Mele Concert or Tenor... Anyone play one of these?

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molinee

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I am interested in maybe getting a Mele Tenor but not much info about them. Anyone actually own one or played one recently?
-tia
 
Own BOTH concert & Tenor-low G, Love them, they play well, go to Maui to pick one out. Mine are KOA with some extra trim work. Have 11 other ukes but plat the Mele as much as the others -most KOA
perep
 
I have a tenor and a concert and there is a size difference (neither is a Mele). However, haolejohn is a Mele fan and he either owns or had several Mele ukes and I konow he will help you out. My preference is the tenor, have more room between the frets.
 
molinee said:
I am interested in maybe getting a Mele Tenor but not much info about them. Anyone actually own one or played one recently?
-tia
Click to expand...

Well, let's just say that I might be the Mele expert here. I love my meles (I have owned 5 of them). I sold two to buy an 8 string mango (mistake) I traded one for a Martin back-packer guitar (waste of ukulele for me) and I had one get destroyed by the weather (My fault). As soon as I get my 6 string in, I'll give a review on it. Until then, Here are some of my videos I did with 2 of mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi4r-y979ro
http://www.youtube.com/user/keonimanua#p/a/u/0/nw7e7gpbO3M
and here is one with a Mele and Koaloha
http://www.youtube.com/user/keonimanua#p/u
Just a heads up...My singing is terrible and my playing isn't much better:)

I think that Meles are the best imports. Better than Ponos and Honus. Maybe not Kiwayas but I have never played one of those yet. I gave up my Mele addiction for a KoAloha addiction but if someone is looking for a good ukulele that is better than the average import then the Mele is good. I compare Mele to Takamine guitar. If that helps. It is by no means a Taylor or something like that but it is a high quality uke.
 
haolejohn said:
Just a heads up...My singing is terrible and my playing isn't much better:)

Yes, I already saw your video and my dog took off and I haven't seen him since... ;)

Thanks to all for the info. The Mele that is catching my eye is the cutaway Tenor.. Yum!
Click to expand...
 
molinee said:
haolejohn said:
Just a heads up...My singing is terrible and my playing isn't much better:)

Yes, I already saw your video and my dog took off and I haven't seen him since... ;)

Thanks to all for the info. The Mele that is catching my eye is the cutaway Tenor.. Yum!
Click to expand...
LOL!! I love the cut-a-way on the Mele. I think it is the best looking cutaway available. Hopefully my 6 string will be a cutaway. Not sure what Cheryl is sending me. i only asked that it be mahogany and 6 string.
Click to expand...
 
I got a Mele soprano about a month ago and was very unhappy with it. The finish was very poor (scratch & blemishes), and the sound was worse.... very dead.
Possibly I just got a bad one, but I'm not planning to give them a second chance. I was able to return it, but had to cover the return shipping plus they deducted their original shipping, so I was out of $50 :(
 
Mele ukes are pretty good. I prefer these Philippine imports over many Chinese imports. Their cutaways are so sleek!

If you ever go to their Maui shop, you can try to haggle the price down and possibly get the case to come with it.

Here are some minor criticisms, but by all means don't let that stop you from getting one:
Double dots on the 10th fret confuse me from time to time.
Headstock logo permanent adhesive is just silly compared to quality of the rest of the uke.
Case typically not free.

I saw a picture of Julia Mancuso (USA Winter Olympic gold medalist) with a Mele from 2008. You'll like it. :p
julia-mancuso-2.jpg
 
I just got a Mele Koa soprano. It's awesome. It's as loud or louder than my Pono Ohai tenor. I love it.
 
Something else I didn't like about the Mele was the fretboard was a lot wider than I like, also the G string was so close to the edge that it rolled over when I played it.
 
Last edited:
I have a Mele tenor (mahogany) with a low G, i also found the fret board very wide , but it has an incredible sound ( which im assuming someone with much more talent than me could make it sound even better)
The coating is very thin and it does scratch with any rough play ( or drunk playing and not paying attention) But to sound quality more than makes up for it .

The shop in Maui is worth the visit if you get the chance that way you can play a few and choose what suits you best ....all in all i give mine ( and the other few i have play at the shop)

7.5/10

Cheers , and i hope that helps

-PE
 
Just picked up my first uke at the shop in Maui.. Cheryl is awesome... maybe you can see her in the background(nm that's not her in the background that's a friend who came in and played "Here's comes the sun" for me... But this is the picture with me and my baby!
Solid Koa single hole. I just ordered some new strings for it, and learned somewhere over the rainbow and take me out to the ballgame... I'm hooked. I think I tried every uke in the shop... and this one won out.

33904_1585210542913_1015257511_31669473_4361296_n.jpg
 
Aloha Molinee,
I had a early model(Phillipines) double hole koa top tenor 4 stringer with fishman pickups....it sounded so nice and had a bright and crisp tone......wish I had kept it!!!
Worth every cent....if you get a chance try one, and you'll know...and mine had a thin neck...MM Stan...
 
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