Mahalo Les Paul Ukulele Review

53 Comments

1. Carol (Uke Gal) September 3rd, 2008 6:29 pm
   

   Congrats on getting this rare uke! What a comprehensive review! What is a “compensated bridge” and its purpose?

2. Woodshed September 3rd, 2008 7:19 pm
   

   A compensated bridge has a couple of notches in it under the C and E strings. The idea is that because the string is slightly thicker, it needs to be very slightly longer in order for the intonation to be spot on. (I don’t think I made up the term ‘compensated bridge’, but it’s a possibility).

3. zym September 3rd, 2008 11:42 pm
   

   thanks for that, very informative

   I think i would be more interested in the electric version, (i feel the need to SHREDD!!) but given what you say about the intonation i wonder if id rather save my pennies for some from Earnest Instruments.

   but that would need A LOT of pennies :)

4. Minamin September 4th, 2008 5:45 am
   

   I was hoping you’d say it was junk so I could have an excuse not to buy one (in black, with the pick up and a mini amp).

   Have you ever done a post on how to play harmonics? I’ve read about how to do them somewhere else and was left scratching my head. You’re much better at describing things to fools like me.

5. Rob September 4th, 2008 2:13 pm
   

   Nice song.

6. Jeff September 4th, 2008 3:58 pm
   

   Very nice review. I have taken to the Sister Kate song. You’ve added add an extra pause, pluck and bend in the middle. Can you explain it?

7. Mike H September 4th, 2008 7:21 pm
   

   You can get the electric les paul from djm music, I bought my first uke from these guys, they are pretty good.

8. Woodshed September 4th, 2008 7:51 pm
   

   zym: The intonation problem could be fixed if I was less lazy and more manually adept.

   Minamin: You know, I don’t think I have. I’ll have a go at a harmonics post soon.

   Rob: Thanks. I just realised I forgot to say: Staten Island Slide is a Craig Robertson tune.

   Jeff: I’ll try to put together a tab for that. But mostly I’m just playing around with ideas which is what I’d recommend everyone do so they make it their own.

   Mike: Thanks very much for that. Link for interested parties.

9. scs-esc November 25th, 2008 8:17 pm
   

   Hi folks,

   I picked up a Mahalo Les Paul uke at our local music shop some time ago – just on a whim – and have been playing around with it ever since. I put Martin strings on it to add a little punch. All in all, it looks nice and the pickup is descent but…

   The action isn’t great – really amateur, if you ask me. But OK, what do you expect for $89.

   The intonation is really awful (and I don’t mean how the open strings stay in tune – that really depends on the strings and the tuners and I don’t think this uke is any different from most in that matter). What I mean is that almost all the frets are desperately out of tune: the first fret is sharp by a full quarter tone and the twelfth is flat by about a quarter. And the rest is somewhere in between.

   Another thing that bugs me is that the pickup wiring is loose and sometimes buzzes if you hit the strings (or the body) a little harder.

   If you don’t care about playing in tune, this uke is a fun toy that you can play plugged or unplugged. Otherwise, at least the one I got really isn’t recommended.

10. Woodshed November 25th, 2008 8:54 pm
    

    Thanks for the review, scs-esc. The intonation on my is wonky, but nowhere near as bad as yours. And I’ve had one person say the intonation on theirs is spot on. It sounds like there’s a great deal of variability in construction. Try before you buy.

11. zym November 26th, 2008 7:55 pm
    

    eeep – Im getting one of these from Father Christmas!

    To be honest, im more interested in the ‘plugging a uke into an amp’ thing, does anyone know if theres any other (better) electro-acoustics around the same price?

    I realise that you arent going to get much for that price, but ive been quite pleased with quality of some of the geared budget ukes that have started to come out this year.

12. Andre Audet December 29th, 2008 5:21 pm
    

    I have recently purchased this exact model. This is my first Uke, and I’ve never played one before, so I really have nothing to compare it to.

