Help! I just became a future Mya-Moe owner!

mds725

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Gordon and Char Mayer, who build Mya-Moe ukuleles, had a vendor table at this past weekend's Wine Country Ukulele Festival. After playing some of the models, including the beautiful #500 (a tenor cutaway master grade myrtle), I decided to buy a Mya-Moe ukulele and made a deposit. (I'm now officially build no. 635. with a completion date of March 20, just in time for the Spring Equinox.) Char was great. We talked about tonewoods and she illustrated her points by playing #500 and a beautiful chocolate heart mango that was also there. Char also suggested that she could sand a koa soundboard a bit thinner so that it would sound a little brighter.

So what kind of help -- other than to pay for it, which I'm hoping will be covered by my forced savings plan (i.e., my 2012 income tax refund) -- would I like? I have to decide what I want my Mya-Moe ukulele to look and sound like. My dilemma is that I already have a Kamaka HF-3 tenor and I love the sound of it, so I wanted something that was different enough to justify buying a custom ukulele, but not so dissimilar that I wouldn't like the sound of it. Char suggested either mango or myrtle, which she said were a bit less warm than koa and mahogany but not as bright as soft woods like spruce and maple. So ....

1. For those of you who have a solid koa ukulele and love the sound and have either bought, or have thought or fantasized about buying, a Mya-Moe or other custom ukulele, what tonewood(s) did/would you select, and why? Were you looking for something different than a traditional koa sound? If you bought a custom uke, how do you feel about your tonewood decision? How does your custom compare to a traditional koa ukulele?

2. Mya-Moe offers the option of a slotted headstock. According to Gordon, a slotted headstock slightly increases the angle at which the strings cross the nut and, he said, some people believe this has a small positive effect on the instrument's tone. On the other hand, it's a bit more difficult to see the famous Mya-Moe headplate with a slotted headstock.

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Which would you get?

Mahalos in advance for any suggestions or advice!
 
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I asked Char the same questions about tone and after thinking about it, I think I would ask to see the wood they have in stock and choose the one most appealing to my eye. You know it's going to sound great, you might as well love the look too. Congratulations! Hope to see it in person some time.
 
Funny you should ask....I am talking to a local luthier about getting a custom walnut tenor made. But I keep thinking about what I would get if I ordered a Mya-Moe custom and I would have to say that I would go with myrtle and a slotted headstock. Good luck with whatever you decide - I am sure it will be great.
 
I asked Char the same questions about tone and after thinking about it, I think I would ask to see the wood they have in stock and choose the one most appealing to my eye. You know it's going to sound great, you might as well love the look too. Congratulations! Hope to see it in person some time.

Gary, it's funny you say that. Char said that if I can let her know which ukuleles in the Mya-Moe gallery I like, she can email me photos of similar stock she has and let me choose the pieces I want. Both the myrtle and chocolate heart mango ukuleles sounded great, but they did sound a bit different from each other.
 
I have a solid Zebrawood custom concert. If I had it all to do again, I'd probably get it with a spruce top, as it would give it more of the things I like in it. Mike Pereira, who built it, initially suggested spruce, but I was set on solid wood. It's a lovely ukulele, but it does leave that feeling of "there is something more".
 
I was in a similar boat when I ordered my first Mya-Moe. I had my DaSilva and a great KoAloha.
I decided to go with a resonator, it is so different than the other ukuleles it is an easier decision on which to play.
The new Mya-Moe, order a few weeks ago and spec'd out at WCUF with Gordon and Char is going to be a six string.
The new one will also be something totally different than my other ukuleles.

MDS, did we get to meet over the weekend? I had a double bag with my DaSilva and Mya-Moe Resonator.
Great festival too !!
 
Gary, it's funny you say that. Char said that if I can let her know which ukuleles in the Mya-Moe gallery I like, she can email me photos of similar stock she has and let me choose the pieces I want. Both the myrtle and chocolate heart mango ukuleles sounded great, but they did sound a bit different from each other.

She also said she had two more pieces of the solid myrtle (see #490). If you want that you should hurry before my UAS gets the best of me :) Actually, I would have a hard time choosing between a Mya-Moe or a Compass Rose, and an even harder time convincing my wife I need either :p I'm excited for you. Can't wait to see the build start.
 
I love these kind of questions... spending someone else's money!

Having owned a Kamaka Tenor and like you, love the sound, I would go with the mango wood just for the crazy aesthetics alone. If mango still has some of the warmth of koa it would be different enough but still familiar to your tastes. As long as we're voting, I'd go for the slotted head. No reason other than as a long-time classical guitar owner, I'm a sucker for them. I know it's all about the sound ultimately, but I really am drawn to ukes that sound good and have the extra adornments.

And +1 on the Compass Rose AND Mya-Moe, I'm trying to work both into my future.
 
