Spruce vs Mahogany (first "real" uke)

Hello ladies and gents,

I come to you for advice. I've decided on a concert size uke for christmas. Though I do like the versatility to play guitar-y songs on the tenor, the concert size feels more comfortable to me, and I feel I can still get away with guitar songs. I'm upgrading from the $30 soprano I bought on an impulse because I'm really enjoying this instrument.

My big problem right now is deciding between spruce and mahogany. I find spruce to look gorgeous, and its a little different than the typical mahogany look (as gorgeous as that is as well). My concern is the sound difference. One person will say Spruce has more attack and punch, then another says its warmer than mahogany, then a third says its brighter/crisper/more sustain and less mellow than mahogany. They all seem contradictory to me (I thought warm and mellow were the same, for example). And sound samples on youtube prove unhelpful cause there are either differences in the recording quality or the song played. Can anyone provide a little more clarification on this difference?

The three ukes I'm deciding between are a Kala KA-SCG Spruce from HMS (about $150) and these two from Mainland, thanks to redditor recommendations, either their classic concert mahogany ($220) or classic Spruce ($250).

If I go with Mahogany my decision is easier, but for Spruce I need to decide if the Mainland is really $100/66% better than the Kala. My original budget was supposed to be under $200 but if the Mainland is THAT much better I'm ok spending it. Would love any and all input! Trying to decide by tonight to get the order in by Monday morning, HMS says thats the latest guaranteed "by Christmas" day.


Thanks in advance!

"...brighter/crisper/more sustain and less mellow than mahogany."

I would agree with this but it also matters what strings you use on each. You can tame the spruce somewhat or add brightness to mahogany as well.

I'd look twice at the Mainland and also consider their slothead hog concert. I've had Mainlands and will again.

I would advise playing and listening to the difference between the two tops if at all possible. I just purchased a guitar and thought I liked spruce tops better, but I kept playing the model I was looking at in the two different woods and went with mahogany this time. It carried more low end and warmth and just had the sound that felt right to my ears.

gyosh said:

I would advise playing and listening to the difference between the two tops if at all possible. I just purchased a guitar and thought I liked spruce tops better, but I kept playing the model I was looking at in the two different woods and went with mahogany this time. It carried more low end and warmth and just had the sound that felt right to my ears.

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Unfortunately my local shop had only a few ukes, almost all very low end, and definitely no variety among woods.

I'd say get this model as a compromise and I doubt you'll ever regret it. http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaZ55da_cNQ

Get'em from Mainland, Uke Republic, or ????

Art.Vandelay said:

One person will say Spruce has more attack and punch, then another says its warmer than mahogany, then a third says its brighter/crisper/more sustain and less mellow than mahogany.

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I would definitely disagree with whoever said spruce is warmer than mahogany.

If you want a more traditional uke sound, I'd say go with mahogany.

Spruce is very popular for classical guitars and some would say it sounds more guitarish on a uke than does mahogany.

And just to confuse you even more, if you're looking for something inbetween the two, you might consider cedar.

But any of the three you mentioned is going to be a huge improvement over your $30 starter uke.

itsme said:

I would definitely disagree with whoever said spruce is warmer than mahogany.

If you want a more traditional uke sound, I'd say go with mahogany.

Spruce is very popular for classical guitars and some would say it sounds more guitarish on a uke than does mahogany.

And just to confuse you even more, if you're looking for something inbetween the two, you might consider cedar.

But any of the three you mentioned is going to be a huge improvement over your $30 starter uke.

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Oh boy, both you and the above poster throwing another wrench in it! haha. One thing I noticed I'm missing (granted its a $30 soprano) is that I feel like I strum a chord and then its gone. Idk if I'm describing it right, but it almost feels like I have to constantly strum or else theres dead noise. No resonance/sustain maybe is the correct term? Anyway, I'd like a uke with more of that! Idk if spruce or mahogany is better that way. I do like the classic uke sound (one of the other reasons im going concert and not tenor) but I do like to be able to play guitar songs without it sounding silly. Lets face it, theres a lot more of those than uke songs!

I got a solid spruce top as my first "proper" ukulele. I love the sound of the spruce. The strings seem to make a difference as well as how one strums. Mine has the Aquila Nylguts. It sounds best with strumming mostly with the pads of my fingers for a "softer" sound. It fingerpicks well and the sound is very clean with a lot of sustain. Mine has laminate sides, but that makes it a good travel ukulele. HMS did a great setup.

