I am fortunate to have “won” the opportunity to purchase a Moore Bettah concert ukulele from Chuck Moore’s facebook sale last month. I had given up hope of being able to acquire a Moore Bettah ukulele.
In pondering a NUD (which I have been doing for weeks), it is obvious that it looks great (really great) with the 5A koa and the artist touch that all Moore Bettahs are known for. Right away I ordered the book, “Building and Owning a Bettah Ukulele - The Story of Moore Bettah Ukuleles”, by Staci Blevins which helped me appreciate Chuck’s artistry and contributions and almost elevate my ownership to a responsibility (undefined as it is).
And, of course, it plays great. It feels good and is easy to fret. It comes with Moore Bettah strings, which consist of flatwound low G and C and fluorocarbon E and A strings. He included a high G string at my request as I was a reentrant player (no longer the case). The sound is exquisite… certainly the best that I can imagine whether strumming or fingerpicking. It is so rich that I do not dare restring it to high G (maybe when a restring is needed I will put the high G first before using the low G set that he included).
The emphasis on this NUD, though, is that it is somewhat transformational to have this ukulele in hand. There must be very few “holy grail” ukulele makers and Chuck Moore is certainly one of them. The first C chord I strummed gave me pause… “Wow” and eyes open wide and… There is a visceral response to hearing, feeling, knowing that something on a higher plane is going on here… a masterpiece of sorts. And this has not completely subsided as I continue to enjoy this ukulele. It has me enjoying ukulele playing a little bit more and for a little longer. There is nothing that I want different about or that I can want to improve upon. It is an unfamiliar place to be and is a good place to be.
In pondering a NUD (which I have been doing for weeks), it is obvious that it looks great (really great) with the 5A koa and the artist touch that all Moore Bettahs are known for. Right away I ordered the book, “Building and Owning a Bettah Ukulele - The Story of Moore Bettah Ukuleles”, by Staci Blevins which helped me appreciate Chuck’s artistry and contributions and almost elevate my ownership to a responsibility (undefined as it is).
And, of course, it plays great. It feels good and is easy to fret. It comes with Moore Bettah strings, which consist of flatwound low G and C and fluorocarbon E and A strings. He included a high G string at my request as I was a reentrant player (no longer the case). The sound is exquisite… certainly the best that I can imagine whether strumming or fingerpicking. It is so rich that I do not dare restring it to high G (maybe when a restring is needed I will put the high G first before using the low G set that he included).
The emphasis on this NUD, though, is that it is somewhat transformational to have this ukulele in hand. There must be very few “holy grail” ukulele makers and Chuck Moore is certainly one of them. The first C chord I strummed gave me pause… “Wow” and eyes open wide and… There is a visceral response to hearing, feeling, knowing that something on a higher plane is going on here… a masterpiece of sorts. And this has not completely subsided as I continue to enjoy this ukulele. It has me enjoying ukulele playing a little bit more and for a little longer. There is nothing that I want different about or that I can want to improve upon. It is an unfamiliar place to be and is a good place to be.
