So, you think you want a ukulele. You don’t want to spend much money, but also don’t want a toy or piece of junk. Well, lucky you, you have an option. For somewhere around $25-$30 plus shipping, you can get a Mahalo U-30. This is the model that comes in several different colors. I’ve heard that most of the other Mahalo models aren’t very good, but these aren’t bad for the price. This was my first uke and it did work out fine for me. It has a decent tone, is pretty easy to play, and is fairly quiet. Mine is School-Bus Yellow.
The main negative is the tuning. It’s not awful, but it doesn’t play completely in tune up the fretboard. In fact, with the open strings in tune, even just fingering a chord will play slightly off. However, I was able to get used to it pretty quickly and it didn’t bother me any more. Some minor adjustments at the nut and possibly the bridge are supposed to help with this. However, I haven’t tried yet. If you try it and go too far, it can cause a buzz that could be even harder to fix.
One recommendation I would make is to upgrade the strings. I changed to Aquila Nylgut pretty soon after getting the uke, and it did improve the volume and playability noticeably. They’re a little brighter and stiffer than the cheap strings that came on it.
At any rate, for $30 or less the Mahalo U-30 is a good way to check out the ukulele and see if you want to stick with it. If you can tell you’ll love the uke, you can move up to a better instrument and pass the Mahalo along to someone else – or keep it as a bang-around travel uke. If you don’t like it, you’re not out much and you can still pass it along.
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