Laura's comment about how you strum makes sense to me, as when I strum with fingers or nail on my solid spruce top tenor the sound gets crazy-bright ( which can be just right, sometimes). But it's also a smaller-bodied tenor, so that could be a factor. And if you want sustain, then spruce seems to be a better bet.

Art, why are you buying a uke when you could just import/export one?

Art.Vandelay said:

One thing I noticed I'm missing (granted its a $30 soprano) is that I feel like I strum a chord and then its gone.

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It's a cheap $30 uke... what do you expect? For that price, you're lucky if it stays in tune and is playable.

itsme said:

It's a cheap $30 uke... what do you expect? For that price, you're lucky if it stays in tune and is playable.

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Yeah I know. What I meant was, Idk if that happens more often with mahogany, because people say spruce has more sustain. Obviously I know either way my next one will be a major improvement and I'm quite stoked about it!

DaveY said:

Laura's comment about how you strum makes sense to me, as when I strum with fingers or nail on my solid spruce top tenor the sound gets crazy-bright ( which can be just right, sometimes). But it's also a smaller-bodied tenor, so that could be a factor. And if you want sustain, then spruce seems to be a better bet.

Art, why are you buying a uke when you could just import/export one?

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I kind of strum with the side of my index finger on my downstrums, and mostly the pad of it on ups.

I think I'm leaning spruce. I'm sure whatever I get I'll really like it especially coming from this cheap one.

Hahaha, I'm actually working for my architecture job right now

If you'll mainly be strumming go with mahogany.
Also check out Ohana, their solid mahogany is very similar as the Mainland except for the binding and tuners.

Paul December said:

If you'll mainly be strumming go with mahogany.
Also check out Ohana, their solid mahogany is very similar as the Mainland except for the binding and tuners.

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Id say I do mostly strumming but thats cause I'm new. I can pick the stairway to heaven intro and kind of the whole song of Hallelujah. I'd definitely love to work in more picking into my playing.

Art.Vandelay said:

Id say I do mostly strumming but thats cause I'm new. I can pick the stairway to heaven intro and kind of the whole song of Hallelujah. I'd definitely love to work in more picking into my playing.

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Mahogany is also fine for picking, but IMO spruce is not good for mainly strumming, especially on a concert or soprano.

Paul December said:

Mahogany is also fine for picking, but IMO spruce is not good for mainly strumming, especially on a concert or soprano.

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Gotcha. Yeah see its very confusing for me haha. Lot of opinions, all seemingly conflicting.

Art.Vandelay said:

Gotcha. Yeah see its very confusing for me haha. Lot of opinions, all seemingly conflicting.

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I don't know about the info you got elsewhere, but it's pretty much in agreement here:
Spruce - brighter & more sustain
Mahogany - warmer
Of course there are exceptions from this, but not the ones you listed, and not generally at your price range.

I think I'm leaning Mahogany then. I do want the warm sound. I want sustain too, but like I said, coming from a cheapo soprano I'm sure I'll love the Mahogany sustain on a concert. I do want to learn more picking songs but I definitely strum mostly.

I'd say it also depends on what type of music you like to play in general. I like the old standards and a warmer sound. For that I'd go mahogany, low-g. I just restrung my cedar Kala concert with low-g Worth Browns for that reason. It's very warm and resonant.

If you're mostly strumming with a group my selection would tend toward the spruce because of the punch and the brightess. Hence my Kala long-neck spruce top soprano.

Yep, lots of opinions.

ukemunga said:

I'd say it also depends on what type of music you like to play in general. I like the old standards and a warmer sound. For that I'd go mahogany, low-g. I just restrung my cedar Kala concert with low-g Worth Browns for that reason. It's very warm and resonant.

If you're mostly strumming with a group my selection would tend toward the spruce because of the punch and the brightess. Hence my Kala long-neck spruce top soprano.

Yep, lots of opinions.

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Have no current plans to jam with anyone so that won't be a consideration for me. Appreciate your knowledge nonetheless. I just want a nice sounds that can be finger picked nicely, have some resonance/sustain, have enough uke sound but with the ability to play some guitar songs.