Who else owns a Maui Music uke?

I recently purchased a 14 year old Maui Music tenor from someone right here in UU. This Peter Lieberman build has some lovely koa and sounds as sweet and warm as it looks. I’m looking forward to some good long satisfying sessions with this instrument.
The hand made qualities, though subtle, are pleasing especially the neck profile which is ever so slightly asymmetrical being just a tad flatter on the G string side. I’m not sure how intentional that was but it certainly makes for a comfortable feel to the neck that I have not experienced in the same way with any of my other ukes.

If you also own Maui Music uke would you care to share a bit of its history and any qualities that seem unique to the build you own?

I have a Maui Music Super Concert that I purchased at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville a few years ago. It has a Cedar top and Koa back & sides, with a Florentine cutaway. It's ultra light and sounds amazing, with a very bright, punchy tone. When I saw it in the store that day, my heart skipped a beat, and it was love at first strum!

Steedy, that is beautiful!

Wow, great looking MM. Cedar top and koa back and sides is a terrific combo, no doubt it sounds rich and yet clear.

Thanks y'all. I'd love to see more Maui Music uke photos from those who have them.

i have an Xmas 1998 Maui Music that was built on Maui...i got to know Peter after i got this uke and enjoy his friendship with him after he moved to the East Coast when Peter lived on Maui his buddies were Eric DeVine and Steve Grimes ,he is one of the oldest uke companies around when he started Kamaka was the only one around no other K's yet

all Maui Music ukes have a radius ebony fretboard and mine has a nice vintage headstock..i put on some UPTL tuners which look nice,my Maui Music has been with me longer than most of the ukes i still own not letting it go..it has a thinner body than my other ukes but the tone is rich and deep with clear mids and highs i have a set of MB strings on it..TI LowG and C wound strings

Thanks Peter

hawaii 50 said:

i have an Xmas 1998 Maui Music that was built on Maui...i got to know Peter after i got this uke and enjoy his friendship with him after he moved to the East Coast when Peter lived on Maui his buddies were Eric DeVine and Steve Grimes ,he is one of the oldest uke companies around when he started Kamaka was the only one around no other K's yet

all Maui Music ukes have a radius ebony fretboard and mine has a nice vintage headstock..i put on some UPTL tuners which look nice,my Maui Music has been with me longer than most of the ukes i still own not letting it go..it has a thinner body than my other ukes but the tone is rich and deep with clear mids and highs i have a set of MB strings on it..TI LowG and C wound strings

Thanks Peter

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Hey Hawaii50, that MM must sound even more amazing now that the koa has aged for many years.

As far as timelines go, do you know when Peter switched from the open centre headstock and oval sound hole? Those features looked like creative signature design elements and I wonder why he changed them.

Did he continue to build ukes after he moved to the east coast? And did he then move back to Maui at some point?

I contacted Peter when I got my MM tenor to ask him about stringing the uke reentrant and he was quick to reply assuring me that either high g or low G would work fine on the instrument.

fretie said:

Hey Hawaii50, that MM must sound even more amazing now that the koa has aged for many years.

As far as timelines go, do you know when Peter switched from the open centre headstock and oval sound hole? Those features looked like creative signature design elements and I wonder why he changed them.

Did he continue to build ukes after he moved to the east coast? And did he then move back to Maui at some point?

I contacted Peter when I got my MM tenor to ask him about stringing the uke reentrant and he was quick to reply assuring me that either high g or low G would work fine on the instrument.

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Peter builds in New Jersey and Florida now not coming back to Maui as far as i know,on Maui he had builders working with him on the East Coast he builds like a crazy man all by himself....

he has been on the East coast building for a while now when i got ahold of him in 2012 he was already on the East coast...not sure when he moved

on the G string if you play LowG or High G up to you which one right for you? i play LowG so....

I have two, both up on eBay. There's a Concert Deluxe CK-45 made in 2006 and a SK Soprano from 2011. Both were lightly played by my late wife; I'm looking to get them to a good home. Both were confirmed by Peter as well.

FenwayFrank said:

I have two, both up on eBay. There's a Concert Deluxe CK-45 made in 2006 and a SK Soprano from 2011. Both were lightly played by my late wife; I'm looking to get them to a good home. Both were confirmed by Peter as well.

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Lovely instruments.

I have one! A 6-string tenor that I bought from Peter at the NY Uke Fest in 2012. He gave me a great deal on it because it had some finish checking. It has the open headstock, which I love, and just says MAU IC on the decal, because I'm an idiot and left a clip-on tuner on it for weeks at a time. Koa top and mahogany back/sides.

haole said:

I have one! A 6-string tenor that I bought from Peter at the NY Uke Fest in 2012. He gave me a great deal on it because it had some finish checking. It has the open headstock, which I love, and just says MAU IC on the decal, because I'm an idiot and left a clip-on tuner on it for weeks at a time. Koa top and mahogany back/sides.

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Looks great with the oval sound hole and deluxe trim. Do you know when or why he stopped creating the signature oval sound hole and open headstock?

fretie said:

I recently purchased a 14 year old Maui Music tenor from someone right here in UU. This Peter Lieberman build has some lovely koa and sounds as sweet and warm as it looks. I’m looking forward to some good long satisfying sessions with this instrument.
The hand made qualities, though subtle, are pleasing especially the neck profile which is ever so slightly asymmetrical being just a tad flatter on the G string side. I’m not sure how intentional that was but it certainly makes for a comfortable feel to the neck that I have not experienced in the same way with any of my other ukes.

If you also own Maui Music uke would you care to share a bit of its history and any qualities that seem unique to the build you own?

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I have a pre-fire Maui Music concert Koa that I've had for many years. Great instrument with wonderful tone and solid construction - no issues. I also bought a tenor Maui Music directly from Peter in 2019. This had a spruce top and cocobolo back and sides with abalone inlay all around. A real looker and nice tone. The day it was to ship to me, I talked to Peter on the phone and specifically asked what kind of humidifier he recommends. He was very emphatic that 'no humidification was necessary at all because he pre-dries all his wood.' His words. Ten days after delivery - although I did go ahead and use a conventional 'Oasis' ukulele humidifier - the spruce top developed a large crack from the bottom of the lower bout to the bridge. I discussed this with Peter and he immediately blamed me for having a 'low humidity environment'....and then he went dark on me. Again, this is the guy who insisted that his wood was dried and did not need humidification. Further, my hygrometer in the room where the uke was stored showed a reading of 50-55% RH through the entire period.

You can do the math yourself, but although he can make a nice uke, he burned me completely on a wood or build issue, and then he took off. So deal with Peter Lieberman at your own peril.

hawaii 50 said:

Peter builds in New Jersey and Florida now not coming back to Maui as far as i know,on Maui he had builders working with him on the East Coast he builds like a crazy man all by himself....

he has been on the East coast building for a while now when i got ahold of him in 2012 he was already on the East coast...not sure when he moved

on the G string if you play LowG or High G up to you which one right for you? i play LowG so....

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I miss you Len