Mya Moe Dreaming

After a serious hit of disgruntlement when trying to restring my slot bridge Kamaka soprano last night my mind got wandering...and the Mya Moe fascination rekindled.

I took a workshop with Aaron and Nicole at the Vancouver ukefest earlier this year and my admiration for the Mya Moe ukes grew.

In my dreams I see a Cascade series figured sycamore soprano, simple with no binding but with some handsome abalone fret markers and the classic MM headstock design.

Anyone played a MM sycamore soprano....how did it sound? Could be too similar in sound to my mango soprano, maybe, eh?

I had a Mya Moe Mango soprano that I sold. It had a very sweet sound and I enjoyed it but it was on the quiet side and I have other sopranos I like more. Having had a soprano, concert and two tenors I sold the soprano and one of the tenors. I think soprano is the size where the Mya Moes are the weakest. I think they get better as they get bigger. I do like my myrtle concert because it is very easy to play and it does seem to have "opened up". I sold one of the tenors only because I did not want to keep two Mya Moe tenors.

For whatever reason, the super sopranos sound excellent to my ears - something about that extra tension from the concert scale seems to really bring the soprano body come alive.

Continuing to enjoy my Myrtle MM tenor. You gotta love the customer service, Gordon has helped me out with a few things no questions asked. Sycamore should be pretty close to Myrtle - they have it ranked slightly warmer on their tonal scale, but on the recordings I hear the sycamore as having a little more crispness on top which I like. The build quality as you have seen is impeccable, and my Mya moe runs a very fine line from being built very durable and well constructed, but also being light and responsive.

As for the volume, and the notion mya moes are quieter than other ukes, I think that is subjective. Mya moes have always sounded very even and consistent from top to bottom to my ears, I know my other uke a stansell Blanca has more treble and bass which makes it seem like it's louder, but I love the sweetness that Myrtle and sycamore offer as well.

I've had three Mya Moe ukes a Myrtle Tenor a bean sprout banjo uke and a reso all were very well made and looked great,,,,,but when I got to play a Kamaka and also a Koaloha there was no contest ,,,,all three sold I now have a Kamaka and a Deering banjo ukulele and I am very happy ,,,,

katysax said:

I had a Mya Moe Mango soprano that I sold. It had a very sweet sound and I enjoyed it but it was on the quiet side and I have other sopranos I like more. Having had a soprano, concert and two tenors I sold the soprano and one of the tenors. I think soprano is the size where the Mya Moes are the weakest. I think they get better as they get bigger. I do like my myrtle concert because it is very easy to play and it does seem to have "opened up". I sold one of the tenors only because I did not want to keep two Mya Moe tenors.

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i had the exact same experience with a mm sycamore soprano.

i agree that mms get better as they get bigger; sadly, at each size level, they are considerably smaller-bodied than other brands.

Have owned, i think, five mya moes in the past. nice ukes, but how many in my signature now? 0

coolkayaker1 said:

i had the exact same experience with a mm sycamore soprano.

i agree that mms get better as they get bigger; sadly, at each size level, they are considerably smaller-bodied than other brands.

Have owned, I think, five mya moes in the past. nice ukes, but how many in my signature now? 0

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Yeah. Don't know why but I just kept on selling mine*. Bought my first one in early 09. Think I've owned 12 but I may have lost count somewhere. Had a sycamore in every size, just cause the wood is so beautiful. All sounded great. Tenor was no doubt the most alive and full. Concert was bright. Soprano was sweet and mellow but like the concert, lacked volume. As far as playability, feel and sweetness of tone goes, MMs are impossible to beat at any scale/body length. But as Steve mentioned above, they don't tend to cut through acoustically that well. Never bothered me to much as I play alone, but if it does there's one easy answer: install a pick-up. I still have one long scale soprano and it is - like all the others - immaculately built and remarkably even and lush in tone, though on the quieter side, whatever that means. Not really sure myself anymore.
(* disclaimer: I have sold on almost every uke I've owned so this sorta means nothing re quality of the instruments. )

Hummm....you've really got me thinking!

I'm on the build list for a MM now but hey, its a two year wait....I've got time to bail, right?!

I can't speak to the comparison between mango and sycamore, having had no experience at all with the latter. But my Mya Moe mango (which i have in the tenor size) is just spectacular in every way. I'd get another mango in a heartbeat.

Yes you have Gordon is great to deal with I actually bailed out on a Taropatch and I got my deposit back

fretie said:

Hummm....you've really got me thinking!

I'm on the build list for a MM now but hey, its a two year wait....I've got time to bail, right?!

