According to their website, these are each one of a kind. Mele has been occasionally offering these custom round backs for a few years. They have one listed currently, and just "price slashed" from $5999 to $5799! Mine was built in 2017 and is crazy beautiful quilted maple top with abalone trim and rosette (killer combination!) and deep, hand-carved, dark mahogany round-back body with an abalone strip. Sides have a rope like binding. The fretboard I believe is ebony with some color variations in bright sunlight, and offset mother of pearl fret markers. As you would expect with a round back instrument, this uke really projects! Very clean balanced voice. Ovation made round backed guitars/ukes famous, although round-backed fretted instruments have been popular since Medieval and Renaissance times (lutes, mandolins, charangos, etc). I've taken photos in full sunlight so you can see the mahogany grains running from the back around the sides, but it makes the wood look redder than it is so I put a pic in, taken in the shade (which actually looks a little darker). The sunlight pics have lots of reflections (not scratches). There are some tiny surface scratches on the back in the right reflection, and one ding that I believe was in the finished wood as it's got smooth finish in it (both show on the last sunlight shot). Top is very clean. If you like unusual looks in your ukuleles and sound, this is for you! Offered in nice fitting hardshell case (doesn't fit most tenor cases). I'm happy to answer all questions honestly or send higher res pics if you supply an email. $3000 PayPal F&F (or goods and services and you pay the fees) shipped to CONUS. Thanks for looking, Rick
From the Mele website:
One of our luthiers has decided to make a few round-backed ukuleles with a “bowl” back hand-carved from solid mahogany, and the result is an instrument that projects like crazy and has its own unique tonal signature. The solid koa top imparts a sweet airiness to the highs that balances the powerful mid-range “punch” provided by the parabolic nature of the body (this is the Koa top uke currently for sale, but I would say the description fits the sound of mine as well.
Because these are one-of-a-kind instruments, we’ve decided to make each one deluxe and special, with some really beautiful paua and wood hand inlay work and a thin but high-gloss finish of nitrocellulose lacquer, just like high-end handmade guitars going for $10K and up!
From the Mele website:
One of our luthiers has decided to make a few round-backed ukuleles with a “bowl” back hand-carved from solid mahogany, and the result is an instrument that projects like crazy and has its own unique tonal signature. The solid koa top imparts a sweet airiness to the highs that balances the powerful mid-range “punch” provided by the parabolic nature of the body (this is the Koa top uke currently for sale, but I would say the description fits the sound of mine as well.
Because these are one-of-a-kind instruments, we’ve decided to make each one deluxe and special, with some really beautiful paua and wood hand inlay work and a thin but high-gloss finish of nitrocellulose lacquer, just like high-end handmade guitars going for $10K and up!
Last edited:
GLWS!
