Outdoor soprano volume va Flea

Ctmpwrdcamry

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Outdoor soprano volume vs Flea

A little backstory, my wife and I have two small children and I like to play at night. However I am told that my flea is very loud. I have tried to find ways to mute it however I find that my cords are not as clean when I take the mute off because the mute muffles my errors So I’ve been looking for a quieter ukulele to play at home.

Today I got to play around with an outdoor ukulele soprano. First thing I noticed was it was much quieter to my ear. Is this true or is it just all in my head to help justify another uke? The new blue color is very nice and would be great to toss in the car. It is also almost 1/3 the cost of a Risa stick.

Thanks Sean

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It is a ukulele that is less loud than wood ukuleles; I brought my tenor to a ukulele event in late 2016 and decided that I would not do that again...I couldn’t hear myself play with 150 other ukuleles. On my own, it is plenty loud.

I’m also working towards a classroom set of Outdoor Ukuleles, and the slightly less loud nature is appealing, too. Having fifty ukuleles being played in a classroom is not intolerable—but even a slight reduction in volume would be welcome, too.

I am running Sugar strings on my Tenor now, and I do think the instrument is louder than it was with the original Rye Rabbits or the Martin 620 strings I had on it before. And they do say the Carbon Fiber blend version is 15% louder.

All of that is to say that I don’t think your assessment is that far off.

Chris
 
I'm at a conference this weekend and was playing my Outdoor Ukulele tenor tonight in the hotel room (Holiday Inn Express). Just saw one of the other participants, who happens to be in the room next to me, and she said she heard nothing. The rooms aren't totally soundproof, either, as I can hear doors opening, water running etc.
 
You could slack the strings on your Flea and gently stuff the inside with crumpled up newspaper, but start with the long and full-length strips and not small pieces folded into a ball, otherwise it will be difficult to remove later on. Tighter packing of the paper inside will increase the reduction in volume.

Plastic bags from the grocery store can work too, but if packed too loose you will get an annoying buzzing sound when they plastic vibrates.

Doing so will impede the movement of air inside the instrument as the strings torque the bridge and cause the soundboard to pump the air. This is using physics to your advantage. No airflow = no or little sound projected out.

If that is still not quiet enough, you can get some low-tack blue painters tape (which should leave no residue when removed and not harm the finish), wider is better, and use a few strips of tape to completely cover the soundhole. If/when it falls off, just re-apply from the $4 roll you set aside near your Flea for safe-keeping. You will have at least 30-60 yards of tape to play with.

This also will impede the air and projection of the sound by restricting movement of the top similar to a closed or 'unported' sealed speaker cabinet. If air cannot move out the soundhole, then the soundboard cannot move as much when torqued by the bridge via string vibration.

I have done both, each separately and also combined when I needed to quiet my Flea, and it definitely made it much quieter, and the nice thing is that these methods are inexpensive as well as fully reversible, while you still get to play on you your Flea.

However, this may not be completely silent, and you should still be able to hear yourself well enough and if your technique is on-target or not.
 
I have read it mentioned that the Enya HPL round body is a very, very quiet ukulele. Quite possibly more so than the OU. Just another thought.
 
Chris and Laura - thank you! that is helpful. Even my cheap starter soprano was loud in hotels.

Booli those are some good ideas. The stuffing sounds more involved and harder to “return to normal” however I am thinking I’ll try with a dedicated uke. Still MUCH cheaper than a Risa Stick.

Bsfloyd - that was actually on the list before I played with the Outdoor Ukulele. The price is about the same currently so I think, and please let me know if I am overlooking something, that the Outdoor Ukulele has more benefits for the cost(durability and temperature stability beingbthe big ones). If the Enya was around 60, or the early offered 18, I would have ordered one already.
 
Agree that the OU is perfect for hotels. It's also perfect for travel in that it's rather indestructible. It is definitely less-loud, which as others have mentioned, certainly can have its blessings.
I have not played an Enya but if the weight is like other HPL's, it'll be too heavy (OU is fairly light).
 
The Enya EUR-X1 “camp” ukulele is not a heavy instrument and has one other benefit...you can take off the neck as you travel. I haven’t done this, but Barry Maz (gotaukulele.com) has. I think, however, that he is now traveling with a Sopranino by Andy Miles (according to his last review).

For a traveling ukulele, depending on the environment, you may also want to consider a Kala Travel Soprano (Mim has some that were custom made for her), or look at some Sopranino or Sopranissimo models. And don’t forget about the Romero Creations XS Soprano Model.
 
If the newspaper idea is unloved, I just thought of another alternative to reducing the air volume that can drive the top that is less involved -

You could inflate a ballon inside the Flea, and make sure to position it such that the widest part is touching the underside of the bridge, but dont make it too tight - if you over-inflate you can apply too much pressure to the soundboard and cause it to pop off, much like an air-jack used by Fire & EMS to lift a car off a person in an accident (yes I watched too many episodes of 'Chicago Fire').

Then you can tape over the sound hole. The balloon will both reduce the resonant air chamber (as it cannot pump as much air via the sound hole), as well as inhibit movement of both the bridge and the soundboard.

Eventually the balloon will lose air and get soft, but it is easy to replace, and also easy to install without slacking or removing the strings.
 
Choirguy - that is a nice feature. If I got to travel more that would be on my list. Right now my job does not allow much travel but I will keep that in mind for the future. Still a good excuse to get one if the price is right.

Booli - thats a good idea. I'll have to give that a try. Tomorrow night a friend is coming over to play, after that I may try the balloon trick.
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I also went ahead and ordered an Outdoor Ukulele. Going to try just taping it up first, then the balloon/paper trick if needed. Excited to have something to keep in the car and take to the beach in the summer. Also the park while the kids play on the playground.
 
Thought I should update this thread. I received my blue outdoor soprano. I played for a day before taping the sound hole. That helped but still could be heard through the House. I then filled it with news paper and taped the sound hole. This was quieter but still could be heard while I was playing outside during naps. I really am enjoying the outdoor ukulele but just posted a wtb thread for a Risa Stick.
 
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