Long Term Ukulele Test - Makala Dolphin

Time for another long term test review of a ukulele that has been with me for some time. The Makala Dolphin.

I intend to run a number of long term tests on instruments I have kept, as often the long term views can be more illuminating than the initial impressions. (See my REVIEWS PAGE for other long term tests I have done). So for this one - the Makala Dolphin, a uke I first came across nearly three years ago now. You can read my initial review of that instrument HERE. The Dolphin is an absolute entry level soprano ukulele made by Kala. This model featured the one piece moulded plastic back and sides.

So, how has it been? Well, the Dolphin is a cheap starter uke, and as you will see from my reviews I have since owned (or still own) a range of instruments with far bigger price tags since then. But you know what? The Dolphin still gets played on almost a daily basis.

Here is one of my dolphins today (yes, yes I know, it's not red, its purple, but I bought two when I wrote that review, and the red one has been gifted to my young nephew since then - this is the one we kept and gets played - same vintage!).

The reason it gets a lot of play is twofold. First, this kind of became my daughters ukulele. She is between three and four years old, so this uke is almost as old as she is! For that reason it sits in the living room, always on hand, and whenever she gets it out, I end up having a play too. But the second reason is because it really is just so good. In fact picking it up today it never ceases to amaze me how full and loud a sound these things can deliver. In that respect, what I said when I first got one still stands today.

And another plus point. Because this uke has been in the hands of a toddler, it stands to reason that it has been dropped, trodden on and generally abused. It is chipped and dinged in all sorts of places (that Dolphin thick glossy finish does chip easily I have found) but it still plays just fine.

So I will happily find myself still strumming this when at home - perhaps more than I do some of my other instruments. The tone is good, nothing offensive at all. I have even busked and played it publicly. Can't give it a much better endorsement.  Friends in the band have also bought them as 'travel ukes' (the sort of instrument you won't shed a tear over breaking or being stolen) and band members have taken these to the far east and Australia last year!

As such, this retains its position as about the best starter ukulele I can recommend to people (for those wanting to spend next to no money).  But my advice still comes with a couple of provisos.

1. Buy from a reputable shop. Southern Ukulele Store stock these, but going back to my original review I bought mine from Nigel at Highly Strung in Wantage. Ask him to check the setup - in fact, ask any shop to check the setup) A well setup Dolphin is just great, but at this price there WILL be duds.

2. I am not sure what strings they are now shipping these with, but you really want to try Aquilas on them. I know I don't like preaching about strings, and that you should experiment, but these have quite thick tops and the Aquila power can really drive them to get a good tone and volume.


And that is about that - highly recommended, even after three years. Also childproof!

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Plastic ukuleles? Really?

As you get in to the world of ukuleles you will probably find yourself looking at some vintage models, and before long you will come across a range of ukuleles that are made of plastic.  Plastic you say? Surely they are just toys? Well, yes and no. There was certainly a blitz of "toy guitars' made from shiny brittle bright plastic from the 50's through to the 70's, but there were some serious contenders too. In fact, there still are.

Image Credit - Ukenique.com

Back in the 1950's the use of the new wonder material plastic was everywhere - no matter what the object, some manufacturers wanted to use it.  In the ukulele world, it was no different, and a whole range of injection moulded plastic ukes hit the music store shelves and mail order catalogs.  Makers had dabbled with the use of plastics before, particularly on moulded fingerboards such as those marketed by the Harmony brand before the 1950's but it  was post-war that things took off.  Perhaps the most famous of those was made by the jazz guitar maker Maccaferri, who introduced the Islander ukulele to huge commercial success with reports that they sold more than half a million instruments in the 1950' selling at about $3 a go. Those same instruments, in good condition, are highly sought after today for the simple reason that they were well made and designed, and actually sounded pretty good!

Another maker, Emenee, introduced the similar looking Flamingo plastic ukulele which also became extremely popular as it was endorsed by one of the music hall ukulele stars of the day Arthur Godfrey.

Image credit - Ukenique.com

Both instruments came with their own version of a beginners tool that clipped over the fretboard and allowed you to press buttons to form chords with one finger. Called the 'Chord Master' by Maccaferri and the 'Uke Player' by Emenee, this ingenious device worked with by a variety of levers being activated by pressing a button which depressed pads or 'fingers' down on to the strings to hold the chord patterns. A clever, if lazy, invention which allowed the uke to be played quickly with little effort. Vintage instruments today that come complete with the device are worth considerably more.

