Mya-Moe anyone??

Have an opportunity to buy an incredible soon-to-be-built Mya-Moe.

Or something equivalent.

So looking for feedback. On your Mya-Moe experience. Or recommended options. Because I have never bought an instrument before without first playing it. But I must decide very soon.

Love Char and Gordon's 'energy'. And their reputation and pieces are remarkable.

So what say yee?? All insights greatly appreciated because I must decide very soon.

Thanks!

VeePo

My experience is to look at others that have them and to hope that someday I can buy theirs from their estate after my kids are grown up and out of the house and I have more disposable income again.

With all sincerity, I think Mya-Moe has the longest list of performing artists (perhaps more than Kamaka), and everyone I know that has one says, "I'll get rid of this when they rip it out of my cold, dead hands." (Which is why I said "from their estate") in the first line.

As with all ukulele brands...custom or not...there have been some disappointed customers (Gordon talked about this in one of his videos), but most owners LOVE them.

Occasionally one will go on sale here at UU, and they are never around for long.

If you have the funds available, I would go for it, and if you don't love it, I can't believe that Mya-Moe wouldn't instantly take it back as they could immediately sell it to someone else--or you could sell it to someone else, too.

Knowing that the production ends relatively soon (although I believe that Aaron Keim will be picking custom work up with a new brand at that point...correct me if I am wrong, which I may be), the reputation of the instrument, and knowing people who love theirs...this is almost a sure thing in life. There are very few of those things.

Meanwhile...I need to get back to work raising my children and getting them out of the house so that I can then plot the demise of Mya-Moe owners whose instruments need adopting...

I got my tenor beansprout banjolele last September. Beautiful instrument from beautiful people. I highly recommend Mya-Moe!

They have a good reputation. Only suggestion is to look up the wood types and sound samples that will be used on th ukulele you plan on getting.

John

Yes, I can't think of anything negative to say about them, or the instrument. I took delivery of a custom tenor last November, and I would say that it is my favourite and most playable instrument. It is very much hand made, so bear that in mind if comparing to say an immaculately executed Collings? I have one of those too, and it is also a fabulous instrument; but they are very different.

Don't expect it to be louder than an off the peg cheaper uke, just because it's a high end instrument. The sound is more complex and rich in my opinion.

I wouldn't hesitate personally. What have/are you thinking of spec'ing?

Like you (by the sounds of it) I became a little overwhelmed by all the choices of wood, and listened to pretty much all of their demo videos. In the end I went for Koa, as I knew it would cover all sound spectrums, and felt that I couldn't go wrong with Koa. I feel as though I made the right decision.

One point: the radius fret board, is quite pronounced; more so than the Collings even. So, that could be something you may need to consider if that being something you're not used to. Personally, I'd prefer a little less radius in order to get some of those harder to get bar-chords cleanly, but I feel I'll get there with practice.

Pete F above has given a VERY good over all description of Mya Moe characteristics. I owned a tenor for about one year which I sold to a friend because he absolutely loved it. I presently own a baritone with a spruce top and cocobolo back and sides.

The neck profile is shallow with a flat spot on the bottom. To be honest I do not care for this, it is quite different than most other ukes I own. But this is a personal preference. I am a huge radius fretboard fan but the Mya Moe does seem different. Although they state a 12" radius, same as Collings which I owned as well it seems to fall away more at the edges.

The sound on both was very nice with the tenor having good volume, mine was all sycamore. My baritone is a canon, warm, loud and very resonant. They are very light and well balanced which I really liked. The minimal Tru Oil finish gives a very natural organic look that I enjoy. I think their overall workmanship is excellent and they really care about what they do. I recently purchased this baritone, it was used and I snapped it up as soon as it was posted here so that kinda says it all.

I think their tag line is "serious instruments for serious musicians". They are very well crafted and play beautifully. Also Gordon and Char provide great customer service. Given the opportunity I'd buy another.

Just from reading other peoples opinions of them, no one seems to want to give them back.

So, if you are happy with the idea, & after all it's your money, I'd say go ahead & get it.

"serious instruments for serious fun" and having just this moment put said instrument down - sums it up nicely!

I plan to get another before they wind things up fully

I am sure that you can't go wrong. Many people love them. Years ago I bought a soprano from them which I sold shortly after. I did not love it, but it may have been mostly that it did not match what I was looking for in sound or feel. The hard part in choosing a custom instrument is that you cannot play it ahead of time. There are a number of great luthiers out there, many not as high profile, who make terrific instruments so there are lots of possibilities if you choose to go in another direction.

Great insights everyone. Thank you! And yes, my biggest stumbling block is not being able to play an instrument before I buy it. Never done that before. Instrument tone is my first priority. Play-ability after that. The esthetics are wonderful, but I want it to call me to come play it because it sounds so sweet.

Char and Gordon have an amazing reputation and I sense nothing but integrity and commitment from them. And man, are their ukes beautiful!

But to complicate my decision I found a highly-regarded local luthier today who is willing to build me one (baritone) to spec and then if I don't like the sound of it I don't have to buy it. (His instruments sell very quickly - all word of mouth - so he knows it will sell if I choose not to take it.)

And one of the differences in his approach vs Mya-Moe is he doesn't like what oil does to the sound - he feels it deadens it. So I need to do a little more research and make a decision pretty quickly.

