I’m from Malaysia and its hard for me to get an ukulele Kala Makala Dolphin Soprano Ukulele – Light Blue Burst. This ukulele is SUPER sturdy so can withstand some pretty boisterous playing and sound exploring, it’s colourful and also makes a good sound and holds it’s tuning well.

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! All impressions are based on the how the uke performed “out of the box” with no tweaks or adjustments.To my mind that’s no bad thing, particularly when one’s a beginner and still building confidence, or else want something to mess about on without having to worry about neighbours etc.

Unfortunately due to the arthritis in his hands it wasn’t to be, he just couldn’t get his fingers into the required positions, even with the uke chord changer that I got for him. Verarbeitet ist sie sehr gut, keine kleinen Fehler oder so, bin kein Freund von Made in China, aber na gut. It’s great little uke for taking out to the beach, or a campsite, places where I won’t take my other uke. In fact picking it up today it never ceases to amaze me how full and loud a sound these things can deliver. The Makala MK-S is a great uke for the money and is far better than the cheap ukuleles that are seemingly everywhere these days.For the money, it’s a solid starter uke and a definite step up from the dozens of super cheap ukuleles for sale online these days. The absence of binding accentuates the natural beauty of the wood, creating a visually elegant instrument.

I'd like to add that a friend of mine admitted to me that she'd lost her temper and thrown one of these about 10 foot from her room, where it landed on the staircase, and she assured me that it was thrown HARD. This is common on more affordable instruments, but I think the synthetic bone found on slightly more expensive ukuleles tends to offer increased sustain and volume. I didn’t notice any buzzing or high frets as I played up the neck, and the notes consistently rang out clear and clean. They're an absolute bargain, and you're dead right about Aquilas being the right strings for a Dolphin.

There were a few minor imperfections here and there, but these issues were purely cosmetic and don’t affect tone or playability. So I will happily find myself still strumming this when at home - perhaps more than I do some of my other instruments.