Kala MK-SD-MBL Makala Dolphin Soprano Ukulele - Metallic Blue

I just bought my metallic blue Dolphin Makala uke a couple of days ago while on vacation here in Cannon Beach, Oregon at a local surf shop (sorry Austin Bazaar, Internet buying can't match impulse buying-not to worry, I've purchased a couple ukes from AB). The owner of the shop and I had a lot in common because we both grew up in San Diego, CA. However, he didn't know much about ukes, so I brought my Snark tuner in and tuned the five ukes he had on display for him.

While tuning his Dolphin and Shark Makalas I enjoyed the sound and the colors of the the ukes to the extent that I had to have one. I chose the metallic blue because I am an old codger who grew up in the 50's and 60's when custom cars with "metal flake" pain jobs ruled. My favorite color was the metallic blue, which doesn't show well in these ads, but really caught my eye in the surf shop (Kala, you need to get a "Candy-Apple Red" version out!).

The sound quality is really good and my family cannot tell the difference between my mahogany soprano Kala and my painted metallic blue Dolphin Makala. I am going to use the term "sound from a hollow box" as a description, but not as a negative term. There is a sound quality that comes from my new blue Makala that sounds like it is coming from a hollow box-that's a positive.

A guitar player and pro performer friend of mine told me he cannot play a uke because the neck "feels like a baby's arm". My new uke has a neck that is more substantial than my other soprano ukes. I think it gives me a tad better control in moving along the fretboard.

I panned the Makala all plastic uke I bought from AB as a "toy". The blue Dolphin Makala's back and sides are plastic and the top is a laminated wood. It seems to me the top of wood makes all the difference putting the Dolphin into the "real" uke category vs. "toy," as I dubbed the all plastic. I should have purchased the Dolphin last year, it would have kept me from investing the in all-plastic. But, then the metallic blue wasn't available last year.

It's a new uke, so the strings have not settled yet, so I am tuning on every use and sometimes in between. The pegs are tight, but some of those I tuned at the surf shop were a bit too loose for my comfort-not sure tuning would hold on those. If there is a structural weakness I would think it could be the pegs where the "O" rings are of plastic. Other Kala products use metal "O" rings.

I see some small gaps in between the paint and the wood along the edge of the neck and fretboard that might chip off later. If you like your ukes pristine, that could be and issue. I like my equipment to have a "patina" from use.

Buy it, you'll like it!