Mahalo MEU1/S Surf

Mahalo brought out the "Surf" range of a Lap Steel Guitar along with a nylon and a steel string solid electric Ukulele. They are supposed to be surfboard shaped but I think the Lap Steel looks more like an ironing board, (not a fan of lap steels look or sound at the best of times), and the Ukuleles looked more like some kind of paddle; but that didn't stop me wanting one of them. All of the surf range only comes in cream with a blue splash so picking a colour wasn't an issue just what kind of strings? I preferred the Steel Strung ones but I didn't see one on sale in Europe then one came up on eBay as "new other" with the price tag still attached so I won the auction and got that, (along with a Danelectro Honey Tone Amp for less than the new price of the Ukulele!)

On to the Ukulele itself, its is solidly made with a good even finish to the paintwork. The bridge seems well done and practical, with individual adjustments in all directions to get the action and intonation right. Sadly the quality at the nut end is not as good and lets the whole ukulele down a bit. Up close the glue is over applied and visible, plus the corner of the nut can catch you hand when you make some chord shapes. It is also the case with the design of the headstock that for someone with big hands like me the angle out of the neck is a bit acute and that too gets in the way when making some chord shapes. These are my only two gripes though, everything else is fine. all of the electrics are well fitted and work reasonably, the frets are smooth and even, and the tuners work well too though they are quite a low ratio for geared ones. It also comes with a nice padded, purpose made soft case that has nice turtle shaped zip pulls.

Always difficult to say a lot about the tone of a fully electric Ukulele, so much depends upon the rest of the amplification. That said it sounds OK, quite bassy for a Soprano and with a lot of sustain. So far I have heard no extraneous buzzing but it does appear to cut out a bit especially if the tone control is set to maximum treble or bass, (and there isn't a lot of difference in tone between these two setting?). With the low G set up it comes with, its pretty good for heavy metal Ukulele solos, (if only I could play them)