Lanikai MA-CEC

Not long ago I tried theLanikai MA-C , a ukulele made from laminated mahogany. This blog post and video are about the MA-C's electro-acoustic sibling. It differs from the acoustic version through its built-in electronics and cutaway body shape:

Although this is also an entry-level ukulele, I can say exactly the same thing I said about the acoustic version: Lanikai pays attention to very good quality and careful workmanship even in these models.

Unfortunately the manufacturer has once again failed to take a photograph that does the instrument justice. In the image above, this Lanikai looks rather dull and brownish. In real life it is a radiant, beautiful brown, and the wood grain is fantastic — it almost seems to move depending on the angle of the light.

In the video below I not only introduce the instrument but also carry out an interesting experiment. I test how far a brand-new instrument — one that has essentially never been properly tuned — drifts out of tune after a few minutes of playing. I will spoil the result: on this ukulele the strings barely moved at all. They came nowhere near the minor-second drop I had expected; only very small adjustments were needed. How far new, unstretched strings wander when an instrument first goes into use depends on the brand, model and strings, and naturally there can be differences even between instruments and strings of the same type. I also tried an "action camera" for the video. I am curious whether you like it.

Naturally, this Lanikai also comes from the factory with two strap buttons, and a case is included. If you are a beginner looking for an electro-acoustic concert-size instrument, I think this could be a good choice.

This instrument was also available from theUkulele.hu webshop.

So here is the Lanikai MA-CEC demonstration and the string experiment: