Future owner: What I love about Mya-Moe and why I’m buying a ukulele
January 27, 2012
I’m a guitar player. I started playing when I was 13 years old and I’ll be 49 in October. I own a beautiful Huss & Dalton DS Custom – a slope shouldered dreadnaught with a vintage sunburst over an adirondack top and mahogany back and sides. I also play a Fender Telecaster American Special electric guitar – Olympic White with black pickguard. I love these instruments but lately I’ve been playing my wife’s little Pono Koa Soprano ukulele. I’m playing a very wide range of music from children’s songs, pop, rock, jazz, and classical on this little four-stringer.
Last month I went to my first ukulele club meeting in Kansas City. My friend’s 13-year old daughter, Emily, had been attending the club meetings regularly and I asked if I could come along. It was the first time that I played music outside of my home and with other people. It was a revelation. I met ukulele people.
Ukulele people seem to be a different breed of musicians. They’re in it for the fun. In the middle of that first ukulele club meeting, about 25 of the 45 people in the group pulled out a kazoo in the middle of a song and I turned to Emily and said, “What’s happening?” Emily said, “It’s a kazoo club too.”
Oh man, Weird Al would be proud of me. I am not too cool for ukulele. Think I found my niche. Now I just need my own instrument.
Collings? Kamaka? Koolau? I always believed in buying the best quality I can afford so that it lasts a lifetime. Collings is so famous for tone, fit, and finish and Kamaka has that long history of excellence. I’m not ruling them out for the future but I just ordered a Mya-Moe Tenor Classic. I’ve never played a Mya-Moe. I don’t personally know anyone who owns one. And they’re not sold in music stores. I broke rule one of instrument buying which is to make sure you play the instrument first. And on top of all that I have to wait seven months for my instrument!
So what convinced me to make this choice? Love and internet research.
Let me start with internet research – mainly on You Tube and Mya-Moe’s website. People are doing a lot of online research before they make major purchases and Mya-Moe obviously knows this because they have covered all the internet research bases including:
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Showing the build process – every step is detailed in informative videos
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Clearly stating Mya-Moe values – playabilty, tone, and customer experience – this is their brand promise and nowhere does it mention how beautiful and glorious their instruments look
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Information on wood selection, instrument sound samples, and videos
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Really easy ordering – they have a limited menu, like In ‘N Out Burger, and that’s really helpful – although the wood combinations can make you delirious
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Customer testimonials – through facebook and twitter
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Owner videos – real people playing their mya-moe instrument
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Artist videos – Eddie Vedder, Dave Matthews, and awesome musicians I never heard of like Victoria Vox and Lisa Hannigan
It’s all on their website (myamoeukuleles.com) but that’s the expected information. Here’s some new and unexpected innovations:
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Uke tracker – let’s you see your instrument being built every step of the way. My car was fixed in a body shop in Seattle and they had a similar offering. I thought it was great because it really builds positive anticipation.
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Stringing calendar – this makes the mya-moe website “sticky” (encouraging frequent return visits) because they show five new finished instruments (usually two or three masterpieces in the bunch) over each week.
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Personal accountability – You know that Gordon and Char Mayer and Aaron Keim are building your instrument personally and part of the experience is communicating with them and feeling part of the process.
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Weekly informational video – this is a new feature Gordon modeled after Victoria Vox’s 52-weeks of new song videos. This brings an incredible transparency to the business and inspires trust about how they operate.
Okay, these are all the tools you need to make a rational decision. What about love?
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I love that this is Gordon and Char’s second career and that they seem to be doing this for great personal satisfaction – of bringing joy to their customers, rather than for profit. Isn’t everything worthwhile a labor of love?
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I love that Char had no woodworking experience and had the courage to try something new and then became great at it. And that Gordon gave her the opportunity. This is how we could make our whole country better.
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I love the community that has formed around this company and all the appreciation going around
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I love the Mya-Moe headstock! They are all different yet they belong to the same family – just like us owners (me in July). This should win a design award. The concept is so brilliant.
So I’m not just buying an instrument. I’m buying Mya-Moe’s whole deal. Every company should be this good. If you think I’m happy now, just wait until I get my Mya-Moe Tenor Classic.