Mainland vs Sailor Brand

Edgeguy

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These two ukuleles have caught my attention and I was seeing if anyone has an opinion on them.

The Mainland Red Cedar concert really looks nice and sounds nice on the clips I have seen. It also seems to be a "loud" uke, which appeals to me when playing in jams. The all wood concerns me with the Colorado climate and it coming originally from a more humid china.

Sailor brand kawazinga is beautiful and sounds nice. The veneer would seem to hold up better in my climate. Is there a difference between veneer and laminate?

Thanks
Lane
 
My choice would be the Mainland all the way. Of course...I'm a little biased as I have five or six.

Colorado climate is not a problem for solid wood instruments as long as you keep it in a case with a good humidifier and just take it out to play.

Nothing against the Sailor Brand, mind you, I just have lots of experience with the Mainland ukes and have yet to meet one that I didn't think was well worth the price. Even the red cedar tenor that I gave to a son-in-law because I never bonded with it was a great uke - I just found that I wasn't fond of the cedar top - perhaps because I played a cedar guitar for a long time.

John
 
Don't know Sailor but my experience with Mainland has been consistently positive. Mike's been great to deal with, too. Very customer-oriented and a member of this forum.
 
I have a Mainland Red Cedar Tenor which I use for gigging it has had a hammering believe me, but it still sounds and plays absolutely fantastic, I would buy another one tomorrow, don't know about the sailor brand never had one
 
The vast majority of Sailor ukes are spruce top, while Mainlands are mahogany or cedar. So it depends a bit on what sound you're after. I'm not a big fan of spruce from limited experience but really like my two Mainlands in each of the above mentioned flavours.
 
I have a sailor soprano that I love! It is probably the most brightest of all my sopranos. As for the mainlands, I have played them in the store and really wonder why I don't own one of them too. I think you will win either way.
 
Last I spoke to Mike at UR, he mentioned that the Sailor brand was made by Loprinzi...is that generally known?
Seems like LoP has a great rep here on UU. Have no personal experience with Sailor, but UR has a pretty good return policy.
 
I just got a Mainland cedar tenor - been waiting for them to get back in stock for months. It's great - bright and loud, but great sustain and amazingly playable - it's an incredible value for the money. Unlike John/OldePhart, I love the ringing, guitarish kind of tone. It's bright but not irritating - just the sound I wanted.

That being said - I live in Atlanta and have played several of Mike's Sailor ukuleles at Uke Republic. They're light, beautifully made, and play very well. You can tell just by looking at them that they are quality instruments - cleanly built and gorgeous design. I've seen and played more than a handful of them and they're consistently sweet instruments. You can't go wrong with one of the Sailor ukuleles.....

It's a tough choice - I have one and want the other, so I'm not much help..... I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.
 
I got a Sailor concert and I love it. So smooth to play definitely my goto instrument. I dont have nor never played a Mainland but one day I would like to try one out to check them out.
 
IMO Cedar sounds too twangy for my taste on a soprano or concert (I do like it on larger scales though).
One thing I don't like about Mainland's cedar ukes is some (most?) are stained really dark. The pictures on the website look lighter and to me much nicer than what I received and what others have posted. If you were considering tenor size, I'd recommend Kala's KA-GATG-CT. It is (now) cheaper, better finished, and projects even better. They do have a concert version, but I don't have any first hand knowledge on them.
If Sailor is indeed made by LoP, then I'd presume it is a much better instrument than the Mainland. Unfortunately I had a bad experience with the only seller of the brand, so have avoided it.
 
Thanks for all the comments. Does anyone know about veneers vs laminate? Is poplar a good baseboard for a uke? Is the veneer just for looks or does it have an effect on the sound?

Thanks again
 
Does anyone know about veneers vs laminate? Is poplar a good baseboard for a uke? Is the veneer just for looks or does it have an effect on the sound?

There was a thread about the difference, if one exists...
...the way the term is being used on that particular uke I believe Veneer = Laminate.
 
Does anyone know about veneers vs laminate? Is poplar a good baseboard for a uke? Is the veneer just for looks or does it have an effect on the sound?
I can't speak to the veneer/laminate issue, but as for poplar, Iriguchi Ukulele uses poplar for almost all their ukes
 
I was deciding the same thing a few months ago. Doing it again, I would choose Sailor.

Mainland is alright, but the customer service hasn't been nearly as good as my experiences with HMS. My mainland mahogany tenor uke has been out of whack ever since I brought it to the beach for 2 days, buzzing everywhere. Mike wouldn't accept a return or a repair, so I had to bring it to a luthier for a $50 repair, and its still buzzing.
(not to mention theres plenty of glue marks in the soundhole and an odd rustic unfinished look in the slothead)

Actually, I would just skip to Koaloha.
 
laminate can be made from 3 strips of veneer glued together, each veneer layer rotated 90 degrees with respect to the previous layer for strength.
 
As nice as Mainlands are, they are definitely not in Sailor Brand's class. Mainlands set up in U.S. , but Asian made. Sailors hand made by master U.S. luthier. Better materials, better workmanship, etc. etc. Have heard several Sailors, played a few, all sounded awesome. If anyone says otherwise, find out if they have any experience with Sailor Brand. Most of the time, they don't. That being said, Mainlands are really great ukes for the money...look great, sounds great.
 
You could also look at a kiwaya laminate. I suspect that would be very good safe choice:
I'm not sure who to purchase these from, here's their US page:

http://takumiukulele.com/kiwayaukuleles.html

I don't think Kiwaya makes a Concert laminate for the US market. Remy26 had a KC-3 (concert) for sale for 300 bucks a few months back which was a steal. He says they retail for 700 though, kind of out of the price range, if you could import one.
 
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