    But I have been playing guitar for years, and I too have noticed that the intonation isn’t great… like the review says, good for basic chords, but the higher up you go on the frets, the more you notice the lack of quality.

    Not bad of an Uke for a first one… considering there’s a pickup on it, and I only paid $80 Canadian.

13. Woodshed January 2nd, 2009 5:16 pm
    

    Andre: Thanks very much for the review.

14. Meine neue Uke - Manuel Kanitsch January 20th, 2009 3:52 pm
    

    [...] Mehr über diese Uke und eine Hörprobe in Form eines Viedeos findet ihr in einem Review von Ukehunt! [...]

15. Flameboy March 21st, 2009 1:07 pm
    

    Hi!

    Two weeks ago, I wanted to start ukulele. I fell in love of this black Les Paul uke that I saw on ebay. After, I search and read your good review about this product, and then I bought it (this is the electric version). Thank you very much, I am very happy of this ukulele, even if I am not a professional of this kind of instruments. Details are cool for the price and it sounds great!

    I don’t test it with an amp for the moment, but if you want, I will publish another comment for a little review when I will test it! ;)

    If you want to see photos of it, check out my flickr gallery : http://is.gd/ojvy

16. Woodshed March 21st, 2009 3:12 pm
    

    Glad you like it Flameboy. Let us know what you reckon of it plugged in. I haven’t tried an electric version, so I’d be interested to know.

17. Flameboy March 24th, 2009 1:48 pm
    

    So, I tested the ukulele with a guitar amp (Roland Cube 15X), and I will be honest: that was horrible (I am not so surprised for the price of the uke). I will try to explain the sound (it is difficult because of my bad English sorry).

    In fact, when you plug in, it sounds like when you blow in a mike, even if you don’t play! The tone and volume buttons work perfectly, the sound when you play is cool but I don’t know why, I have this f*cking “sound of wind” (I hope you understand what I mean).

    Maybe it is because of the battery (I didn’t change it for the moment), or maybe it is because of the bad Chinese product, but it is very bad! I will try to repair it (if I can)…

    But I have no regrets of this buying, it has a great Les Paul style and a good sound without amp. :)

18. Woodshed March 24th, 2009 9:10 pm
    

    Thanks, Flameboy. I’m glad I went for the acoustic version.

19. Andre March 24th, 2009 10:18 pm
    

    Flameboy, another thing to consider is plugging an acoustic instrument (like guitar or ukulele) in a guitar amp usually will NOT give you that great of a sound.

    Try plugging it in a PA system directly… That’s what I do and I find it plays great. Got a show tonight actually :)

20. Flameboy March 25th, 2009 7:46 am
    

    Andre > I don’t have a PA system so I can’t try, but thanks for the advice! :)

21. chrispix April 25th, 2009 6:59 am
    

    I picked up the electric version on ebay recently, and I almost love it. The intonation on mine is really bad on the first fret, so any chord fretted at the first fret, particularly on the C or E strings, sounds awful.

    I thought it was because these strings were thicker and the action was higher–I can get a tremolo effect on the first fret just by pressing harder on the string. So I filed down the grooves in the nut a bit to bring their action down to the same level as the G and A strings. That improved the problem slightly, but it still doesn’t sound good. Any ideas on how to fix this?

22. Woodshed April 25th, 2009 7:15 am
    

    chrispix: Is it just the first fret? The second fret is fine? If it is, the only other thing I can think of is a problem with the fret itself – possibly badly positioned.

23. chrispix April 27th, 2009 9:07 pm
    

    I put a chromatic tuner on it and played notes up the fretboard, and I think the problem is that the nut is too far from the bridge. I can tune it so that each fretted note is reasonably in tune, but open notes are about 1/2 tone flat.

    So bar chords sound fine, and even a C isn’t terrible, since the tones are far enough apart, but chords like A and F sound terrible.

