Mele solid koa concert

hey guys, whats peoples thoughts on the mele solid koa concert ukuleles.... whats the quality, sound and output like, and what can they kinda compare to, am really really considering getting one, they look georgous, just wondering if they mate up sound wise ect.....

My wife bought me a Mele Soprano for christmas, unfortunatly FEDEX destroyed it, came all cracked up, hard case broken in three spots. I would have exchanged it anyway since I prefer concert's and tenor's. I called mele, told them what happened and they were on top of it. I upgraded to a tenor size koa top uke, and it is beautiful, just gorgeous look and sound, It's strung low G with two wound strings and it is very warm in sound. The build quality seems very good, looking inside the body you can see a huge difference from my production ukes (Kala, Ohana). I am very happy with it and also with the customer service Mele provided, when I couldn't decide between two tenors, they had a guy in the store play them both for me while I was on the phone. Great customer service every step of the way for me. There are a couple clips on youtube of some Mele's. Check them out.

Sark

I own three Meles. I say go with it. I thought that my mele concert sounded better than my cousins kamaka (he did too). I think that the Mele(made in phillipines) is better than any of the imports and is compaqrable to the hawaiian made ukes. You they make an affordable players instrument. Your not getting a collectable but what are instruments for?

Sarkrates said:

The build quality seems very good, looking inside the body you can see a huge difference from my production ukes (Kala, Ohana).

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Mele ukes are also made overseas, like Kala and Ohana, and set up in Hawaii. Not to say there is any wrong with that and they might be of better quality.

I have played a 6 string Mele and it seemed like a fine instrument. I didn't lik ethe 6 string sound though. I was planning on getting a Mele from the shop on Maui, but since it was the third island i went to I couldn't wait that long and got something else.

I know Mele are built overseas, and finished or setup in Maui, it actually says so right on their website.

http://meleukulele.com/shopcontent.asp?type=Aboutus

The difference is in the cleanliness of inside the body. On my Ohana (which I also really like) there are alot of splinters and some glue just kinda hanging out, and both the Ohana and the Kala have solid ribs in the inside which the back and soundboards are glued to. The Mele has notched ribs, and I read somewhere, I believe on Koaloha's site that, that way of doing it is much more time consuming but has better results. Also the frets on the mele are trimed further back from the sides, so it's very smooth moving up and down the neck, my Ohana is a bit rougher. Again I love the Ohana too, I think for the price it is an awesome tenor. But soundwise, The Mele is far superior, it's also a $500 uke, about twice the price. I'm sure when I upgrade again I'll feel the same way(hopefully) about a Kamaka,Koaloha, or whatever I end up getting. Point is they are pretty nice ukes, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another or recommend them to a freind as my experience with them has been great.

Sark

I have a Mele solid koa concert I bought in Maui - I love it. I have played around with strings and right now have an Aquila g with Hilo C, E, A. I had a full set of Aquila high g's on but didn't like the muted sound. I am still experimenting.

well i will either be getting a kpk tenor or a mele, i think the mele tenors look great too, how do you reckon these 2 compare up, if anyone out there could PLZ do me a favour and make up a sound file or youtube link of playing a song so i can hear it it would be awsome

jackf said:

right now have an Aquila g with Hilo C, E, A. I had a full set of Aquila high g's on but didn't like the muted sound. I am still experimenting.

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That is a low g? with hilo?

I took off my low G (hilos) and put the aquilas on and I don't like the sound as much. I am thinking of putting a low g back on there and didn't want to mix two types of strings. How are you liking the mixed string sound? I am about to go with some Kala reds next, I'll let you know how those sound.
BTW Cheryl told me that Hilo sound the best on the Meles in her opinion.

haolejohn said:

That is a low g? with hilo?

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No High G - the Aquila string just felt better - a little thicker than the Hilo.

The mixed string sound is fine