For those that have wondered, “Are they really… Moore Bettah?” Ponder no longer my friend, the answer is yes. Evidence here shows 2 tenors made using advanced enlightenment normal luthiers certainly aren’t equipped with. I’m sorry.
Bearclaw Spruce and Milo sides and back. I love Milo! This ukulele…I could write a page about it, but I won’t.
Here, Corey Fujimoto gives us a sweet sample of the tones.
What more can I say? I respect this quality and I want to recognize one of the best luthiers EVER…Chuck Moore!WoW!
Ok, Rolland mentioned that I should have expanded on this spruce top model and what makes it so good. Yes, I should! I will run through some features and initial observations. First to catch the eye is a different sound port. Smaller and in the upper bout bass side. Reminds me of a sub woofer type design, and this instrument excels in low end. The side port helps balance the crisp clarity, especially to the player. Let’s face it, we play for self satisfaction.A side port caters to the user experience and seems to help maintain the openness of this sound hole design. Next I noticed a radius or arch to the top, or soundboard. This allows for a light tone bracing but with long term structural support. Also noteworthy, the comfort! In fact the feel doesn’t even come to mind, I could play this all day. Chuck’s binding and rosette’s stray from the 90 degree angle and circles usually seen. Chuck came with an artsier style and years of thought designed this overall voice. If structural design is the voice then woods are the microphone. They will color.
Nothing human is machine perfect, and I don’t know anyone that can do no wrong. But Chuck is among the top few custom ukulele makers. You can argue your favorite but he’s in there, without a doubt.It’s a little sad to be at the end of this post. I think we bonded, me and the Milo…I wonder if it’s thinking about me too? & Most importantly, to my great friend Stan a Huge Mahalo!
One additional thought; The way to enjoy life is to love the one you got. Longing is not living. A Moore Bettah is a special instrument, but music is in you, so have fun. Aloha!
Comments 14
Andrew…
nice…Stan said you can hold on to the MB for 2 years…Haha…
Corey you can play with the best of them…
nice stuff…Len
Author
holy crap I just cracked up so hard. Trouble maker you
Andrew – You said you could write a whole page just about the more spruce of these two Ukes, that you bonded so well with: I sure hope when you have a moment you will do exactly that. I feel that when an instrument of such superb quality comes along that knowing as much as possible about the luthier techniques unique to it; the woods, the bracing, the finish, the strings, gears, fret board etc. etc. — all this — is information that, even though we may never be able to own or play this instrument, will help inform and educate us towards being able to find our own special bond. This is what you do so well and thanks many times over for doing it here on this blog and elsewhere. Special regards to Moore. What an achievement this Bear Claw Spruce is! Rm
Author
Hey Rolland. I posted more on the instrument at the blog. Appreciate the feedback.
Hey Andrew,
Thanks so much for posting these….They are truly incredible instruments. It is truly magic when beauty, function, and incredible sound, all meet together to merge into a wondrous new creation….
Andrew: Thanks for special addition. Your insights, as a luthier yourself, are esp. noteworthy. In a truly “duh” moment after writing you, I realized that one could easily Google Moore Bettah and go to Chuck’s web site. He has done an excellent job of it as I’m sure you know, and is quite forthcoming with his own personal view on what he is doing and achieving.
I truly appreciate your last comment. Making music is truly the focus and always comes as the expression of one’s inner being. If one resides in that center, longing can be a helpful part of life that informs one’s music and pushes it forward.
Sounds like a self-help book! I’m going to shut up and spend time with my lovely Kanilea Super Concert. Rm
Everything Andrew says is an understatement. His work is the best of the best. Notice the fretboard on the bear claw the wood is Macadamia nut ,he is one the few , the only luther i’ve seen using it . I had the good fortune a couple years ago of having one made by him and have never looked back. the only one doing possibly better ? inlay would be Arron Oya ,maybe Andrew could do a column on him. But as a luther Chuck is second to none, an interesting guy too.
Author
Hey George. Understatement? You know! That’s why I said it was pointless to talk about!
I knew it would be an understatement!
But you can send me yours to treat it to a vacation in Hawaii 😀 I hear MB’s like to come back every few years. Just sayin’, think about it…
Andrew
Thanks for the awesome review. I’ve been fortunate to play the Spruce / Milo uke and you are spot on in your assessment. I hope you own one as you’ve done so much to promote the ukulele!!
Author
Thanks so much Daniel. I haven’t done as much for the ukulele as it has done for me. I remember hearing you play your MB and being super impressed. It’s a special thing to own. Thanks for stopping by.
Great ukes, great playing! Do you have tab or music for the song you played on the spruce/milo Mo Bettah! ?
Author
Thanks ukulu, I asked Corey and he said, “that’s an original idea I was fooling around with”. I gotta get him into some tab software though because it takes so long to do manually. Hopefully we’ll get hip to that soon. aloha
Magnificent song played by Corey on the spruce/milo MB… does he has a title for it ?
I’ve put it on my “tab to do” list… if I can find some time before Christmas and a tab doesn’t popup before I start, I’ll do it. The notes are the easy part… it’s the rhythm that’s usually a nightmare to transcribe. Aloha.
I was fortunate and lucky to get a Milo/Spruce from Chuck a few weeks ago and am very pleased to own it. I consider his work to rival the stradivarius instrument in the violin world. Well at least somewhat. The instrument lives up to all the accolades and it gets better the more you play it. I was reluctant to tell my friends I bought a MBU for fear they think I was crazy for spending so much. But you only live once and I know his works will only increase in value.