Hi Mark
Great seeing you at the Fest! The same thing happened to me at last year's Wine Country Uke Fest. Char and Gordon are great to work with, and I had already discovered their website and fallen in love with the resonator uke. Since I was getting a resonator, the woodgrain doesn't show so much from the front, but I wanted a myrtle rather than a spruce top. The resonator is different in tone from the other ukes I have, and I prefer it over my banjo uke. It's tone is between a regular uke and a banjo uke.
Char will show you photos of the wood choices they have if you can give her some guidance of what you like. Since you don't have a myrtle or a mango uke, I would say think about getting one of those.
They have a great website where you can follow your build. Here is my Mya-Moe:
http://www.myamoeukuleles.com/uketracker.php?trackingNumber=389&submit=Track
Have fun with all the choices. When in doubt, let Char and Gordon guide you on the details.
–Lori
 
Congratulations on your new-in-the-future ukulele! As for your questions...

1. You love Kamaka's sound. Your Mya-Moe will certainly have a different sonic character---whether it's koa or not---so why not go for the most beautiful wood they've got?

2. Sounds like, as a fan of Mya-Moe's headstock design, you're leaning away from the slotted headstock. I'm with you, the slotted headstock is not as pretty as the 'classic' headstock. Go for the 'classic'.

Take all the time you need for your decisions, and I'm sure you'll end up with a wonderful Mya-Moe.
 
Congrats on springing for the custom Mya-Moe, Mark, and nice meeting you at WCUF. For tonewood, I'd go with sinker redwood, although Gordon may not have any in stock. My tenor's soundboard is sinker redwood from Mendocino, and I think it sounds great. After I get my first build under my belt in Rick Turner's Crucible workshop, I'm hoping to build another with sinker redwood.

Here's a link to an article:

http://www.michelettiguitars.com/Salvaged_Wood.htm
 
as a guy with mostly koa ukes, get myrtle. it's emblematic of their state and has a great tone!
Also the slotted headstock is too Jake-y (and guitar-y) and you should put your money towards upping the grade of your wood!
 
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I have to say that of all of the sound samples that I have heard with Mya Moe's, myrtle would be my choice. And I think that they have some beautiful myrtle. I had a Pono mango pineapple and it didn't have much punch to it. Not that you can compare a Pono to a Mya Moe, but I think that generally mango tends to have a mellower tone to it.

And while we're at it, I would go with the standard headstock, not slotted, with ebony. Oh, and ebony binding. Oh, and a wood rosette.
 
+2 on the Compass Rose and Mya Moe...I have the Compass Rose on order and will hopefully get the Mya Moe next year...HUGE CONGRATS!!! I'd go standard headstock...
 
I am pretty certain that if I was not such an idiot by wearing a western shirt with metal buttons to the Festival. I would have (could have) played the Mya tenor all day. They insisted I play them (so cool) and I spent the entire time worrying my buttons were going to dig a gouge in them.
I think I need to order one and see if I can dig my own gouges into it- they were stunning, and pretty much the nicest folks I think I have ever met.
 
+2 for Myrtle wood. It is a nice balance between say koa and mahogany, plus it would definitely be different than your koa Kamaka. go for the traditional headstock, the Mya-Moe headstock is great! Congrats on taking the plunge, I'm jealous!
 
I think the chocolate mango is killer. But I have to say that I love koa above all. I know we need to consider alternative woods but let's face it, Koa is not going to come back in our life time and it you don't build one out of koa, someone else will. So far as I can tell, nothing sounds as good in uke form as koa. But I could survive on a desert island with a Choc. Mango.

Gordon and Char are great folks. Gordon is so responsive to questions. I feel absolutely guilty for not having one on order my self.

Best of luck. And you thought last winter was a long one... just wait. ;)
 
Mark -

It was great meeting you this weekend! I also met Sailing Uke, Dougf, Eric, gyosh and many others. Great event! Anyway, when I saw you sitting with Char I knew you were a goner. I'm pretty inspired by the Mya Moe's myself now. I'm not a big soprano fan but I loved the "Char's Snowflake Uke" they had there. Still, probably going to get a tenor.

I love the wild sycamore looks and talked to Gordon about it while I was there. I'm thinking sycamore with a Sitka spruce or cedar top. Or maybe maple. Looking for a new sound. On the other hand I love rosewood - oooo I feel your pain Mark! Choices, choices!

I'm totally sold on the standard headstock. In general I love slotted but if I'm going to get a MM I gotta get the standard headstock.

I'll be interested to hear what you decide on! - Mary
 
By the way, when I had my Mya-Moe on order, my UAS went into a state of remission. It is only temporary though, and the pent up pressure along with fate caused me to receive 3 ukes in one month.

–Lori
 
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