Pick one

Pick one

  • Mainland red cedar concert

    Votes: 41 56.2%
  • Kala ka-aslac concert

    Votes: 9 12.3%
  • Ohana CK-38 concert

    Votes: 23 31.5%

  • Total voters
    73

Saints1234

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If you could have one of these 3 ukes which one would you choose?

-Mainland red cedar concert
-Kala ka-aslac
-Ohana CK-38
 
I don't know what qualities you're looking for in a uke, but you can't go wrong with Mainland or Ohana. I have a Mainland red cedar soprano and it's pretty terrific. It's loud and bright.
 
Mainlands and Ohanas are (I believe) possibly made in same factory - so will come down to likes and dislikes of final fit and finish? But yes, I too would go with one of those, and yes, it depends on what you are wanting from an instrument.
 
How so few votes for the Ohana?? Ok, so it's obviously the same factory making the Mainland, which is an awesome uke. But my sk38 is spectacular. I vote ck38 based on that. But I had no faults with a Mainland concert when I had one either.
 
The issue here isn't so much the maker as the wood. Each of those ukes will have wildly varying tonal properties based on the wood. The Mainland Cedar is loud and has long sustain because of the cedar top. The spruce/lacewood Kala is super bright and punchy, and the mahogany Ohoana has a lot of that old time vaudeville bark. These ukes are all in the same "range" so if its me, I choose based on sound.
 
My Kala spruce lacewood concert blew serious chunks and wouldn't come close to the Mainland and very probably the Ohana. I bought it froma reputable source, it wasn't that... It just wasn't a good uke, sorry.
 
My Kala spruce lacewood concert blew serious chunks and wouldn't come close to the Mainland and very probably the Ohana. I bought it froma reputable source, it wasn't that... It just wasn't a good uke, sorry.

Don't be sorry... That's a valid opinion having owned it. The only one of these that I own is the mainland Cedar, which is why I picked it in the poll. But having heard samples of them all, I was just trying to point out that the choice is not as simple as fit and finish, but that tonally these three ukes are vastly different. The OP is comparing apples and oranges.
 
The issue here isn't so much the maker as the wood. Each of those ukes will have wildly varying tonal properties based on the wood. The Mainland Cedar is loud and has long sustain because of the cedar top. The spruce/lacewood Kala is super bright and punchy, and the mahogany Ohoana has a lot of that old time vaudeville bark. These ukes are all in the same "range" so if its me, I choose based on sound.

Great reasoning. I agree with you Matt. :agree:
 
I only like cedar & spruce on larger scale ukes, otherwise they sound too twangy...
...I'd go with the Ohana.
 
My Kala spruce lacewood concert blew serious chunks and wouldn't come close to the Mainland and very probably the Ohana. I bought it froma reputable source, it wasn't that... It just wasn't a good uke, sorry.

What was the problem with the Kala? Too thin sounding?
 
I think cedar is a great topwood for ukes-- very resonant and really opens up the tone.
 
What was the problem with the Kala? Too thin sounding?

No, the intonation was bad, and the tuners wouldn't hold the pitch. It led to some wild pitch issues, going suddenly flat or sharp from chord to chord. The setup was great, but it was like having strings that never settle (had for like a year, so yes, I changed strings.)

I have you on ignore BTW, since you've said in the past that I bore you.
 
I have a Mainland red cedar concert and have played a couple of Ohanas in store. I've also played some other Mainlands and have a mango soprano arriving in the post today (will post about it when I have it - so excited!!)

I agree that the QC and set-up on the Mainlands seem superior to the Ohanas. It could just be the instruments I tried (and I know there has been debate on this before judging by various youtube clips) but I found that the Mainlands generally had a lower action and felt more comfortable to play. Maybe that's a personal thing?

Plus I'm a sucker for the rope binding detail!
 
I'd go with Mainland. I think that the QC with them is the best of these 3 companies and I also think that they are an *awesome* bang for your buck!

+1 Yes I love My mainland, it's mahogany and have not tried the red cedar, I would go with the mahogany.......I guess it is who you buy from too and get a good set up....HMS had
a good thin line kala...I have not had the oppertunity to play an Ohana yet....why are you just limited to just these 3 ukes...you know there are more choices..I like the mainland outta all
these, but not the red cedar....good luck and happy strummings..
 
Of these three I'd go with Mainland, though probably not the red cedar. They're great ukes, I'm just not crazy about red cedar (had a red cedar tenor - was wonderful but I just never warmed to it and gave it to my son-in-law).

John
 
Please elaborate, this is the first time I have heard such a notion

I've owned or have seen about 6 over the last few years.
My original one (I still own it) was the nicest, but all the subsequent ones have had QC problems: uneven stain finish (especially cedar), high action, sharp frets, and etc.
Of the three I've personally owned, 2 needed to get extra setup work professionally done and the other I lowered the action myself.

Here is a link to the last Mainland I got.
 
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