As posted last week, I bought my daughter a plastic dolphin and thought I'd provide an update on setup (considering I rate these so highly)
I bought my first Dolphin from the Highly Strung online store (based in Wantage). Its a shop I very much like, cos I know it is run by a musician who cares. I knew the dolphin would come with nasty strings so ordered it with Aquilas. Even though he knew I would be changing strings, he set it up for me very good - adjusting the nut slots and the saddle height - the thing played perfectly on arrival - all for £25 plus £2 packing.
My review of that is here - CLICK HERE
Anyway, Highly Strung only do them in three colours, and I wanted something different for my daughter - have been keeping an eye on UK stores waiting for confirmed plastic models to come in - I found one at Bonsai Guitars LINK who I had never seen before - in fact I found loads there - in tons of colours. £25.50 and free delivery - I ordered her purple
The service was great - and it arrived in super quick time (despite the free postage)
Setup though was, sadly, lacking - mainly at the saddle which needed a major sanding down. One of the tuners was also loose. I have set it up myself and put Aquilas on it - and it now plays great - the beauty of these Dolphins.
In summary therefore, if you are looking for no nonsense well set up instrument in the UK - go to Highly Strung. If you desperately want to get a wackier colour - go to Bonsai - but be prepared to do a bit of work on it yourself.
Do Highly Strung set up for all customers? Having read at UkeUnderground and here, this looks like the one to buy!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great store, owned by people who care. My advice is phone them and place order online. That way you can ask them. They won't be offended, and I'm sure set up is part of service (as it should be)
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to mention this blog and my recommendation!