    I was thinking of taking the nut off and trying to shorten the fretboard, but that seems dicey. I think I’ll try to build up the nut a bit toward the first fret. It’s interesting to get a bit closer to how my uke is built, but disappointing to have to put this much work into a $100 uke.

24. Woodshed April 27th, 2009 9:27 pm
    

    chrispix: You could try the paper clip trick before you do anything too drastic.

25. chrispix April 28th, 2009 7:23 am
    

    Thanks for the link to that video. Nice to know I’m not the only one out there with this problem.

26. HAL May 1st, 2009 8:07 pm
    

    I’ve had mine for a few months, my first and only uke. Apart from intonation problems at the higher frets, I was pretty happy with it. I read about measuring and adjusting the action, but as far as I could measure, the action was perfect. (Height above 12th fret, height above 1st when 3rd is fretted, or something like that.)

    I recently got a set of Aquila nylgut strings, and they really made a difference. The tones are clearer, and with far more sustain than before. I had the impression that Aquilas were loud, but with this amazing sustain, I can also play more quietly and still get a good tone.

    What surprised me most when I changed strings was that the intonation problems are now gone, at least as far as I can hear without an electronic tuner. When I play an A or a high C on every string, they all sound the same. The intonation used to go flatter the higher up I fretted. Oh well, there goes my main excuse for wanting a better uke… ;)

27. Woodshed May 7th, 2009 9:36 am
    

    HAL: Thanks for that. I’ll try Aquilas on mine.

28. Liz May 8th, 2009 5:02 am
    

    AAAAh! I played one at Sandy’s music in Cambridge today, it was so little, and cute and sounded sooooo goooood.

    but alas it cost $70 which i don’t have… :(

29. Woodshed May 10th, 2009 10:16 am
    

    Liz: Start saving now!

30. Batty June 2nd, 2009 10:35 pm
    

    I’ve just bought a Mahalo Les Paul and really like it. It’s my first uke, but feels pretty good to me and looks really cute. I’m hoping they’ll do a diddy ‘73 Gretch White Falcon!

    I’ve got to say this is a great website, Woodshed. A great place for a newbee to lurk. Found lots of useful and interesting stuff. My learning curve is heading north – Thanks.

31. Woodshed June 3rd, 2009 6:06 pm
    

    Batty: I’d be in the queue for a White Falcon uke. Thanks for the kind words.

32. Batty June 5th, 2009 12:06 am
    

    Hey Woodshed – Your website is an utter joy!

    Mahalo could turn their Les Paul in to a Gretsch Whte Falcon pretty easily with just a few tweaks…

    1 – Reshaped headstock.
    2 – New fretboard.
    3 – Re-machined soundboard with a pair of ‘f’ sound holes.

    If they would like to add a ‘73 ‘Cadillac V’ (my fave), or a classic Bigsby style tailpiece I’d be delighted and pay for it…

    How about She Sells Sanctuary chords & tabs?

    Batty Duffy…

33. Steve June 21st, 2009 9:25 pm
    

    Reading the reviews of this uke and I’m still undecided! I’m new to string instruments and want something a bit different. I love the sound of the uke, so that’s what I’m going to get. My only problem is what one?!? I don’t have a lot of cash, maybe £40. Are the comments here about intonation etc only really likely to affect me if I’m playing to a crowd (unlikely!). Can anyone recommend a uke for the money I have?

    P.S. Nice website!

34. Deanie June 23rd, 2009 12:07 am
    

    As a newcomer to the uke and string instruments like Steve I bought one of these last November and have no regrets at all, Probably the best £30 I have ever spent! I have also bought some Aquila strings but haven’t yet bothered to fit them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-l_thx63so shows me using it in a charity show about a month after I bought it (check out the reference to the Uke Hunt site!). If there are any intonation issues my cloth ears have not picked them up I will fork out for a new one if I ever play the Albert Hall. Some of the cheaper Mahalos have a deeper body and sound more mellow but they don’t look half as good. Steve – just bite the bullet and go for it!