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I agree with everything that Steve and Jon have said. Just get the K&K pickup installed. You'll love the tone and playability. I generally play mine plugged in.

I have bought and sold a few MM's over the past year. It wasn't because I didn't love them but because I lusted after something else and had to follow the rules of sacrificial expansion (sell one off to afford the next). I have a MM myrtle tenor 6 string that is just fabulous. I can't see a future not owning that particular instrument.
It is also interesting to note that instruments from makers that have even longer wait lists than MM enter the market. Does that mean that they are not great instruments? Personally I just can't warm to any of the K Brands despite knowing they are great sounding Uke's. I guess there are as many opinions re what are the best ukes as there are players who are willing/able to purchase a custom build.
PS. I bet a MM sycamore Super Soprano would be a great choice.

dkcrown said:

I agree with everything that Steve and Jon have said. Just get the K&K pickup installed. You'll love the tone and playability. I generally play mine plugged in.

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Yes, I think that may be a really good idea to go with a pickup. What amp do you use with your MM dk?

Hey, this could start getting expensive!

It's a really good idea to get it with a pickup. Not solely because it isn't loud enough but because a pickup gives you more options and adds to the versatility.

katysax said:

It's a really good idea to get it with a pickup. Not solely because it isn't loud enough but because a pickup gives you more options and adds to the versatility.

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Also agree. K&K make excellent passive pickups (have one on a Larrivee parlour guitar beside both my MM tenors). If you did want an active PU I'd also recommend the MiSi Trio.

I think Jon has a great notion about getting the pick-up. Agree. (Wish MMs had bigger bodies, but oh well).
Gordon has done a whole video on "the perception of loudness" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6IRTcqolA

The video above, week 39, discusses MM pickups, Fretie. I've linked the video here for your convenience. And week 40 (the next one) shows more about pickups from MM, and it's here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH_zQMOGM-s
Week 41 talks about modifying the pickup signal off the uke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDAXNPt7FOk

It's my feeling, and I understand that these are installed pickups and the payment is for installation included, but I feel that MM charges quite a premium for installed pickups (with the K&K Twinspot being the most economical of their offered lineup at $150; for comparison, HMS will sell and install a K&K Aloha Twinspot pickup on a new Pono for only $99 http://www.theukulelesite.com/pickup-installation.html). A K&K Twinspot pickup is quite inexpensive, by itself, and many players have self-installed. Not saying this is the way to go if buying new build, fretie; just saying that if you see a used MM w/out a pickup that strikes you, then you or local luthier could install a K&K pickup, and, perhaps, for less than you could get it installed by MM.
http://elderly.com/new_instruments/names/k-and-k-twin-spot-internal-pickup-system--KK2.htm

This is subjective, but I think (and others' opinions may differ) that MM charges the absolute most I have ever seen for upgraded "Master Grade" woods. Wow, some of those woods are $300-$500 for the upgrade alone. Seems that other makers charge less for fancy wood upgrades (e.g. curly Koa). And then Mya Moe doesn't prefer glossing the stuff, so some of the "bang" of the expensive fancy grain is not brought out (i.e. enhanced). Weird.

That said, I recall my Mya Moes to have had outstanding playability, just as Gordon mentions, with a narrow and thin radiused neck, and ideal intonation. I mean really spot-on up the neck.

hollisdwyer said:

Also agree. K&K make excellent passive pickups (have one on a Larrivee parlour guitar beside both my MM tenors). If you did want an active PU I'd also recommend the MiSi Trio.

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+1 on the MiSi Uke Trio. But it's tricky to install, strongly suggest it be done by a professional.

I like the ukulele because it's an intimate instrument and I play mostly alone. Right now I prefer my instruments without pick-ups but I've learned to never say never.

I think a Mya-Moe super soprano would be a wonderful instrument. As to specific woods used, I've played several Kamaka koa tenors and they have a consistent sound but I have noticed that a couple sounded sweeter than the others. Same with vintage Martin sopranos. All were made of mahogany and some had "the mojo" and most did not.

So one Sycamore MM super sop may or may not sound exactly like another. Hopefully you give the one you get a chance to open up and are able to bond with it. Early in my UAS, I did not give some of my instruments enough time and that was my fault not theirs.

Great info on the pickups, coolyaker, thanks!

All in all, some really helpful suggestions and insights in this thread - much appreciated!

Lucky I have ample time to ponder these points.

I find it interesting to say that a uke needs to be played with a pickup unless it's a semi-hollow or solid uke. If that was the case, a pickup would be standard

,,,,I think I would want a uke that didn't rely on a pick up,,,yes it's nice to have one ,but for the money I would want it to sound loud and proud with out one