Mya-Moe questions - owners please chime in

Eyeguy

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Ok, so I'm pondering a nice tenor uke that has the combination of a radiused fingerboard and a 1.5 nut width. Mya-Moe fits the bill without having to order a super high dollar custom uke. Cool!

Questions:

1. Reading their history taken from their website, it appears they have not been at the uke building thing for very long. Despite what appears to be a mostly universal favorable reputation, has anyone encountered any problems with fit, finish, playability, or tone. Not asking for bashing here, just honest critiques. If there are no issues, all the better.

2. Regarding the hand rubbed oil finishes - do they hold up well or are they subject to a greater than normal amount of wear and tear. The cost of the gloss upgrade is fairly steep, but has anyone opted for that as a hedge against surface wear and tear or is the standard finish not an issue.

3. Kind of a sidebar question, but how does the mango wood sound compared to the other tone wood choices. I read their tone wood descriptions but was just curious to hear from mango owners.

Many thanks
 
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Mya-Moe ukuleles are high quality, professional level instruments, well made, great sounding, and easy playing. I personally don't see any benefit in getting the "gloss polyester" finish upgrade but maybe others do. I prefer the hand rubbed oil finish. One can always apply more oil as the finish ages, if need be. I'm not into mango so I can't comment on your mango tone question. Hope this helps.
 
Eyeguy,
I my opinion you can't go wrong with a Mya Moe uke. Gordon and Char will work with you from start to finish plus you can watch your uke being built as it goes through the phases of construction. I have a classic Mytle Wood tenor. Laying a gloss finish looks nice but can hinder the sound, that's why Gordon and Char prefer a satin oil finish. My Mya Moe is the only ukulele I have that has never had to have any work done to it (setup final action adjustments etc.) Coming from the shop it played flawlessly. On the Mya Moe website, you can listen to different wood type soundings, there is also a ton of information about the woods they use.
Hope this helps you....
 
Not sure about tenor and concert mangos...as they may sound different...but I am sure the MM mango soprano sounds awesome...just ask eugene ukulele, that is his favorite ukulele...I think. ha ha and he has had so many
Mya Moes...I bought one of his Koa MM soprano and it also sounds great..
 
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I've got one their mango super sopranos, had it since 1/11. Gordon and Char have incredible customer support and communication. They go far beyond what one would expect to achieve customer satisfaction. I m very pleased with my MM uke.

The oil finish looks as great or better than the day I got it. I definitely would recommend MM and the mango sounds good on a soprano body.

Check out their site and sound samples for wood/ tone comparisons.
 
I was fortunate enough to be offered #461, Blue Pond Myrtle Tenor, from a member whose number came up for a Moore Bettah build. I was primarily looking for a radiused neck and this sure fit the bill. I wrote Gordon; he put my name down as the owner and gave me his thoughts on the uniqueness of the wood. BPM is not available anymore as he only had enough to make 13 ukes.

I was surprized by how light it feels yet how loud it played. The tone is incredible and as Reno said; this is the only uke I haven't had to do some work on and see no reason to do any. I feel blessed everytime I play it.

It took a little time to get used to the smaller size of body but the neck is incredible.
 
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Working with Char and Gordon is really a pleasure. Their instruments are first rate! I got the gloss finish, and love it as much as my Kanile'a gloss finish. That finish feels smooth to the touch, which I love, and seams to be very protective against strum scratches and random contacts with buttons, buckles and other possibly ding creating events. If you got a big ding that actually broke the surface, it might be harder to repair, but so far I have been loving it and I have had them for awhile. The wood grain is especially beautiful under the gloss IMO. My Mya-Moe has perfect intonation, and the shape of the neck is excellent, with every detail (even to the finish change on the side neck markers to the fretboard) carefully and skillfully crafted. I have rope binding on my myrtle resonator, and it is gorgeous. A true work of art in every way. I believe after several months of playing it, it's tone "opened up", so it is one that just gets better and beter with time.

–Lori
 
I am the very proud owner of a Mya Moe mango concert with the hand rubbed oil finish. I absolutely LOVE my Mya Moe. It is flawless and plays beautifully. Mango is Char's favorite wood and I now know why. It has the perfect balance between warmth and brightness. Working with Char was a fantastic experience. She is patient, kind, warm, funny, and an absolute delight. She doesn't hesitate to make helpful suggestions. Watching my uke being built on their uke tracker was really cool. Here's the link to my #697. Good luck with your decision.
http://www.myamoeukuleles.com/uketracker.php?trackingNumber=697&submit=Track697Shoulder.jpg697Full.jpg
 
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Quite a nice round of positive feedback - sounds like a quality outfit all the way around. I am going to look into possibly ordering one - looks like completion date would be towards the end of the year, but that might give me ample time to actually learn to play the thing. :)
 
I have an early Mya-Moe Classic (#96) and bought it after comparing it to several ukuleles (low end - high end) at the Denver Uke Fest. It is likely to be one of the few ukuleles that was NOT built to order (Gordon and Char asked a shop who did not sell it to return it because they could probably do a better job selling it then the shop...). It has a nice gloss finish (again, I didn't order it this way, it came this way) - the gloss is nice. I'm not entirely sure I would have asked for it - but it was what was available. It plays great and I would recommend the instrument. I am personally not a fan on mango - but I think this is more of an individual preference issue - you may like mango...

