Mele of Hawaii Pineapple Concert Hawaiian Ukulele

NewbieUkie

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Well, just bought a new toy...a Mele of Hawaii Pineapple Concert Hawaiian Ukulele....have any of you guys tried one of these? I paid $355, (including shipping)...is that a decent deal? It hasn't been delivered yet...just wondering what to expect!
 
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Haven't tried one. Still kind of curious about Mele though. (That "Jumbo" soprano still intrigues me.)

As for whether or not you got a deal depends on the ukulele. Mahogany or Koa? Bindings or no? Case?

I think if you got a case and some binding you probably came out about right judging from the Mele website.

But do give a rundown of your impressions when you get it. I'm still shopping and it's so hard to pull that trigger. Any info is always most appreciated.
 
Haven't tried one. Still kind of curious about Mele though. (That "Jumbo" soprano still intrigues me.)

As for whether or not you got a deal depends on the ukulele. Mahogany or Koa? Bindings or no? Case?

I think if you got a case and some binding you probably came out about right judging from the Mele website.

But do give a rundown of your impressions when you get it. I'm still shopping and it's so hard to pull that trigger. Any info is always most appreciated.


Well....these pics may help answer your questions so that you'll better be able to answer mine....as you'll see, the uke is Koa, nice abolone binding, nice woods, brand new and unplayed condition, and there is a case, although the case looks like the cheapest type, just something to keep it in......let me know what you think, and after it arrives I will post a mini-review if anybody's interested!

MelePineapple2.jpg


MelePineapple1.jpg
 
Hey bro, that's a nice looking uke. No experience with Mele, unfortunately. But I wish I did :p

Our main man Woodshed has got a cool contest on at the moment, where you could win a Kala pineapple. I only have a mahalo baritone and a Kala tenor to review, but I'll do one so I can get that "Never Gonna Give You Up" tab.
 
Ah. I see now. You got one of the most recent moreukes auctions...

I was actually ready to bid on one of the sopranos, until it started going high enough to make me reconsider just buying a new one. Stayed up past my bedtime for it and everything.

The abalone is special order and the koa...You probably did pretty Ok. Saved a couple hundred at least, if I read the Mele website correctly.

And still with the hang tags, you're also probably pretty safe in terms of wear and cracks that some of his other more recent auctions seem to have had. (Although five out of six of those most recent bad ratings were from one particularly disgruntled buyer....)
 
Ah. I see now. You got one of the most recent moreukes auctions...

I was actually ready to bid on one of the sopranos, until it started going high enough to make me reconsider just buying a new one. Stayed up past my bedtime for it and everything.

The abalone is special order and the koa...You probably did pretty Ok. Saved a couple hundred at least, if I read the Mele website correctly.

And still with the hang tags, you're also probably pretty safe in terms of wear and cracks that some of his other more recent auctions seem to have had. (Although five out of six of those most recent bad ratings were from one particularly disgruntled buyer....)


I didn't mention where I got it becuase I didn't know if that was allowed here...(some forums) do not allow that kind of thing because they feel it's promoting something on another site or another dealer..I guess I have gotten paronoid...I'm still getting used to the fact you guys are all so friendly here and don't create rules designed to drive people away!!

ANYWAY!!

Yes, I got it from "moreukes"...stayed up WAY past MY bedtime too!
In fact, I really wanted a Concert he had that was all "fancied up" but I felt it went too high....I guess like you I have my limits, but by the time I lost out on a couple others and finally the Pineapple came up, I said, "Hey, I'm raising the stakes", and actually bid a little higher than I originally planned to. That's why I am hoping you guys will reassure me that I did ok.
As to his feedback, I was a little nervous about that too, but then I saw as you did, that his negs were very buyer specific and that raised a flag to me as to the buyer as well as the seller. I know that as a seller on eBay I myself have been literally victimized by buyers who threaten negative feedback after the sale in an attempt to re-negotiate price, or have even left me negative feedback because I filed a non-paying bidder report to recover my fees when they "changed their mind" after the sale. That happened to me on a $4800 guitar! The guy was in Denmark, and decided AFTER he won that he "really didn't want it that bad"! So, I left him a neg, (the 3rd he had gotten for the same thing, not paying for a high ticket item after the sale), and he left one back, and eBay ALLOWS that!!! Sorry for the rant, but I find it incredible that some people do what they do...Buyers who blackmail or won't pay, Sellers who send JUNK not even remotely CLOSE to their item description......it makes me want to give up on eBay completely sometimes.

But I didn't mean to turn this into a whining thread....sorry about that! I really do hope that I got a decent deal on this uke, and that when it arrives it's as nice as it appears in the pics!
 
