stuff that really matters? Pretty darned good. Better than I expected and I wouldn't keep buying Mainland ukes if I didn't expect them to be pretty good. As has always been the case the intonation at the first fret is very nearly perfect - I say very nearly because the G string slot may need a swipe or two with 600 grit paper to be perfect. It's not something I'm going to touch until I put fluorocarbon strings on it and let them settle, though, because the G# is only pulling about 1-cent sharp with the current strings. The narrower fluorocarbons may fix the "problem" all by themselves. The other three strings are dead on at the first fret.
The intonation up at the twelfth fret is pretty good - not quite perfect but it almost never is until you put in the time to find just the right strings for a particular uke. It's as good as the intonation on my KoAloha longneck soprano and I've compensated the bridge on it.
The action at the bridge is good. I asked Mike just to do a standard setup on this instead of the "dangerously low" action I like on some of my ukes. I did that because I figure as a soprano I'd probably have to strum a bit harder to get volume from it.
So, how is the volume? Again, much more than I expected. With open first position chords I'd say it's very nearly as loud as my KoAloha longneck. Of course, that uke has fluorocarbon strings while the Mainland still has its Aquilas. I know from experience when I switch to fluorocarbon the volume is going to drop and will then be a little less than the KoAloha - but I'd expect it to be less not just because of the difference in price but because the longneck has more vibrating mass.
How about the quality of sound? As mentioned its still got Aquila strings on it and I"m not a big fan of those. It's a little more "brash" than the KoAloha - no, a lot more brash - but I think when I switch to fluorocarbon strings that will change.
I'll do a vid later - it's been a crazy week and this uke is good enough it deserves a proper debut.
So, Mike, ya done good, man - for ~$200 clams this little soprano is one heck of an ukulele!
John
Even so, this thing is mind-bogglingly good. I'm not joking when I say I got out my 2.5x magnifying hood trying to find anything that qualifies as a flaw. Now, I don't usually go to that extreme to try to find a flaw with a new uke - in fact I'll often buy a second if it will save me a few bucks because I'm just not a bling guy. Still, this thing was just too good (and light) and I don't believe anything from anybody deserves a perfect score - if I was a teacher I'd be that guy the kids all hate
.I thought I'd finally found a tiny flaw in the side at the heel but what looked like it might be a tiny tool mark is, I think, a tiny insect track across the grain in the wood. Considering how hard I had to look to find it I don't think that quite qualifies as a flaw.
Well...it took a while but I finally found my "flaw." If you hold uke so the neck is pointed at the floor and look down the string holes in the back of the bridge you can see where the finish was scraped away so the bridge could be glued down. LOL Yeah...that's not really a flaw either but it was the best I could do.
The reason this uke got such a close inspection is not because I usually feel it necessary to inspect a uke that closely. The reason it got such a close inspection is because the moment I lifted it from the box I was impressed with how lightly it's built. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's built almost as lightly as my KoAloha. That was what I couldn't believe and why I looked at it so closely.
My Mainland tenors and concert have all been great ukes set up perfectly but they weigh about average for a "factory" uke. This soprano is light enough it was the first thing that I noticed about the uke. In fact, it weighs 12.5 ounces - in contrast the Kala solid acacia pocket uke weighed 11 ounces and my KoAloha longneck soprano weighs 14 ounces (it has a longer neck of course and a slightly larger body so it is still more lightly built than this soprano - but not by a lot).
The back is slightly rounded which really surprised me in a uke in this price range. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems it just has to be more expensive to build a rounded back. I think it's worth it though because it adds strength and allows the bracing to be lighter.
The binding front and back is absolutely perfect.
So, how about sound and playability - the stuff that really matters? Pretty darned good. Better than I expected and I wouldn't keep buying Mainland ukes if I didn't expect them to be pretty good. As has always been the case the intonation at the first fret is very nearly perfect - I say very nearly because the G string slot may need a swipe or two with 600 grit paper to be perfect. It's not something I'm going to touch until I put fluorocarbon strings on it and let them settle, though, because the G# is only pulling about 1-cent sharp with the current strings. The narrower fluorocarbons may fix the "problem" all by themselves. The other three strings are dead on at the first fret.
The intonation up at the twelfth fret is pretty good - not quite perfect but it almost never is until you put in the time to find just the right strings for a particular uke. It's as good as the intonation on my KoAloha longneck soprano and I've compensated the bridge on it.
The action at the bridge is good. I asked Mike just to do a standard setup on this instead of the "dangerously low" action I like on some of my ukes. I did that because I figure as a soprano I'd probably have to strum a bit harder to get volume from it.
So, how is the volume? Again, much more than I expected. With open first position chords I'd say it's very nearly as loud as my KoAloha longneck. Of course, that uke has fluorocarbon strings while the Mainland still has its Aquilas. I know from experience when I switch to fluorocarbon the volume is going to drop and will then be a little less than the KoAloha - but I'd expect it to be less not just because of the difference in price but because the longneck has more vibrating mass.
How about the quality of sound? As mentioned its still got Aquila strings on it and I"m not a big fan of those. It's a little more "brash" than the KoAloha - no, a lot more brash - but I think when I switch to fluorocarbon strings that will change.
I'll do a vid later - it's been a crazy week and this uke is good enough it deserves a proper debut.
So, Mike, ya done good, man - for ~$200 clams this little soprano is one heck of an ukulele!
John
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