Makala MK-SD/YLB Yellow Burst Dolphin Bridge Soprano Ukulele

::EDIT 9/1/20::Originally, I had intonation issues with our Pink Malaka Dolphin in my original review. The uke was playable for my daughter to learn on and I decided to buy Aquila "Kids" New Nylgut strings. I bought new strings because they are colorful and I can call out colors instead of string numbers. Well.. Putting on new strings on a uke is like putting on tires on a car. I realized you wouldn't call a car bad just because the tires from the factory were bad. New strings on this ukulele made a big different in the sound quality on this Makala. It now makes good bright sounds and still has good sustain. All basic chords including a "C" ring out wonderfully. I've had bad strings before but they weren't Aquila and were questionable unknowns. I suppose I should have known better. As such, I'm raising my score to a 4/5 but do beware of the factory strings! I've added a picture with the Aquila "Kids" strings for those who are curious. They are really, really nice strings.---Original ReviewThe quality of this ukulele is nice. The body is nice with a decent finish and has a durable plastic top side and bottom. I don't think I'd have a problem at the beach. The neck is usable for my adult hands, so kids should be fine. I bought this for my daughter to play along with me and my ukes. However, right out of the box the intonation is bad. It's been a few months and we've had it sitting on a wall. The strings have stretched and it does hold it's tuning. Just disappointed that something as simple as a "C" chord doesn't play accurately. Maybe a bad saddle, I'm not sure. The rest of the playing is ok. Nothing to write home about. The sound is a bit thin but the sustain is good.

All the research I had done on good beginner ukuleles has brought me to this little beauty. I've only had this for a couple of days now, but I have to say I'm very impressed. I tried to hold off on writing an actual review until I had this thing for at least a week, but it really is that good. For the price and the tone that you get this can't be beat for any beginner.I'm not an expert on ukuleles by any means, but I have had a lot of experience with 4 stringed instruments in the past (violin, bass guitar, and now a ukulele) and believe me this is really is a little gem. Price is great, sound put out by this thing is awesome and it's just a great joy to play/learn on.Like almost all of the reviews have mentioned, I am noticing that the strings do have trouble holding a tune. But there's a lot factors that go into this. For one thing, any strings that are new and have yet to be broken in are going to have trouble staying in tune. This is a fact of any stringed instrument when you first pick it up and it could take weeks for the strings to fully settle. This isn't a deal breaker though, I also bought the clip on snark tuner to go with this, so I just keep the tuner on the ukulele to tune the strings between playing. I did, however, take the advice of the other reviewers and bought the Aquila strings, but I'm holding off putting them on until I get a little bit better because the stock strings still sound good and they don't create the mental situation where they're bad and they detract you from wanting to play.UPDATE: Change the strings to the Aquilas! I just changed mine out to the white Aquilas that I bought along with the Uke and it makes a world of difference. The UKE sounds much more cleaner, you will have issues with the strings not staying in tune for a while even with the new Aquila strings, but this goes with the territory when you put new strings on an instrument. Just give the strings time to stretch and settle and you'll be good.Aside from this little detail, this really is a great uke to learn to play on and just have a grand old time on. Oh and case this comes with should more or less be considered a bag that you put your uke in to keep it from getting scratched.

Really cute Ukulele. To be honest I wouldn’t be able to tell you the sound difference between this ukulele versus another brand, so I can’t comment on that but the small details like the dolphin at the end of the strings makes me not regret shelling out a few extra bucks. If I were to nitpick I do notice some paint flaws on the fret, seen best in my second photo but might be luck of the draw..there’s a little info on the inside of the ukulele which makes it seem more legit than some of the other cheaper models. The pink ukulele that I got is not one tone in color it has a tiny shade darker pink on the outside, which makes the paint job a bit more interesting, in my opinion. For the price I think it is worth it. Perfect for any kiddo that loves pink!

Great sound easy to learn we love the design and color. Daughter plays every day. The strings can get a bit un tuned but not way off luckily there's plenty Great free tuner mobile apps so a quick minute fix. Overall very happy with the purchase.

I am lucky. I got one with good sound - loud and crispy.

I can't say enough about this ukulele! I'm not writing this review from the perspective of someone who plays. I dabble. I purchased this uke for my 3 year old daughter. Between me and her Dad we have a plethora of instruments in the house and he just had to have a ukele....and so did she! I purchased one from another retailer and was sorely disappointed in the quality. I did not want to buy my child a toy. I wanted something real that she could grow to respect, love and perhaps someday seriously play.After reading the reviews on Makala and seeing the pictures I figured I'd give this one a go. It is a lovely little thing and I'm impressed with the quality and the sound. The craftsmanship is outstanding and were she ever to seriously want to learn to play I think this would be excellent for her. Right now she "plays" in the sense of strumming with no real technique, lol! But this can easily morph into something that she plays with skill! Hope she cares for it well. Would love to see it passed down to her own child someday.

I love my makala uke with my whole heart. This was actually an upgrade for me as a beginner, now thanks to this i'd say i'm at campfire player level. This is my second ukulele and the sound quality is definitely there. My first one was cheap so it had a plasticky sound (it was £20 from argos idk what i expected) but this one is so gorgeous, it's cute and i didn't think i'd ever find a pink ukulele with good sound quality that was as affordable as this! It literally has anything. If you love the colour pink or blue and are looking for a good quality ukulele with sound quality that's there I'd highly recommend this one.

I bought this ukulele based on the many glowing reviews I had read.It is a super instrument that plays really well. When learning how to play a musical instrument it is well worth spending an extra £10 in order to get a proper instrument. The fact that it's intonation and tone are great really keeps the new pupil engaged rather than frustrated that nothing sounds right.When I first bought a ukulele for myself it was cheap and always sounded out of tune. My daughter loves this and it's pleasant to listen to.It has a plastic body which I suppose enables the manufacturer to get a consistent result. The paint job is a little patchy, but it is a very inexpensive musical instrument, rather than the many "Ukulele-Shaped toys" that are widely available in the £15 - £25 price bracket.A superb buy, don't settle for anything less

I bought this ukulele to replace one I broke for a ukulele society I belong to (I was looking after ukuleles and the neck of one broke, but I couldn't find that one online so I bought this one). I LOVE this. It's way better than the Aria I broke. The aquila nylgut strings make it sound great, it stays in tune really well. My first ukulele was a Makala MK natural, which is slightly more expensive but I think that this is equally as good. That one came with pretty awful strings but this dolphin came with aquila nylgut. That one was less slippery to hold, so it felt less cheap, but my model had loose tuning peg washers(?) whereas this doesn't. This one also came with a bag whereas that one didn't. I can tell why this is so popular. I love this!

Well made Uke at a good price. Bought as a Christmas gift for my Granddaughter, she absolutely loves it.I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another.

Still the best ukulele for the price by a long way, especially if you add Aquila strings for an extra fiver - and it's very pink indeed. I bought this one for a friend, but still use a yellow one I bought myself a couple of years ago. The only issue (barring rubbish original strings) is that the black decal around the sound hole and on the headstock scrapes off far too easily.