Question for Mele owners

Captain Simian

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I bought 2 Mele sopranos this week because the Guitar Center I found them at were practically giving them away. One is a double hole with a koa top, the other is a standard in mahogany. The necks on both are encredibly thin and wide, the fretboard very flat. Within a couple of seconds I fell in love with the feel of the necks, particularly the mahogany uke. Are all Mele necks similar to what I described? The label in both of mine give me the impression they were made around 2003 in case they're made differently now.
 
Hey there. I recently bought a Mele concert and I love it. I haven't noticed anything unusual about the neck, though. I've attached a photo of my 3 ukuleles in profile below, and the neck of the Mele doesn't seem to be any thinner or flatter than the others. The width is in between the others, but given that the others are a tenor and a soprano, that's to be expected. The Mele is the one in the middle.
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Wow, some nice deals.

Unfortunately CA tax and the shipping makes it go from ...hmm to, I guess I will pass.
 
I had a nice Mele mahogany soprano braddah. Unfortunately, I traded it before finding the right strings for it. Martin 600's sure didn't do the job.
 
Here's a picture I just snapped. The Mele neck is on the left. The uke neck on the right is a Mainland. I don't think I've ever seen a neck this this thin. The more I play the Mele the more I like it. Like it as in I may get rid of most of my sopranos.

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Oh wow, the neck on that Mele definitely is thin isn't it. Way thinner than mine. Then again, that Mainland looks extra thick, too.
 
Hi, all the Mele's I've tried have a wider fret board and thinner neck profile than average. I've never played a soprano Mele though, and the one you picture looks really thin!

I think the 2003 thing is some copyright date that is on all of their labels that I've seen, so I don't think it's an indication of the date of manufacture (aside from anytime post 2002!)
 
Thanks for the responses. The Mainland neck is pretty much the same size as most of my other sopranos. Maybe it just looks thicker because the Mele's neck is so thin.

I was out of town for the last couple of day and I took my soprano Flea with me. This morning I broke out the Mele and I realized this may be the one. It just felt like home. I suspect if I keep feeling like this all my other sopranos are going away.
 
I ended up buying the Koa Tenor that they had, and it has that awesome thin neck.

The flatness of the neck also contributes.

I will try to get some pictures comparing the Mele to my Bruce Wei and Oscar Schmidt Tenors.

I find this neck to be night and day better.

Thanks again for mentioning where you found them.
 
Weird. My neck must be at the thicker end of the Mele spectrum. Having said that, it is very easy to play on, and I've never wished it was any thinner, so it will do me just fine.
 
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