NUD: Anuenue UC200 Moonbird Concert

Cluze

UU VIP
UU VIP
Joined
Jan 11, 2019
Messages
563
Reaction score
292
Location
Michigan, USA
Well the madness of lock down finally set in, and I couldn't help myself; I finally ordered a Moonbird. This was one of the last concert Moonbirds that The Ukulele Site had in stock, and it arrived late in the day yesterday. I was busy with actually working from home much of the day, so I have not had much time to play it, but I am very impressed with it so far!

The build, fit, and finish are all exquisite. It feels great in the hands, solidly built but not too heavy, well balanced, and the neck profile is great! Not too thick, not too thin and slightly flattened, but not dead flat.

The sound is spectacular, great volume and sustain. It has a full sound (with plenty of low and mid tones) while still being bright. I have found I can usually get one or the other, but not both at the same time, at least not this much of both at the same time.

It came low-G, which is not my preference. I had expected the Anuenue Blackwater high-G fluorocarbon strings, but at some point this instrument was probably used for a sound check and had been swapped out for a low-G set. Not sure which strings they are, but the C, E, and A are all clear fluorocarbon and feel fairly hard tension and the low-G is smooth wound. I admit that it sounds great low-G, the best low-G concert I have ever encountered, but I strongly prefer playing high-G, so I may swap out the strings in the next few days.

This might, and I stress might, be a UAS killer. The jury is still out until I get a chance to play it high-G, but it is just about everything I am looking for in a uke, and all in one package.
 
Congrats. I've had mine for over a year, and love it. A really balanced sound, with the great mids and lows you describe. I have kept the aNueNue Blackwater strings (high G) on mine. have fun with it.
 
This might, and I stress might, be a UAS killer. The jury is still out until I get a chance to play it high-G, but it is just about everything I am looking for in a uke, and all in one package.

...and that exactly might be the problem. :D I got a soprano Moonbird (right after the lockdown started :D ) and it sounds and feels great. It's just too perfect to be true. Anyway, it just does not have the character and magic my custom ukes have. The best picture that I can think of is this: Moonbirds are the iPhones of ukuleles. They are beautifully made, look fantastic and yet all iPhones of all people are the same and it needs to be replaced once in a while.

Don't worry, I haven't sold mine yet and it's not gonna happen anytime soon. Anyway, I wouldn't mind if I had to since I'd just get a new one at some point - just like a new iPhone. :D

Congrats anyway, they're beautiful instruments.
 
...and that exactly might be the problem. :D I got a soprano Moonbird (right after the lockdown started :D ) and it sounds and feels great. It's just too perfect to be true. Anyway, it just does not have the character and magic my custom ukes have. The best picture that I can think of is this: Moonbirds are the iPhones of ukuleles. They are beautifully made, look fantastic and yet all iPhones of all people are the same and it needs to be replaced once in a while.

Don't worry, I haven't sold mine yet and it's not gonna happen anytime soon. Anyway, I wouldn't mind if I had to since I'd just get a new one at some point - just like a new iPhone. :D

Congrats anyway, they're beautiful instruments.

Huh. That's an interesting point. But there are people who are plenty happy with their iPhones. And I am not sure that a ukulele falls behind any technology curve and needs to be updated quite the same way a phone does! At least I hope we don't need to upgrade everything to take advantage of 5G strings! :)

It is true that my concert Moonbird pretty much looks and sounds like every other concert Moonbird. But that's still fine by me. It's not like I see tons of Moonbirds around. It is unique enough to scratch that particular itch, for me. Honestly, I just love the design aesthetic. I suspect it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I think it looks great.

Now if only my wife weren't stuck in Zoom meetings, I could jam with it all day today! I might try hiding out in the basement so that her co-workers can't hear me repeatedly screwing up the songs I am trying to learn...
 
It's not like I see tons of Moonbirds around. It is unique enough to scratch that particular itch, for me.

I thought the exact same thing. aNueNue ukes, let alone Moon Birds, are fairly rare at least outside of the Far East and fairly difficult to get a hold of. Most stores that list them are always out of stock. While it's a factory made uke I think it's rare, unusual and wonderful enough to never let go. Hasn't killed my UAS, however. :D

Congrats on the UC200! I fully agree on what you mentioned about the tone. It's truly amazing how full and balanced the sound is. The spruce top brings out the highs and the rosewood back and sides bring out the mids and lows (I assume). I have "only" the soprano Moon Bird and even that has that wonderfully full tone.
 
Well the madness of lock down finally set in, and I couldn't help myself; I finally ordered a Moonbird. This was one of the last concert Moonbirds that The Ukulele Site had in stock, and it arrived late in the day yesterday. I was busy with actually working from home much of the day, so I have not had much time to play it, but I am very impressed with it so far!

The build, fit, and finish are all exquisite. It feels great in the hands, solidly built but not too heavy, well balanced, and the neck profile is great! Not too thick, not too thin and slightly flattened, but not dead flat.

The sound is spectacular, great volume and sustain. It has a full sound (with plenty of low and mid tones) while still being bright. I have found I can usually get one or the other, but not both at the same time, at least not this much of both at the same time.

It came low-G, which is not my preference. I had expected the Anuenue Blackwater high-G fluorocarbon strings, but at some point this instrument was probably used for a sound check and had been swapped out for a low-G set. Not sure which strings they are, but the C, E, and A are all clear fluorocarbon and feel fairly hard tension and the low-G is smooth wound. I admit that it sounds great low-G, the best low-G concert I have ever encountered, but I strongly prefer playing high-G, so I may swap out the strings in the next few days.

This might, and I stress might, be a UAS killer. The jury is still out until I get a chance to play it high-G, but it is just about everything I am looking for in a uke, and all in one package.