I wouldn't be concerned about the length of Mya-Moe's tenure of building ukuleles in regards to its perceived quality. In a relatively short period of time they have built a large number of ukuleles - which may have a greater impact on quality then length of time. Regardless of either aspect (time and number of builds) - the company spent a relatively extensive amount of time in research and development before coming to market and builds high quality ukuleles.

Ok, so I'm pondering a nice tenor uke that has the combination of a radiused fingerboard and a 1.5 nut width. Mya-Moe fits the bill without having to order a super high dollar custom uke. Cool!

Questions:

1. Reading their history taken from their website, it appears they have not been at the uke building thing for very long. Despite what appears to be a mostly universal favorable reputation, has anyone encountered any problems with fit, finish, playability, or tone. Not asking for bashing here, just honest critiques. If there are no issues, all the better.

2. Regarding the hand rubbed oil finishes - do they hold up well or are they subject to a greater than normal amount of wear and tear. The cost of the gloss upgrade is fairly steep, but has anyone opted for that as a hedge against surface wear and tear or is the standard finish not an issue.

3. Kind of a sidebar question, but how does the mango wood sound compared to the other tone wood choices. I read their tone wood descriptions but was just curious to hear from mango owners.

Many thanks
 
I have a mango soprano, a mango concert and a myrtle tenor and they are all flawless. I opted for the hand rubbed oil finish and am very pleased with it. As others have said, Mya-Moe is a first class operation and Char and Gordon are a delight to work with.

Mitch
 
I can't say enough good about my Mya-Moe.
Char & Gordon and now Aaron are all first class folks with a love of the ukulele.
Their love is in every instrument they build. I bought my Tenor Resonator (#292) a few years back and enjoyed it so much I order a Tenor 6 string (#615).
It was a long wait, but well worth it. Both mine are hand rubbed oil, my preference on an instrument. Every once in awhile a little lemon oil and it looks like new.
 
I have a mango soprano and a walnut concert reso. They are outstanding instruments. The soprano is my favourite uke ever and the mango is a wonderful tonewood...sweet, in the mid range but nice and clean and crisp at the treble end with plenty of warmth underneath. You just can't go wrong with those folks, they'll take care of you.
 
After playing several customs from different builders (James Hill's G string, a custom Kamaka, a custom Kanil'ea, and a few others) my Mya-Moe is the best instrument I've ever played. Buy one now!
 
Dangit...knockitoff...you folks are making me really want a Mya Moe concert resonator... LOL
 
I just got a Mya-Moe myrtle tenor trandition (#635) and while I still play my Kamaka tenor quite a bit, there's something about the way a Mya-Moe is built (the weight? the balanace? the radiused fretboard?) that makes it a joy to play. Mine, which is oiled, not glossed, seems solidly constructed and I couldn't find any flaws. And, as everyone has said, Gordon and Char are a pleasure to work with. (I haven't dealt with Aaron, but I've met him and he seems really nice too.)
 
I just e-mailed Aaron with a few questions yesterday. I told him I was in the looooong-term hunt for my next ukulele, and that it would be ages before I'd have the cash to afford one. Aaron sent me a reply within a few hours, and Gordon sent another shortly after. Each had really useful, and very different, information.

Aside from everything else, they seem to have a really good sense of professionalism. Not in an overly slick, corporate way. Just in a smile and a handshake kind of way. You feel instantly welcome and taken care of.

I can't help but think that the same attitude makes its way into the instruments.
 
I just e-mailed Aaron with a few questions yesterday. I told him I was in the looooong-term hunt for my next ukulele, and that it would be ages before I'd have the cash to afford one. Aaron sent me a reply within a few hours, and Gordon sent another shortly after. Each had really useful, and very different, information.

Aside from everything else, they seem to have a really good sense of professionalism. Not in an overly slick, corporate way. Just in a smile and a handshake kind of way. You feel instantly welcome and taken care of.

I can't help but think that the same attitude makes its way into the instruments.

Last thing I did before clicking over here was to email Aaron just a few minutes ago! Mya-Moe has made the short list of finalists for my 17-fret soprano, based on the one I've played briefly (thanks Lori!), the AMAZING tone of the one in Aaron's bluegrass vids, and the positive stories I've heard here.

At the moment my head is filled with visions of a simple, beautiful common koa Tradition model super soprano.
 
Last thing I did before clicking over here was to email Aaron just a few minutes ago! Mya-Moe has made the short list of finalists for my 17-fret soprano, based on the one I've played briefly (thanks Lori!), the AMAZING tone of the one in Aaron's bluegrass vids, and the positive stories I've heard here.

At the moment my head is filled with visions of a simple, beautiful common koa Tradition model super soprano.

Mya-Moe will make a soprano for you with 17 frets? Cool!
 
Mya-Moe will make a soprano for you with 17 frets? Cool!

Gordon said he *thinks* they can do it... but he also explained to me that there are two concert scales, a smaller and a larger one, and that they use the smaller one. While I still am a little concerned that it will be hard for my little hands to manage, I'm leaning toward going for a super soprano, for the 14-fret join and 19 frets total.

I know nothing, absolutely nothing about all this stuff - scale length and so forth - and it's been amazing how patient and helpful the M-M folks have been in the few emails we have exchanged so far :)
 
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