From the 1950's through to the 70's both brands and many others continued to churn out a dizzying array of plastic ukes of varying quality, some still highly collectible like the TV Pal range, and those made to assist in marketing of bands such as the Beatles or Disney Films.  There is a great set of links and photos to such ukuleles on the Chordmaster site. Check your attics - do you own one??

Image credit - Ukenique.com

So what happened next - well the ukulele went into a bit of a lull in popularity and the models dried up due to lack of demand. But as you know, the ukulele never went away, it just went for a snooze and is now back in the big time. At the start of the current uke boom were the new entries by Jim Beloff at the Magic Fluke Company. In 1992 Jim picked up a uke at a junk sale and immediately clicked with it. He went home and started writing ukulele songbooks. By 1999 Jim and his wife Liz launched the Fluke ukulele and a little while later the Flea to huge success. Both instruments featured a wooden top, but a plastic moulded one piece back and, in a hark back to the early days, a moulded fingerboard with the frets in the moulding meaning zero setup issues. Both instruments had great volume and tone and are played today by some very famous folk including Bette Midler, William H Macy and Loudon Wainwright III.

Image - Gotaukulele.com

In a similar way, my favourite bargain ukulele for beginners, the Makala Dolphin, is now manufactured with a plastic back.  Whilst it was, no doubt, done to save money, many players who have played both the original all wood Dolphin and the newer version claim that the plastic backed instrument has bags more volume and tone!

Most recently the Takumi Ukulele Company, the brand behind the extremely highly regarded Kiwaya ukulele line have released three totally plastic ukes that hark back to those 1950's instruments. Each one is themed (Paradise, Peace and Ukulelia) and despite being branded in what they call their novelty section they are reported to sound great and retail for a non toy price of over £100.

Image - Takumi

So where does it go from here? Well new ukes are hitting the shelves all the time as the ukulele boom continues and with plastic a cheap and cheerful way to make ukes, I'd expect to see more appearing in the future. I'd also add, I'd prefer beginners to play a decent plastic uke, than an unplayable bargain basement wooden model.

For now though, I'll end on a video demo from YouTuber 'plastic ukuleles' playing and Islander and showing what a nice sound they create.



Thanks also to Ukenique for their kind permission for use of the Islander and Flamingo photos - they are dealers in vintage ukes and well worth a look!

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Got questions - edition 1

A couple of questions came in, so time for answers.  Keep questions coming and I'll answer in another blog post


1.Hi. I'm a first time uke buyer and first time instrument owner. I'd really like to take this seriously but as a college student I don't want to go all in with a super expensive uke to start. I'm thinking of shooting for the $50 range. From what I've read up on Makala seems to be the best for that price. What are your opinions on the best starter ukes? Does plastic or wood make a difference (like the older vs new dolphin makala models)? Does regular or pineapple make a difference? Also, I'm a lefty. Is there any way to get uke's restrung to fit lefties? I'd hate to try and learn everything upsidedown/backwards. Thanks so much!


Wow - a few questions in that post.  The Makala is certainly a great uke for the money, and gets many many rave reviews.  It does need a bit of tweaking and set up though, so I'd buy from a reputable dealer who can assist with that.  In the price range you are talking about, there is really only the Makala and the Mahalo to consider (aside from the real rubbish).  Mahalos seem to have very variable quality control - i personally got a bad one.  I have struggled to find a bad review for the Dolphin though.

The plastic back on the newer dolphins is supposedly a cost saving feature, but from reviews I have read, it has certainly improved the sound.  It also makes the uke that little bit tougher too


Different uke shapes do offer slightly different sounds, but at this price point I suspect you wouldnt notice much difference between a standard uke shape and a pineapple - its more about cosmetics


If you are a lefty, just restring the other way - ukes generally dont have angled saddles as the scale length is so short, there is no need, so they work either way up.  You may have to widen (slightly) a nut slot but maybe not.  Again - speak to a good dealer, and they should do that for you when you tell them you want Aquilas on it (believe me, on a cheap uke, you DO want aquilas on it!)



