Mele Ukes

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Kanaka916

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I've been looking over some of the older threads, especially the ones about brand name instruments and ukulele purchases, I noticed that Mele Ukuleles aren't mentioned. They do have a varied assortment of styles and options and their prices are very comparable. Just curious! Just for the record, I am in no way associated with them if anyone is wondering. This is just an observation I made.
 
I sampled a Mele tenor while in Portland OR over a year ago that I thought sounded great. But since then Ive become a bit more discriminating. I'd be curious to hear it again to see if I still liked it.
 
Haven't tried them.

They're set-up in Hawaii. I think most of their ukes are made in the province of Cebu in the Philippines. That's the center of the country's fretted-instrument industry.
 
Thread revival.

I was wondering if any one else has a mele uke or has played one and what their opinion of it is. I have been thinking of getting one and have not seen many reviews, but they seem to be pretty nice.
 
I've had several Mele's over the years and liked them a lot. I've had baritones and tenors, 4 string and 8 string isntruments, and an old Braddah concert. They all had fan bracing, excellent balance from string to string, very good resonance, and very good to excellent volume and dynamics. Slim fast neck with low action. Very pretty tones, in my opinion.

Except for the Braddah, all my Mele instruments had sitka spruce tops with mahogany back and sides, ebony fretboard, tie block tie bridge, peghead overlay, and top and back binding. Rope purfling on the sides. Satin finish. Very nice appointments, and well-made. I think they're made in the Philipines (or maybe Java? I don't remember which), and are set up by Michael Rock in Hawaii. They'll set it up for anyway you want. The only thing I've noticed about Mele's is that the fret ends could be more finely filed - but they areen't anything like some of the Kanile'as I've played that had very sharp fret ends. But I've just been kind of aware of the fret ends on my Mele's. Otherwise, the Mele's were all very nicely finished with very nice build quality.

The Braddah was a cheaper all-mahogany uke with simpler appointments (this is a long-discontinued line of cheapo Mele instruments - in the days when an all solid uke for under $200 was shocking!!!). Playability was as good as on this little guy as on its more expensive brethren, but the tone was not as nice on the Braddah as on the regular Mele's. Not sure exactly why.

I've heard stories about Mele's having humdity/drying problems, but I have never experienced anything like that. All the Mele's I've had have been super stable. I think though, a lot of folks had bought some Mele ukes from an ebay seller who stored the ukes in a garage - so the storage method was problably the problem rather than the brand of uke.

The only reason I've been selling my Mele's is because I can't handle the longer scales anymore because I have arthritis - looks like I'm concert gal now!

By the way, Mele's Cheryl Rock is a super nice person to work with.

Oh yeah, Mele supplies balck Hilo's on their ukes - which I don't think bring out the best qualities of these ukes. I like Aquila's on them - never tried any of the flourocarbon strings on 'em though.
 
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Oh, another thing about Mele's - the satin finish on them is very thin, so the finish sure ain't deadening the sound, that's for sure! But the finihs will show plaing wear pretty quickly if your nails tend to hit the face of your uke or if you use a pick.

Just something to be aware of!

For some reason, my Mele's have never shown playing wear except for that old Braddah I had. Not sure if it's because of my playing style or if the spruce tops are tougher or something. I'm certainly a better player than I was when I first got my Braddah, which was the first uke I bought as an adult!
 
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Thanks LoMa and Kanaka. I wish I could help out by taking that 8 string off your hands but I am looking to get a soprano or maybe a concert if I find a good deal.
 
I have a Mele concert. It is a beautiful uke made of solid Koa. The face is flaming Koa. It plays as good as it looks. Very nice action. My only negative is the fret ends. Someone else also pointed this out. Next time I change strings I plan to fix that minor problem. I have had no drying problems but keep a case humidifier in the case.:music:
 
Don't worry about my 8 string tenor!!!

If you call 'em up, Cheryl will make sure you get a very nice instrument. Really nice people to deal with, in my experience!

Thanks LoMa and Kanaka. I wish I could help out by taking that 8 string off your hands but I am looking to get a soprano or maybe a concert if I find a good deal.
 
My X had a 6 string tenor Mele that I did a lot of my learning on. It was a great instrument. A friend has two Meles, and rather simple one and a fancy one with the pickup and the control panel. Both sound great and are very nice instruments. The simple one has high action and very stiff strings I get tired playing it. The fancy one is setup better. Bob is playing it in SF Bay Blues here:

http://youtube.com/my_videos#

you can hear how bright and clear the tone is.
 
I own three Meles. Two Braddah (6 string tenor, 4 string concert) and a 4 string low g tenor with koa top mahaghany back and sides with fishman pick-up (only the best pick-ups imo). I love them. Cheryl taught me my first 3 chords and I want a Kamaka but I can't justify the extra price when i have heard both and the Mele sounds just as good. You can't beat the Mele for the price IMO.
 
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Don't worry about my 8 string tenor!!!

If you call 'em up, Cheryl will make sure you get a very nice instrument. Really nice people to deal with, in my experience!

I have to agree with Loma. Cheryl is the most helpful person i have ever talked to. She was friendlier than MGM and Shawn from Ukulele Friend and that is saying alot because both those guys helped me out tremendously. maybe I am a little partial to Mele since they did teach me my first few chords and I own three but it is an injustice that they aren't mentioned more often.
 
Correct you are MGM. They are set up on Maui. I stand corrected. I think in my unluthier mind I got set up with built confused.
 
I've been a dealer for Mele for many years now and really love their instruments. Value wise they are really a good buy. I really enjoy the thin neck on their instruments as well. They are able to do this as a result of the added truss rod. I don't know any other builders with this feature? I much prefer these to any of the Chinese made ukuleles. They truly have a handcrafted feel to them and excellent tone. Favorites are the koa tenor double puka, koa concert, Great sound and lower price for the tenor is the mahogany back and sides with a koa top.
 
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