Kala

The general consensus in the Ukulele world is that the Makala Dolphin is the best budget starter Ukulele you can get. Its not a view I fully agree with, not counting second hand bargains there are other potentially good Ukuleles aimed at this level. I have played and own Mahalos that are just as good and I think if you hunt around you can find other brands too that have some reasonable Ukuleles for the money. What I think is the case is that with its ABS body, (the soundboard is still wood though), the Dolphin is the most consistently good budget Ukulele and probably the safest if you are buying unseen, (what you must be aware of here is that the bridge design has been widely copied, so there are a lot of imitation / fake ones about with ordinary basswood bodies), and reasonably robust making it an ideal Ukulele to take to places where there is a risk of damage. The ABS also helps with humidity, water resistance and seem splitting, (but is any of that a worry on a starter Ukulele?) When I first started inviting Ukuleles to the corner and came across the Dolphin, I thought with its bright colours and dolphin shaped bridge, it looked a bit childish. this is why I didn't get one then. Now the look has grown on me, I like the bold colour and the bridge is a bit of fun. The build and decoration are perfectly adequate done and the open backed 14:1 tuners are perfectly adequate too (I'm not damning it with faint praise here, remember though its on the expensive side of budget, it is still a budget Ukulele and you shouldn't expect miracles on a budget) The GHS strings it comes with do need to be replaced to get the best tone from it but again there is a limit to what you should expect tone-wise from it. In experimenting with different strings I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it with a low G set. It gave a reasonable ever bass dimension to the tone and performed better as a low G soprano that a lot ot the more expensive sopranos I have tried, (also given its price point you don't worry about it to much if you have to widen the nut slot to accommodate) the thicker string

Color: Natural Finish: Satin Slim tenor "travel uke" body - shallow body depth (ranging from 1-1/4" to 1-3/4") Solid spruce top Mahogany back and sides Nice binding Black/white/black/white binding with black rosette Rosewood fingerboard and bridge Synthetic bone nut and saddle Die-cast chrome tuners with black buttons Aquila strings Travel bag included UTILIZATION This is a fun ukulele to own and play. It is great for anyone that travels frequently and needs a very small instrument that can fit in luggage or overhead bins. Ukuleles are small to begin with, but this uke is easy to fit in a large briefcase, backpack, or a duffle bag with room to spare, so anyone that needs their fix of uke magic can still fit a few changes of clothes and a toothbrush in there. It plays very easily, and sounds like a good uke should, and weighs next to nothing. SOUNDS The diminished body depth does not appear to hamper the tone in any noticeable fashion - it still has a bright, smooth jangled attack, with decent volume. It would be nice if this included a simple pickup system, but then again, most travelers that want to take a non concert-sized uke with them are probably just taking it to practice in a hotel room, not to gig with. And for this purpose, the sounds are great. OVERALL OPINION This ukulele is fun! I've had a lot of comments on it because of its size. It certainly offers a good sound and playability for a reasonable price. I've had a lot of fun playing mine, and putting it in my backpack on outdoor hikes to jam by the campfire. It has a good enough sound that I can still teach lessons with it. All in all, a good purchase that I would recommend for anyone that is looking for a good ukulele to have fun with.