New MOORE BETTAH day !!!

My new Moore Bettah arrived today. (Photos below). The anticipation became unbearable once Chuck emailed me on Friday to say it was on it's way. (That night, I said to my wife "I'm not sure I'll get to sleep tonight". She looked at me like I was completely nuts ;-) And I think the mailman today must have thought I was acting like a 12 year old kid when he handed me the box today (I was). But there it was - finally in my hands.

And oh the joy of just ripping open the box and pulling out the case - and then opening the case for the first glance. Even better than the photos chuck emailed me !! (I already have a Moore Bettah that I got five years ago - you can hear recordings I've made with that one by clicking here - but the joy this time was far greater. Chuck has built a masterpiece. It isn't his most ornate - which for me is a plus, as I prefer his designs that lean toward the simpler end of the scale. But arguably one of his best based on a unique balance between simplicity, elegance and tradition. It has bear claw spruce top, milo back and sides and curly koa binding and fret markers. The very cool rosette and head stock veneer are amboyna burl. (I'm drooling as I write this). I only had a short time to play it today before I had to run off to work (that was excruciatingly painful) but it is a joy to play and it emits a sound that is rich, robust and unmistakably Moore Bettah. (And how cool are those Grover planetary tuners!)

My prior Moore Bettah has a Koa top. This one, as I said, has a Spruce top. The Ying and Yang. I am now complete

I'll update you all with additional thoughts once I've had a chance to spend some more time with it. (And if you click on the photos, they'll open up larger.)

Much appreciation and gratitude to Chuck Moore.

Keith

Wow, Wow, Wow.....you are a VERY lucky man!! Play and enjoy!!

Wow, the back is very nice!!!

Congrats for your new uke

Just awesome! Congratulations Keith!

That is over-the-top gorgeous!!!

Dang, that looks sooo good. That burl looks really pretty and I'm a fan of less ornate MBU. Besides koa, Chuck seems to like the spruce / milo combo.

What material is the bridge? It looks likes it has a ebony vaneer.

The bridge is ebony. It only looks like a veneer, because it is bound.

(Can I finish work and go home now and play? Imagine the will power of staying at work today!)

I can't express how beautiful your wonderful new MB is! Absolutely magnificent! Congratulations!

Wow, absolutely beautiful! Nice photos too. Congrats!

Aloha Keith,
Congrats on your score..you seem to have my brother MBU...mine has the same back as yours.....the spuce top looks similar too....You know I know what you
mean with chuckies Koa and Milo ukes....both have their amazing great sound and yet sound different...my milo has a clean, crisp, clear note separation and sweet volume
happy strummings...it looks amazing...

Wow beautiful and I'm speechless! Congrats.

It looks fantastic! Enjoy!

Congratulations! Mine, too, is spruce over milo, and it's a heckuva combination. Yours looks very much like mine, except mine is a slot head. You must loooove it

Amazingly beautiful. Enjoy.

The bearclaw spruce / milo combination is my favorite that I've seen from Chuck. You got something special for sure! Nothing like a NMBD!

Nicest. Uke. Ever.

OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS...

To have one MB is awesome...to have 2...how the heck did you go to work???

Kmetzger said:

The bridge is ebony. It only looks like a veneer, because it is bound.

(Can I finish work and go home now and play? Imagine the will power of staying at work today!)

Click to expand...

Beautiful! I would have called in sick, and spent the day looking up and down the street for the delivery guy.

Here are some higher resolution versions of the same photos. Allows you to see the figure in the Spruce better.

Wow. That's one sweet uke! I'm not a blingy kind of guy but that is really, really, pretty. I like the palm tree and the detail around the heel of the body, especially.