I'm pretty ambivalent about cheap ukes-- most every Dolphin I've played has sounded awful, but obviously many people get good ones, as testified to by UU posters. That being said, when I travelled to Australia a few months ago, I didn't want to drag a uke through all the plane changes, etc. So upon arriving, I marched into Allan's Music in Brisbane, bought an unbranded uke (probably the same as a Mahalo, based on its appearance) for the princely sum of A$27.95, and played it happily for the two weeks I was there. Intonation was great, action was fine, tone was a bit thin, but for the price, I was pretty darn happy. So no question, it can be done!