Sunday, May 18, 2014

Brand New Custom Koa Mya-Moe Ukelele

Last Summer, I started noodling around with my Grandmother's old Martin ukelele. I spent a whole afternoon figuring out how to play it, learned a few songs, and quickly became obsessed. When I got home I immediately started researching ukeleles online and noticed that some pretty cool people (with some very nice sounding ukelele recordings) were playing Mya-Moe Ukeleles. I read all about them on their website, listened to some videos, browsed through their extremely thorough gallery of every uke they have built (with all the specs) and determined that I need to get one asap. I was obviously not the only person who thought this because there was nearly a one year wait list to get a custom uke built. I put my down payment in and then bought another ukelele to practice on while I waited.

 If you are considering buying a Mya-Moe Ukelele, I highly recommend it. You get to choose the size and shape, what type of wood (top and sides/back), and all the other features. They do an incredible job of answering questions, have a ton of videos showing every step of them building ukeleles, and they even put up a webpage for your ukelele with all of its specs, start date, estimated completion date, and then post pictures of every step of the building process. Here is my page so you can see an example. I got extremely excited every time a new picture got posted and saw how my uke was coming to be. They kept to the dates very well, and actually ended up finishing it a few days early. They also sent an email letting me know that it was on its way and to let them know as soon as it arrived. It was very clear that they care very much about each of their instruments as if they were their children! They are great and again, I highly recommend getting a uke from them.

Now, a little about the instrument itself. First and foremost, it exceeded my expectations and is a truly beautiful instrument. It arrived in a nice little, sturdy custom fitting hard case with a lock and a strap. Pretty cool. I opened it and behold, a truly beautiful instrument was inside. The pictures, while good quality, do it no justice. It plays very nicely with perfect intonation, and the tone is absolutely beautiful. Full, rich, and crisp. The K&K pickup inside sounds surprisingly wonderful. I have been having quite a battle trying to find a pickup that I am completely satisfied with for my acoustic guitars. Not the case with this. It sounds perfect. Below you can see a video of me playing a cover version of 'Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes' from Paul Simon's 'Graceland'. This will give you a taste of the tone and look of the instrument. Enjoy, and as I have said before, if you are thinking of getting a ukelele from May-Moe, stop thinking about it and just do it! You have a whole year to pay for it and only need to put $300 down to secure your spot.

Big thanks to Gordon, Char, and Aaron for making such wonderful instruments!

2 comments:

  1. Just curious. What kind of uke did you get to play while waiting for the Mya Moe?

    ReplyDelete