35. Woodshed June 23rd, 2009 5:09 pm
    

    Steve: I’d say it’s a good starting point. If you’re a beginner you won’t go up the neck very often so it won’t be a big concern. I’d say go for it.

    Deanie: That’s hilarious. Remind me never to sit in the front row of one of your gigs.

36. Alice June 25th, 2009 1:29 pm
    

    ARGH! I just dont know whether to buy this or not!
    I got a pretty crappy uke for my birthday and it’s become my latest obsession but it’s basically just i childrens toy and i want something better.
    BUT, being a 15 year old my funds are somewhat limited. I play guitar as well as uke and have been saving for ages for an electric guitar thinking that i would buy a better uke later down the track but now i’m tempted to just take some money out of my guitar savings and buy this because it looks amazing and its exactly the type of thing i want!!
    Anyone got any ideas on what i should do??
    Cause i have no idea!

37. Woodshed June 25th, 2009 7:13 pm
    

    Alice: I think if you’re asking advice on a ukulele site then you already know the answer: buy a ukulele.

38. Alice June 26th, 2009 8:26 am
    

    Haha yeah thats definatly a fair point.
    Yes, i think i’m going to buy it this weekend but i’m going to go to a place i found that sells them and test out a couple to see if i can pick one that doesnt have many intonation problems . :)
    I’m very excitied.
    Thanks, this review helped a lot.

39. chrispix July 2nd, 2009 7:07 pm
    

    I was able to fix the intonation on mine by doing a few things:

    1) Filed down the string rests on the nut to lower the action
    2) Cut down the bridge by about 1/3 with a hacksaw to lower the action further
    3) Once the action was low, I noticed that some of the frets weren’t pressed all the way into the neck, and fretting some strings would play a higher note as the string brushed the next fret up. So I pressed the frets into the neck with a bar clamp with rubber pads.
    4) Finally, the nut was too far from the first fret, so I tried the paper clip trick with a few different paper clips, using a chromatic tuner to test the intonation. I finally landed on some 14 gauge copper wire, which was much easier to straighten than the paper clip, and just the right size.

    It’s still not perfect when tested with a tuner, but it sounds much better than before, and it’s not off enough that anyone notices. When I started, the poor intonation was immediately apparent.

    Now I just have to finish my cracker box amp and test out the pickup. The pickup sits under the bridge, so I’m hoping my cutting down the bridge didn’t affect that.

40. Lewis Boham August 5th, 2009 6:48 pm
    

    Lol aww no I don’t know what to do ! I bought a cheapy mahalo £20 and was really disappointed, is this one a big step up in ‘better build’ terms ? My budget is 50 quid so if anyone has any recommendations please please let me know !!! Thanks

41. cardboardfrog August 6th, 2009 11:54 am
    

    lewis, take your £50 and buy a kala or a lanikai would be my advice, most of the mahalo’s i’ve played or owned have been troubled but lanikai and kala have better build quality generally, check out the buy a ukulele section for reviews and such

42. Woodshed August 6th, 2009 11:55 am
    

    Lewis: I’d recommend an Ohana soprano. Looks like a good deal.

43. Davin September 23rd, 2009 11:41 am
    

    Hi, I sell the ukuleles – both the normal ukes and the electric version.

    There are some ukes at the lower end of the budget that have “Compensating Saddles” and these adjust the length of the string to compensate for the differences in placement of the frets, otherwise the frets would have to wiggle over the neck and the saddle would be straight.

    Most budget ukes that have a compensating saddle to not have perfect intonation on every fret, it’s just not possible to create such a perfect instrument for such a low price.

    If you are looking for a uke with fantastic intonation on every fret, then you have to pay money or take your uke to a specialist luthier.

    On http://www.guitarbitz.com/folk_instruments.htm we have a range on ukuleles for the beginner.

    If you would like some more information on ukuleles then give me a call on 0845 2222 603.

