The Makala Concert ukulele is an excellent choice for beginners, offering good tone and playability at an incredibly competitive price.
Written by Jay Searle / Published January 26, 2024
Last updated: February 21, 2024
Kala is among the most prominent ukulele brands in the industry, and they’ve made quite some waves with their Makala series. Its concert-sized representative, the Makala MK-C uke, has been praised for its superb performance and overall quality by first timers and ukulele players on a budget, and today we’ll help you understand why the MK-C is such a good beginner uke.
This Makala concert ukulele review will cover all major aspects of the uke’s performance, including but not limited to specs, tone, playability, intonation, durability, and the overall value for the money. Let’s start from the top.
Makala MK-C Concert Ukulele – REVIEW Summary
As far as beginner ukuleles come, this one is hard to beat. Decent tone, great playability and all for an unbeatable price.
Makala Concert Ukulele Review
Specs
| TYPE: | Concert |
| TOP: | Mahogany |
| BACK & SIDES: | Mahogany |
| NECK: | Mahogany |
| FRETBOARD: | Rosewood |
| SCALE LENGTH: | 15″ |
| FRETS: | 18 |
Ukulele Tonewoods – Standard, But Reliable
Kala’s Makala MK-C Concert uke is made primarily of mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. This is a classic combination of tonewoods as far as low-cost ukes are concerned, as both mahogany and rosewood are affordable, available, and easy to process.
Both of these tonewoods are extremely receptive to low frequencies and, more importantly, they both combine well to produce a strikingly warm tone.
The sheer fact that Kala stuck to its guns and made the MK-C an “ordinary” uke means that you know what you’re getting without the need to really investigate much further. For beginners, the harmonious combination of tonewoods such as rosewood and mahogany is great for playing chords or just noodling around. However, they’re far from being the best for soloing and lead playing where you really want your lines to stand out with a bit of punch.
Overall, we deducted a single point from its tonewoods rating simply because it offers the same tonal template as virtually every other uke in this price range.
How Does the Makala Concert Ukulele Sound?
The “main” tone, or better said “color”, of the Makala MK-C’s sound is largely derived from its mahogany tonewoods. It excels at delivering low-pitched tones and makes chords played on the lower frets sound a bit stronger than usual.
One of the best things about the sound of this concert ukulele is its strong bite. When you pluck a chord, you get a good thumping sound that’s both aggressive and discernible at the same time.
Volume-wise, the MK-C is far louder than an average concert uke. It’s perfectly suited for acoustic gigs, band rehearsals, and casual playing, although it lacks more definitive sonic characteristics of boutique concert ukes.
Great Playability For A Beginner Ukulele
Kala is known for making great ukuleles that play and feel good, and the Makala Concert ukulele is no exception.
The frets are a decent size and adequately spaced; the default action is perfectly balanced, and its scale length sits in the golden middle relative to contemporary concert alternatives at 15 inches.
The most praiseworthy aspect of the uke’s playability is that it comes from relatively ordinary specs. Neither the frets, strings, scale length nor its weight are drastically different from an average concert ukulele. However, it feels and plays better than an average uke of the same size, largely thanks to Kala’s proprietary manufacturing techniques refined over 20 years in the business.
The MK-C’s Intonation is… Decent
The Makala MK-C is easy to retune, and more importantly, it stays in tune for extended periods. But, in order to achieve this, it does require regular maintenance.
To elaborate, the way the nut and saddle are built ensures optimal intonation, but these features are, sadly, made of plastic. An accidental ding can easily make a dent in any of these parts and completely affect the tuning.
Since plastic is difficult to mend if broken, you may just end up needing to order replacement parts.
The silver lining is, however, the fact that Kala have pre-strung their MK-C ukulele with Aquila Super Nylgut strings, which are widely considered the golden standard in the industry.
We only deducted a single point since the uke’s nut and saddle come perfectly positioned and installed (but not perfectly made). They’re not that easy to break or dislodge, so simply take good care of your instrument and its intonation should remain on point.
Overall Rating of the Makala MK-C
Despite its below-perfect scores, we firmly believe that Makala MK-C Concert uke deserves a solid 4.5 out of 5 rating simply because it offers solid, reliable performance that rivals more expensive models whilst only costing a fraction of the price.
Though ordinary in more ways than one, it’s a well-designed uke that is perfect for beginners to learn the ropes making it a great first ukulele choice.
Alternatives to the Makala Concert Ukulele
If you’re looking for something that looks, feels, and plays like, but isn’t a Makala concert uke, then we have a few recommendations that you may want to check out:
- Kala MK-CE – this is the acoustic-electric variant of the MK-C concert ukulele, boasting identical specs and performance with the addition of PS-900 electronics. It costs just a few extra dollars to the acoustic version but does enable you to plug the uke into an amp, making it an even more versatile instrument.
- Cordoba 15CM Concert – a slightly more well-rounded concert ukulele with a Pau Ferro fretboard and quartersawn mahogany top. The 15CM is a slightly better performing instrument compared to the MK-C and is similarly priced.
- Kala KA-CG – an improved version of the MK-C concert with a walnut fretboard and a brighter tone. It costs a bit more but offers increased versatility and sturdier hardware.
- Kala Voyage Concert – essentially, it’s a better-looking MK-C with GraphTech hardware. It costs just a bit more and is ideal for players with a keen eye for aesthetics.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say that the Makala Concert ukulele is not just a good but a perfect uke for beginners. Cheap, reliable, and great-sounding for an entry-level instrument, it checks all the boxes and won’t break your bank. We warmly recommend this ukulele to all first-time players and people looking for a decent backup uke.
Jay Searle
Website Founder & WriterJay is a self-professed music nerd and ukulele lover. When not working on the website you’ll find him strumming along to his favorite tunes, spending time with his family, or learning to play the piano.
