Mr Mai MM-T Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW

Got A Ukulele sees a return to a brand I've had on the site a number of times now. This is the Mr Mai MM-T Tenor Ukulele.

Mr Mai are a Chinese brand who I first came across via a UK dealer that is no longer trading. I think they may still be in some shops, but largely now seem to be sold direct from their own website. I really liked the quality of the models I have looked at before (and in particular adored the Petit Prince Ukulele) each very tidy builds, great finishing and looks. A few readers have been asking if I can get hold of this one and Mr Mai helpfully obliged.

SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW

The MM-T is a modern shaped double bout tenor scale instrument that immediately grabbed me with its good looks. This is specified as a solid koa top instrument though the back and sides don't carry that 'solid' word, so I assume they are laminate koa. A word on that with Mr Mai. When I looked at their ML-T Tenor  I found their specs confusing as they were using the word Koa in parts of the listing and Acacia in others. On enquiring they stated that it was actually acacia and changed their listing to reflect that. This one is listed as Koa so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt on that. Visually of course they look the same as it's the same tree, but naming is important. Still this is very attractive wood with lots of stripe interest in the grain and nice book matching which looks great!

The bridge is made from ebony and is a tie bar with a sliver of purfling on the bottom bar which gives it a nice touch. It's very tidy and fitted with a compensated top bone saddle. Spacing here is 42mm.

For decoration you have ebony edge binding with a slight comfort edge on the lower bout. I like comfort edge bevels that are not too large as is the case here. Some builders use them and make them enormous which is just unnecessary. Around the sound hole is a wooden inlaid rosette made of rainbow coloured 'arrowheads'. I've seen this design on a Mr Mai before and think it looks great. The body is then finished in a gloss which is extremely nicely done as I have seen on other Mr Mai ukuleles. All is very nice so far.

Inside is very tidy with neat notched linings and thin braces. The lower bout of the top is braced vertically.

The neck is made from okoume wood and is also glossed and heel capped with ebony. It's made from two pieces and tapers to a generic 35mm nut with 27mm G to A. It's not my kind of neck, but, as ever, that's a subjective thing on my part. What's less subjective is that I would prefer it to be satin not gloss.

The fingerboard is ebony and is in good condition. It's fitted with 18 frets joined at the 14th and these are dressed extremely well.  Position markers are inlaid in pearl and employ the same attractive bar of triangles at the 12th as I saw on their M-M80 concert. This MM-T also employs further outward markers in offset dovetail shapes at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th and 15th paired with white dots on the side.  This all looks great too. I do like a bit of imagination with position markers.

Beyond the nut is a slot head headstock with an interesting shape and fully cut out section adjacent to the G and A tuners. It's familiar yet different and I rather like it. It's faced in glossed ebony and the headstock logo repeats the dovetail shape of the fret markers. I'm glad to see this change as I have pointed out in other reviews that I found the usual Mr Mai logo to look a little 'childlike' - I much prefer this.

The tuners are unbranded black and gold gears, naturally side mounted. These are clearly well made too and work very well.

It's finished off with a set of D'Addario Titanium strings and comes in a zippered style hard case with a lock which I think is essentially a Crossrock case. A seriously funky colour on this one too! I do really like these cases and this is branded with a Mr Mai name plate. Inside the case are some other 'goodies' including a strap, cloth, picks, peg winder, tuner, capo, spare strings (NOT D'Addario!) and keyring. And that is all currently listed on their site at $377 which works out just shy of about £300 in the UK with free delivery. I feel that despite a lot of premium materials here that is a touch on the high side for a solid top ukulele as you can easily find other solid tops from brands like Kai and Uma for quite a bit less. Saying that, Snail have a solid topper that is similarly priced, isn't koa and doesn't come with a case anything like this one, so perhaps it's not so bad after all. And whilst this may be time limited, it looks like there is a 10% discount code on their site so the price comes down further so a bit of smoke and mirrors here! 

Most importantly I've not really found anything wrong with the build, finish or looks of this one so far. It's a very classy looking uke that 'looks' like it's an expensive model. It better play ok!!

It's not a heavy instrument at 605g and balances in the hands nicely. It's also set up very well and I have had no issues with intonation. Volume is good here with lots of projection, and whilst sustain is perfectly acceptable, it's not got the longest sustain i've ever heard. I suspect a string change could easily mix that up though as I find Titaniums can be a little sluggish.

The tone is typically koa / acacia with a rich jangly peppiness that these woods are known for that positively zings along. If I have one criticism it's that the breadth of tone needs a little more on the bass side of things for me. That's not to say this is an overly bright instrument, but just a touch more of the lower end of the mids would be nice. I'm splitting hairs though and of course the addition of a low G would totally change that.

Strummed it's a very fun, clear jangly sound that could make you think you were playing a smaller bodied instrument. It's great for rhythmical stuff and is anything but boring. The sort of strumming that puts a smile on your face! 

Fingerpicking is bell like and chimey all the way up the neck and I think I preferred it this way despite the neck profile not being my choice. A touch more sustain here would be nice, but I am splitting hairs again. All in all though it's a nice 'happy' sounding instrument and far from one dimensional.

So another Mr Mai that I really rather like. The looks here are simple and classy and like other examples from them, it's very nicely finished and detailed. The sound is decent too and has a lot of character. I may be making to much of the price, particularly if you bag it with the discount code and take into account the case and premium materials. I'm glad readers asked me to look at this one as it's been a lot of fun to play. Recommended!

https://mrmaiukulele.com/

UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP

Model: Mr Mai MM-T

Scale: Tenor
Body: Solid koa top, laminate koa back and sides

Bridge: Ebony tie bar

Saddle: Bone, compensated

Spacing at saddle: 42mm
Finish: Gloss

Neck: Okoume

Fingerboard: Ebony

Frets: 18, 14 to body
Nut: Bone

Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A
Tuners: Unbranded open gears
Strings: D'Addario Titanium
Extras: Semi hard case, strap, cloth, picks, spare strings, tuner, peg winder, capo, keyring
Weight: 605g

Country of origin: China

Price: $377

UKULELE PROS

Classy looks

Good build and finish

Good volume 

Clear rich jangly tone

Love that case!

UKULELE CONS

Neck profile not my taste

Would like a bit more bass in the tonal range

Would prefer satin neck

A touch expensive?

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 9 out of 10

Fit and finish - 9 out of 10

Sound - 9 out of 10

Value for money - 8 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE 8.9 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW

© Barry Maz

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