    Thanks

    Davin

44. Woodshed September 23rd, 2009 2:52 pm
    

    Davin: That’s what I’m saying. What’s the point of the compensated bridge when the instrument is never going to be accurate enough to warrant it?

45. JaywhY November 30th, 2009 9:38 pm
    

    I just tried the electro-acoustic version of these out at a local music store.

    Unplugged: It had nice volume and bright tone. I’d stack the sound against solid wood instruments I’ve played at twice the cost.

    Intonation: Open position chords were all fine, anything up to about the 7th fret. But, It was so disappointing to have that cut away there and discover so many dead and out of tune notes. :( Most chords above the 9th fret were useless. It doesn’t really lend itself to the kinda shredding I was hoping for. I tried three different instruments and they all had differing tone/playability issues so in general, construction seems very inconsistent.

    Plugged in: I tried it through a high quality amp, designed for acoustic instruments, and also through a Peavy solid state guitar amp. It was possible to achieve a decent tone through either on basic strumming numbers, however it lacked the sustain necessary for more complex single string runs.

    BEWARE: The electronics rattled and caused cut outs and spikes during normal play. I think it would be a nightmare to repair if something broke loose inside.

    Tuners: The machine heads were easy to turn and held the tuning just fine.

    Fit and finish: Paint job was nice, these really jumped out off the shelf! The store had all three variations, black, cherry and sunburst and each was reminiscent of the iconic Gibson classics. The tuners and fret inlays were consistent with the Gibson look and really added to the experience. The fret board felt good under the fingers and the frets were well dressed.

    Overall: Defiantly a step above Mahalo’s omnipresent beginner models, but for the money you could find a much better Uke. More of a novelty item than a working instrument for a serious gigging musician.

    I’m in Canada and prices I’ve seen in store and online are about $100.

46. Woodshed November 30th, 2009 9:45 pm
    

    JaywhY: Thanks very much for the review. Looks like it’s another one of Mahalo’s hit and miss ukes. But I still very much enjoy playing mine.

47. JaywhY December 1st, 2009 3:27 am
    

    Woodshed: Oh I can see it being a very fun one for the collection. Like I said, they look fab and for basic playing they have a nice sound, but I’ve just been in the market for a gig worthy electro-acoustic.

    I’m seriously considering the “Beirut endorsed” Lanikai LU-21TE.

    Thanks again for a killer site!

48. Davin December 1st, 2009 9:34 am
    

    they are lush little ukes. I love playing them, another place to check them out is http://www.guitarbitz.com/folk_instruments.htm. there is also a les paul version – v cute!! and they sound great both acoustic and plugged in!

    D

49. Woodshed December 3rd, 2009 4:48 pm
    

    JaywhY: Yeah, I certainly wouldn’t want to be relying on it for a big performance.

    Davin: Nice bit of blatant self promotion.

50. Davin December 4th, 2009 8:54 am
    

    Whats wrong with telling people where they can get them? lol, in these times us shop owners have to do all we can to advertise our wears. And I love ukes!! I tune up 5 or 6 a day and cant help but have a go on each one, and before i know it 10 mins has passed. They are just fun and have a pleasing tone. And yes there are some ukes out there that are of a very poor quality and just moving to the 1st fret shows how bad the intonation can be.

    So woodshed – wanna buy a nice coloured mahalo uke?

51. Claire January 10th, 2010 2:48 am
    

    Thanks for the review!

    I was able to get the electric model on sale for $50 Canadian. This is my first ukulele and I’m really enjoying it so far :)

52. Mahalo Flying V Ukulele Review | Ukulele Hunt March 10th, 2010 9:53 pm
    

    [...] think of a worse ukulele to learn on. If you must have a ukulele that looks like a guitar, get a Mahalo Les Paul instead. They’re a much better [...]

53. byjimini April 28th, 2010 8:56 pm
    

    Has anyone’s come with Aquila strings fitted? Ordered from SouthernUkuleleStore on eBay and they *look* like Aquila (and are taking ages to stretch out).