Congrats, you have quite an attractive collection of ukes--I was almost surprised to hear you mention UAS.

I don't think I would ever do away with having re-entrant ukes, but I love low-G, and it has definitely motivated some of my UAS. Unfortunately, I'm discovering a threshold after which I'm just not spending as much time as I'd like on each uke because they're too many. Anyway, do you not keep any of your ukes in low-G?

And I have to ask, just because a number of your ukes are ones I also really like: do you have a favorite out of your collection? I know the Moon Bird just arrived, but I'm curious if there's one you'd save out of a burning building.



I thought the exact same thing. aNueNue ukes, let alone Moon Birds, are fairly rare at least outside of the Far East and fairly difficult to get a hold of. Most stores that list them are always out of stock. While it's a factory made uke I think it's rare, unusual and wonderful enough to never let go. Hasn't killed my UAS, however. :D

Aren't Corey and Kalei from over at HMS going to be starting something up with Anuenue soon? I think that might increase availability--I don't know about how common Moon Birds will be. They do seem to be enjoying more and more popularity lately. I'm wondering if it's a trend to stay, and we'll start seeing a lot more signatures around here with Moon Birds in them.
 
Congrats, you have quite an attractive collection of ukes--I was almost surprised to hear you mention UAS.

I don't think I would ever do away with having re-entrant ukes, but I love low-G, and it has definitely motivated some of my UAS. Unfortunately, I'm discovering a threshold after which I'm just not spending as much time as I'd like on each uke because they're too many. Anyway, do you not keep any of your ukes in low-G?

And I have to ask, just because a number of your ukes are ones I also really like: do you have a favorite out of your collection? I know the Moon Bird just arrived, but I'm curious if there's one you'd save out of a burning building.





Aren't Corey and Kalei from over at HMS going to be starting something up with Anuenue soon? I think that might increase availability--I don't know about how common Moon Birds will be. They do seem to be enjoying more and more popularity lately. I'm wondering if it's a trend to stay, and we'll start seeing a lot more signatures around here with Moon Birds in them.

My only real hobby for the past several years has been ukulele collecting, and my wife and I are both financial secure and don't have kids, so we have slightly more money than sense. That turned a minor mid-life crisis (taking up the ukulele) into full blown UAS... It's strange, but every time I think I have found "the one", something else comes along. I know a lot of folks here can probably attest to that feeling... I am certainly not a good enough player to justify such a wonderful stable of instruments, but everyone needs a hobby!

I don't really keep any of mine strung low-G for long. Oh, I do string one up that way occasionally, but I always go back to reentrant tuning after a few weeks. My wife has a couple that she keeps low-G, so if I really want to play something that way, I can just borrow one for a bit.

Do I have a favorite? Not really. I have a handful that I play much more than the others, and if the house did catch fire, I would grab the really irreplaceable ones first: the Beansprout, the Pineapple Sunday, the Kamaka anniversary, and the KoAloha silver, probably in that order? If you told me I could only keep one, and the rest had to go, it would actually be the Blackbird Clara. She can go anywhere and do anything. Not my favorite, but my most versatile. Which one I play on any given day, and I do try to play at least a little each day, really depends on my mood and/or what music I am playing. They all have their own unique sound and feel.

I have not yet spent enough time with the Moonbird, but I suspect it is going to end up right near the top of my list of favorites. But as noted earlier in this thread, it is replaceable. I am hoping to spend some time comparing and contrasting the nicer end of the collection this summer.


And yes, Corey and Kalei have started Anuenue USA, who I think will act as a US distributor/retailer for Anuenue. Moonbirds might become more common, but I would welcome that. The more great instruments, the merrier!
 
we have slightly more money than sense.

Ha! This resonates.

It's strange, but every time I think I have found "the one", something else comes along. I know a lot of folks here can probably attest to that feeling... I am certainly not a good enough player to justify such a wonderful stable of instruments, but everyone needs a hobby!

As does this! My problem is the lack of time I have for each uke as the collection grows. Because of this, I'm trying to impose some limitations on myself. More recently, I've been trying to seek out more uncommon ukes. Not necessarily ultra high-end customs, just ukes less common or difficult to replace, like you mention with the Beansprout (an alto's definitely on my radar), and KoAloha silver (I've barely managed to keep that temptation at bay). I guess I'm trying to be pickier, to keep my collection manageable.
 
Congrats on your new Moonbird. I have a used one in mint condition and absolutely love it. I was not sure when I decided to spend that much money but I went with the reviews I saw and they were spot on. Love the design and the sound has such great harmonics, almost classical guitar like at times. It stays in tune well also. I cannot say enough about it and I am sure you will come to love it also. Mine came strung with Worth clears and I feel they real bring out the harmonics. Enjoy! I am thinking there must be something different in the bracing.
 
Congratulations!
Now, when you put it down (if you ever do) show us some pics!
 
If you are looking forBlackwater strings, I had to replace some on a Light Bird, and was able to get some from Southern Ukuelele store. Shipping to the US was pretty quick. I also got a set from an asian online store, but I can't remember who it was....
 
Well I just couldn't help myself and had to see what it was like with a high-G. I put on a set of Uke Logic soft tension strings last night. Once they had (mostly) settled in, I spent some time playing.

Oh. My. God! This thing sounds amazing! The balance, the volume, the sustain... just everything is so spot on. This may be the finest sounding uke we have in the house!

Now I admit, I may just be in the honeymoon phase but I am really impressed. I hope to spend some time doing some comparisons with some of my other favorites this weekend, but this one may have just shot to the top of my list.
 
Such a sweet instrument. Fit and finish are superb with awesome volume and great picking/ strumming tone. Love the neck as well. Congrats on a great forever uke!
 
Top Bottom