Again, thanks for all the help folks!

PS I have 2 Boulder Creek Baritone Riptides with pickups installed that I'll probably be selling soon. Also a Gibson tenor guitar from the 1970s. Let me know if you might be interested and I'll post here before listing locally. Haven't decided on prices. And if someone has a killer baritone they might want to trade, I'd be willing to consider that too.

I have a Mya Moe tenor (bought used) and i just love it. What really attracted me to Mya-Moe is the radius fretboard, their YouTube videos and website. Watching their unscripted videos just made me more comfortable making an expensive purchase without even playing it in person. It definitely didn't disappoint. Great attention to detail, oil rubbed finish feels wonderful and I love the way it plays and sounds. It actually cured my UAS!

I have owned 13 in the past.
I now have 4 (soprano, 2concerts, baritone) across
different scales.
I also own other ukes but these are the four
I would keep could I not keep anything else.
G & C are beautiful people in every sense of the word.
Their communication, the sweetness of tone
and playability of their ukuleles is, to me anyway,
unsurpassed, and I have played many brands and builders
of high end and at the lower end of the price spectrum.
I hope to keep in touch with them long after
they finish up in 2018.
My advice is don't hesitate. You won't regret it.

here's a short clip we made with the two concerts.

Mya-Moe just posted this on their Facebook page:

Hello Mya-Moe Enthusiasts! To avoid surprises or disappointments, want to let you know that we have a total of 10 instruments that are not spoken for--3 secret vault and 7 others. When these are gone, that's it. If you'd like the complete list with prices, just shoot me an email (myamoeukuleles@gmail.com).

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vcpowel said:

Great insights everyone. Thank you! And yes, my biggest stumbling block is not being able to play an instrument before I buy it. Never done that before. Instrument tone is my first priority. Play-ability after that. The esthetics are wonderful, but I want it to call me to come play it because it sounds so sweet.

Click to expand...

My wife very much likes your stumbling block, and so do I. She always teases me when something bought unseen does not happen to have 'the sound'. And I know she's right, but sometimes I can't stop myself.

MM is not your typical uke (judging from my soprano), so playing is important.

I see some ukulele players journey on here. It can't be helped being a long term member. I see the finest of ukuleles from the highest end builders passing through hardly played in the quest for perfection. An unobtainable goal. Not necessarily MB but not eliminating MB either.

I did email MB for a standard soprano but was told there was no more orders being taken. I don't do bling so I passed.

I guess the wait, the anticipation, the build photos then the wait for delivery could make one dizzy. Then the honeymoon period, the doubts, the sale and then... the hunt begins again.

I ordered my first (of three) Mya Moe ukuleles some years ago after telling Char at an ukulele festival that I'd just bought a Kamaka tenor and would only buy another expensive tenor if it sounded different. She happened to have a few Mya Moes on hand at the festival and I tried them and ordered a myrtle tenor. (I later bought a myrtle baritone and a mahogany six-string baritone.) What I've learned from now several years of playing various custom and production instruments is that even with the variations in sound due to the wood, all the ukuleles from a given builder have a similar voice -- in other words, a koa Mya Moe is going to sound more like a myrtle Mya Moe than like a koa Kamaka. This is because a big chunk of what determines the voice of an ukulele is the way it's built, moreso than what wood(s) it's built with (with the understanding that some ukuleles from a builder will sound better than others from that same builder). To my ear, Mya Moes sound sweet and loud with a bit of a twang to them (a little like a banjo or resonator, in a good way), and I would generally use mine more for folk/bluegrass music than for, say, Hawaiian music, for which I'd more likely use a more mellow-sounding Kamaka. If you live anywhere near someone who owns a Mya Moe, playing theirs will give you a good idea of what the Mya Moe family voice is. Going on YouTube and playing a bunch of the Mya Moe sound samples Aaron used to post will also give you a feel for the Mya Moe voice. I hope that helps.

vcpowel,
Wow, I've never read better recommendations. I have two friends and one acquaintance who play Mya-Moes. One has 2 (Lil Rev), and none of these people will even let me play them, let alone let one outta their sight.
If I had your dilemma, I'd go for a Mya-Moe, if your local guy plans to be around for a while. If you don't love the MM, plenty of people here would grab it. MM won't be around much longer. If I could have one, I sure would.
I've met Aaron, he is coming back to TBUG this year, and what a wonderful person he is. I trust Aaron.
Let us know what you get!

One more on the side of get it if you can. My Mya-Moe is my favorite practice ukulele. The playability is incredible, the sound beautiful. Coming from the guitar world, I'm a fan of the radiused neck. Mine is a chocolate heart Myrtle tenor, and it's in my hands for at least an hour or so each day. I have a Kanilea Koa that sounds more 'hawaiian' and a Cordoba 35TS strung low G that is louder and punchier with a spruce top, but whenever I reach out just to play, noodle, exercise or play-along, I seem to grab for the Mya-Moe (or Pono MGCD Concert) more than anything else. Out of 15 ukuleles if I had to get rid of most, I'd keep the Mya-Moe, the Kanilea, Black Bear Soprano, and 50's Kamaka.

The Mya-Moe put an end to my UAS. (Unless someday I can afford a Moore Bettah with the full inlay.)

I'm looking forward to meeting Aaron at TBUG this year and letting him know just how much I love his craftsmanship.