2.How important are the strings? As a new Ukulelean (?!) I've gone for the dolphin based on you reviews, but for now decided to stick with the current strings. I've also seen coloured strings http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DOUBLE-SET-COLOURED-EXTRA-LONG-BANJO-UKULELE-STRINGS-/170532629539?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments&hash=item27b4896c23 which get good reviews and sound pretty good on a mahalo!


Testing different types of strings is a long process as there are quite a few out there.  Check my blog by searching for "strings" and you will see some of my opinions.  Generally though, on cheaper ukes, like the dolphins, they will arrive with very cheap strings which are just nylon.  You can do a lot better and certainly Aquilas on a dolphin will bring it alive.  Better strings firstly, just sound better, but stay in tune better, are more accurate along the neck and just feel better.  Tough tension strings like Aquilas work very well on cheaper instruments as they drive the laminate tops much better.


As for the strings in your link, I dont know them but would wager that they are just a cheap string that is being sold for novelty factor - due to the colour. (they are also banjo uke strings so not the right strings for your Dolphin which is a soprano!)

So in answer to your main question - strings are very important.  Look at Aquila, Worth, Martin flourocarbons - they are my faves.  On the entry ukes, its hard to look beyond aquila though.

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My daughters plastic dolphin - update

As posted last week, I bought my daughter a plastic dolphin and thought I'd provide an update on setup (considering I rate these so highly)

I bought my first Dolphin from the Highly Strung online store (based in Wantage).  Its a shop I very much like, cos I know it is run by a musician who cares.  I knew the dolphin would come with nasty strings so ordered it with Aquilas.  Even though he knew I would be changing strings, he set it up for me very good - adjusting the nut slots and the saddle height - the thing played perfectly on arrival - all for £25 plus £2 packing.

My review of that is here - CLICK HERE

Anyway, Highly Strung only do them in three colours, and I wanted something different for my daughter - have been keeping an eye on UK stores waiting for confirmed plastic models to come in - I found one at Bonsai Guitars LINK who I had never seen before - in fact I found loads there - in tons of colours.  £25.50 and free delivery - I ordered her purple

The service was great - and it arrived in super quick time (despite the free postage)

Setup though was, sadly, lacking - mainly at the saddle which needed a major sanding down.  One of the tuners was also loose.  I have set it up myself and put Aquilas on it - and it now plays great - the beauty of these Dolphins.

In summary therefore, if you are looking for no nonsense well set up instrument in the UK - go to Highly Strung.  If you desperately want to get a wackier colour - go to Bonsai - but be prepared to do a bit of work on it yourself.

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Blimey! I am on a roll - Another new Uke.... kinda

Another new Uke?  really?

Well, kind of.

You will have read my posts on here about how great I think the Makala Dolphin plastic back ukes are - great sounding beater uke when loaded with Aquila strings - tough, and only £25!! (honestly folks, ignore ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS PRICE BRACKET... nothing cuts it for the money like a Dolphin)

Anyway, I bought a red one and I love it. I also have  a 9 month daughter who is mesmerised when I play my uke.  I therefore figured, what the heck - I wont let her touch my expensive ukes, but she can play with the dolphin - it was only £25....  Anyway, she likes it so much, that if I leave it on floor with her toys, thats what she goes to pick up more than anything else.  She explores it, tweaks the tuners, and importantly plucks those strings!  Admittedly, she also turns it over on her lap and bangs the back like a drum, but hey, that is all good too!

So.... I couldnt resist - found Bonsai Guitars website who stock a massive range of colours in the plastic back range - and ordered her very own purple model.  (never uses Bonsai before -so fingers crossed.  Limited range, but lots of Kala and Makalas available plus accessories - plus Paypal checkout available and for limited time, free delivery!!!)

Sure she cant play it, sure, I may be mad - but its going to live in her toy box, and who knows how soon she will start to figure it out.  She loves the sound it makes, and her face lights up when she catches the strings with a good wallop and they ring out.

Call me mad if you like, but couldnt resist for the price.!

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Lady Madonna - banged out on the Makala

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How do cheap ukes compare in sound?

The obvious question - can cheap be cheerful?  Answer - not always - see my video test, which I think makes it quite clear that some cheapies (ie the Mahalo) are rotten, but some are great (such as the Makala)

If you dont want to shell out big bucks - fun can be had for a low outlay - just choose wisely!