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No worries.

I think you did pretty all right with this one.
Looking forward to see what you think once it's in your hands.

I'm just killing a bit of time while I run the clock down on one I've currently got my sights on. I've gotta be pretty firm in my limit. Last harrowing ten minutes or so and ready to hit refresh and see it skyrocket. I'm not holding my breath I'll get it, but stranger things have happened. It's all sniping at the last second anyway. (that's if it gets over the stinkin' reserve...)
 
No worries.

I think you did pretty all right with this one.
Looking forward to see what you think once it's in your hands.

I'm just killing a bit of time while I run the clock down on one I've currently got my sights on. I've gotta be pretty firm in my limit. Last harrowing ten minutes or so and ready to hit refresh and see it skyrocket. I'm not holding my breath I'll get it, but stranger things have happened. It's all sniping at the last second anyway. (that's if it gets over the stinkin' reserve...)

I wish you the best of luck getting the one you're shooting for! I know all too often the let-down of losing an item in the last few seconds, and happily, I also know the thrill of GETTING it in the last few seconds too! It's a real rush when you win, isn't it? (That said, often later, upon reflection, when I do NOT win, I am a little glad I don't have another huge charge card bill on it's way because I got "lucky"!)

But it will be really cool to see one of us get what we are hoping for, so I wish you lotsa luck!
So, I hope to hear good news from you, that you scored!
Let us know how it turns out!
 
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Didn't get it on a last second snipe...But it also didn't hit the reserve either and has been relisted.

Which is good and bad because it means that it's still available, but I have no idea if he's even looking for a price remotely in the range I'm willing to go and it isn't the only uke in the sea coming up in the next week I've got an eye on...

(I emailed them about the reserve. If it's too rich or they're coy, screw it, I'm just buying one outright...)
 
Hey NewbieUkie, I think that you made an excellent purchase. A koa pineapple Mele is worth about 400$ new and shell inlays are somewhere between 200-300$. So I'd say that you payed about 355$ for a 600$ ukulele, nice steal!!!

As for my Mele experience, I play a Mele mahogany concert uke, I've had it for about 4 months. I'll tell you the ups and downs about it:
I bought my Mele from the Cheryl Rock at Mele Ukulele at their retail store in Maui. They are really nice people and aim to please. I payed 300$ for it and it came with a gorgeous form fitted padded lining hard case (that was a in-store special).

The excellent:
- It's solid mahogany with ebony inlays, bridge and fretboard; bone saddle and nut. The wood is beautiful.
- It sounds incredible, although it's the only uke I own, I really like the sound.
- Nice action.
- It has a lifetime warranty, that they stand by.

The mildly disappointing:
- The finish has developed a few little cracks (only in the finish layer), but they seem to only happen during the break-in period. Plus it's wearing off in some spots(like where I rest my arm).
- The nut is a tiny bit wider than the neck, so that kind of bothers me, but I'm thinking up a way of fixing that. (suggestions anyone?)
-The frets stick out a tiny bit (little sharp ends on the bottom side of the neck), I'm looking into smoothing those down too.
-The intonation starts to go off after the 12th fret (this doesn't bother me that much since I don't really use those frets) However Mike Rock from Mele said that I can mail in my bridge saddle and he'd fix it and compensate for the shipping, the only thing is that I have to find a week when I won't be playing for several hours a day:).

All in all it's an excellent uke for the price (hey who could go wrong with solid wood). One suggestion is don't put Aquilas on it, simply because I'm using Aquilas right now and they buzz a bit because they are not high tensioned enough for this uke. Hilos are pretty good, but not as loud, I'll tell you when I find the best strings for them ;). (I should probably right up a review, I'll email Rayan and tell him to put mele on the review page.)
 
Hey NewbieUkie, I think that you made an excellent purchase. A koa pineapple Mele is worth about 400$ new and shell inlays are somewhere between 200-300$. So I'd say that you payed about 355$ for a 600$ ukulele, nice steal!!!QUOTE]

Thanks much for the reassurance! As a guitar collector, I have a little more of an innate sense of a guitar's value in the secondary market, but I am so new at this "uke thing" that I don't have a handle on it yet. Certainly, many of the same rules apply....sold woods vs. laminates, etc, but others, like country of origin, (USA vs. everything else), seem to have less meaning.