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The Red Special arrives - Makala Dolphin ukulele review

Well, as I earlier mentioned, have been waiting and waiting for the plastic bodied Makala Dolphins to make their way into UK stock.  These are highly regarded cheap as chips instruments, that many report got that little bit better since Kala decided to mould the back and sides in one piece polycarbonate.

Highly Strung, Wantage, had them in stock   ( Click Here ) and I ordered - arrived today - in red burst finish (red with some sort of black smudgy bits that I do quite like).  Also available on Amazon most of the time too if you prefer. Before I go on any further, please note - this is a £25 instrument.  That's right a £25 instrument - half the price of some video games.  Really really cheap.  You have seen me rally on before about how cheap instruments can be more of a hindrance to the beginner than anything else.    I play instruments in the £150+ bracket - so why would I want one of these?  Well I read good things about the Makala, so thought I'd give it a go - if it was playable, it will become by beater, travel uke to sling in the car!

It arrived in lovely condition - no real finish flaws - few marks on the side of the neck, but again, this is a £25 instrument (I am gonna keep repeating that!!!).  The finish is very glossy and looks quite deep.  Frets are finished in brass colour.  Bridge (in a dolphin shape) is a dark rosewood type of wood, as is the fingerboard (which I think is just wood, stained).  The top is laminate wood, and has a simple white painted rosette around soundhole.  Cant see the join between wood top and plastic sides at all.  Neck joint is similarly clean.  Really like the look of the back of the uke - the plastic body is slightly bowed out - I like different things like that.  Have tried to take a pic (but not too easy to show).  Makala logo is on headstock in silver.

Fret markers in faux mother of pearl at the 5th, 7th, and 10th (why oh why, not the 12th, please?) with white painted versions on the top side of the neck (if you are right handed!!)

The tuners are open backed, cheap geared tuners.  Note though, they have nice small tuner buttons - something you don't always get on cheap instruments where makers raid the parts bin - they put on guitar tuners which are heavy, and make the uke look like Mickey Mouse.  Nice plus that.  Tuners are tight and work OK.  Nut and bridge appear plastic.

Arrived strung with cheap black nylon strings.  These were immediately changed to standard soprano strings from Aquila - the word on the street is that the aquilas really drive the wood top on these ukes well.    Why change them?  Well, this is a £25 instrument - don't expect miracles on the string provision!!

All strung up, and strings stretched, and away we go.  To hold, the uke is nice and balanced, and light.  The intonation really is  spot on - all over the neck, and I have checked it with a digital tuner - for £25, that is pretty amazing.  Really nice harmonic chime if I strum a barre across the 12th and 7th frets - cor!  For £25??

Bridge saddle height seems fine, and action is just how I like it.  Finish at the nut was a bit scruffy, and I may think about ever so slightly (ever ever so slightly) lowering the nut slots.  But honestly - the action is fine, as is the tuning.  Cant complain.

Sound is bright and fun - given a more vigorous strum, it really projects quite a bit of volume - not as loud as my Flea, but louder than any other cheap uke I have played.  It actually sounds quite sweet too with the aquilas.  Very easy to play, fret, hold etc.

Final point - comes with a cloth gig bag - not sure they can really call it a "bag" - more just a bit of cloth. Least said about that the better....

So do I recommend it, and what for?

Well, yes I do - its a well made, accurate good looking instrument that would be perfect for a beginner - the set up and finish on this is not going to work against you if you are starting out.  It will never be loud enough to compete with a band, but for a beginner, I think it is just perfect (just be prepared to change strings - it really isn't that hard!)

I would also recommend it to more seasoned players like me as a beater uke for taking places I wouldn't take my expensive instruments (camping for example) - it seems perfect for that.

So give them a look - For £25 (there, I said it again) I really don't think you can afford NOT to buy one!!



SCORES

Looks - 6
Fit and finish - 7
Sound - 8.5
Value for money - 10

OVERALL - 7.9

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Another one on the way.......

Well, whilst it is not as if I need another uke, I have been waiting for the budget Makala brand to start shipping their new model dolphin ukes into the uk

The dolphins are cheap and cheerful starter ukes, pretty well made, made of plywood or something.  BUT...., they have started making the bodies (back and sides) now from molded plastic.  Not only does this make them more resilient, it has given them a sound all of their own.

Slap some aquilas on and you have a superb travelling uke to throw in the back of the car!

Its one of these...(in red), again thanks to the fine folks at Highly Strung.

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