In addition, there are quite a few very low priced ukes, which seem to actually do what many consider a passable job of being a very "playable" instrument, which maybe more than anything else, really contradicts the rules, if you will, of guitar collecting. Unfortunately, with guitars, you really get what you pay for, (most of the time), and the cheaper the guitar, the more likely you'll get an unplayable, toneless piece of junk, and I'm talking less than $500 here, which for a ukulele, will buy you a pretty nice instrument, from what I have learned so far!

So, I still have a lot to learn!

My first purchases, all within a week, were:
1. My Giannini Baritone, which is all solid mahogany and a nicely made instrument, although I truthfully fell like I am just playing a small guitar when I fool around with it, it doesn't feel or sound like a uke to me.
2. My Cordoba 25SK, which is a Koa Soprano that one of you guys gave me a nice deal on.....I felt I "hadda have" a Soprano, since that's the standard or traditional uke size from what I had read, and I am glad I bought it....nice craftsmanship,(solid woods, the debate about the authenticity of the Koa notwithstanding), nice tone, good deal, but again, I am learning about what I am going to "like", and the Soprano is a little small for me...I feel most comfortable so far playing my 3rd acquisition,
3. My GString Koa 6 String Tenor..(also purchased from a member here), a simply magnificent instrument, with beautiful solid woods, incredible build quality, and superb tone. This one is also easiest to play, (for me), and I find myself reaching for the Tenor 9 out of 10 times when I sit down to fool around with the uke, which is turning out like most of my new challenges to be nowhere near enough time as I would like. (or need!...it's not as easy to learn as you guys would have had me believe!) :confused::eek:

I am really looking forward to getting the latest purchase, and this one is a "Concert" size, which I am hoping will be easier for me to play then the smaller soprano. It also looks like a nicely made instrument, but what I am saying here is that all told I have spend just a hair over a $1,000 for all FOUR ukuleles, (including the one I haven’t received yet), and I would be very hard pressed to find a SINGLE guitar in my collection that was purchased for LESS than a thousand dollars! So, I have this "trepidation", I guess, about whether I can expect quality for just a couple-three hundred dollars. The GString was a little over $600, but was originally closer to $1,000, I think, so I EXPECTED that to be really nice, and it was! I guess I have to re-learn and re-adjust my expectations with this new instrument!
 
Didn't get it on a last second snipe...But it also didn't hit the reserve either and has been relisted.

Which is good and bad because it means that it's still available, but I have no idea if he's even looking for a price remotely in the range I'm willing to go and it isn't the only uke in the sea coming up in the next week I've got an eye on...

(I emailed them about the reserve. If it's too rich or they're coy, screw it, I'm just buying one outright...)


Sorry to hear you didn't get it.......have you considered emailing the seller and trying to negotiate a deal rather than just asking the reserve? Maybe the seller is willing to consider an outright sale now that the eBay community has demonstrated the percieved value of the uke, and it clearly didn't match his hopes for the sale. It's worth a try...I have successfully made a few purchases on ebay that way after an auction that didn't hit the reserve, and I have also sold a few guitars that way, to save myself the frustatio,, work, and cost of a re-list, I have sold for less than I originally planned..maybe your seller would see it the same way!
 
UPDATE...The "Pineapple" has arrived!

After horrible lack of communication and a frustrating lack of information about when to expect delivery, I have recieved the Mele Pinapple Concert Uke from "moreukes" on ebay.
The good:
It seems that I did get a good deal. The uke I recieved retails for about 600 dollars, I think, so my delivered cost of $355 is a nice discount from even a dealer's typical sales price.
The uke is a nice instrument...well constructed, nice woods, and while I have seen far nicer, for $355 I think there is a TON of "bang for the buck" as far as build quality and playability. It has a sweet tone, nicer (subjectively speaking, of course), than any of the other ukes I have with the exception of the G String 6 String Tenor, which still reigns supreme in my little but growing collection.
The bad: Dealing with my seller was NOT fun. Lack of appropriate responses left me berift of a tracking number, and only by sheer luck was someone home to sign for and accept the package when it arrived. It was not packed well, and I was also lucky to recieve an intact instrument. As a guitar collector who has bought, sold and traded many,many instruments over the years, I was horrified at the lack of concern shown by the seller in his failure to ensure a well protected instrument that I was prepared to receive on the initial delivery attempt, since any need to "re-deliver" increases the odds of the instrument being damaged in additional trucking.
Additionally, although the uke was described as new and unplayed, it had clear signs of use, ie, strum marks, etc, which while not "bad", surely didn't qualify this instrument as "new and unplayed". Just say it's "lightly used", which it was, and not disappoint the buyer, right? Re-attaching the tag doesn't make an instrument "new"!

I'm on my way to the beach, so I'll post more later, if anyone has any questions!
 
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