Customizing my Mainland Gecko

Tack said:
Hmm fascinating Project... THANKS for letting us see it develop.

Before you get TOO carried away with 'painting' this beauty - this might be an opportune time to review the effect that colour may have on the tone of your instrument....(It always surprises me that I don't see this discussed more often ...)

Wave propagation theory and harmonic resonance can be your friend :D I have a mate in the physics department at the Australian National University that has done some research on this - I am PMing you his email....

Really interested to see what you come up with!
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Purple is sort of in the red phase of the color spectrum, so I would guess it might make the tone a little brighter than something more bluish. But I'm no engineer, so I can't say for sure. It can't have more than a minimal effect, I wouldn't think. I wonder what the impact would be by putting a coat of shellac over the top?
 
I love DIY projects! This one is sure to be interesting. What other modifications have you been considering? The possibilities are endless....
 
Tack said:
Hmm fascinating Project... THANKS for letting us see it develop.
... snip Wave propagation theory and harmonic resonance can be your friend ...
Click to expand...

Oh! Now you are talking. Spectrophotometry! The effect of color on transmittance and absorbances is interesting.

What color are you thinking? Purple? I have a yellow gecko ... Eller .. what color do you have. We may have to do some experimenting.
 
Instead of trying to choose one color how about using Chameleon paint that changes colors based on the angle that it is viewed from: http://www.kustomrides.com/chameleon.html

Instead of just applying shellac to the soundboard, how about doing 'french polish'? Definitely more work but a beautiful finish.
 
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Susie A said:
Oh! Now you are talking. Spectrophotometry! The effect of color on transmittance and absorbances is interesting.

What color are you thinking? Purple? I have a yellow gecko ... Eller .. what color do you have. We may have to do some experimenting.
Click to expand...

Does Spectrophotometry explain the Beatles White album? and why red cars sound faster?
 
Pueo said:
Those are good questions! I am glad to hear you are having no issues with your Gecko, that gives me more confidence that I will still have a viable ukulele when I am finished with it.
My main intention was to just re-paint it, but now I am thinking I might want to do more to personalize it.
I chose the Gecko specifically for the plastic body and wood top, kind of like a Fluke/Flea, but much less expensive, so that I would have a durable ukulele to play out by the pool that I would not have to worry about. Now that I think about it though, this could become my traveling ukulele. Perhaps with some enhanced setup and TLC it could become quite a player.
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are you going to install a pick up? So it isn't a matter of the value of the uke vs. your time?
 
Mandarb said:
I read somewhere that 2mm is the optimal soundboard thickness for a plastic ukulele. Have you measured yours? Do you know what the thickness will be when you re-paint? You might need to do some additional sanding - make sure to wear the proper PPE (personal protection equipment). Good luck.
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Excellent point. I believe that Tudorp can tell you about the need for proper PPE.
 
Within the last couple of days I was reading something about saddle material. Apparently the denser the better. Bone is good but can also have some areas where it is quite as dense so sound can be off. Ivory of course but hard to obtain. Naturally plastics and Nubone were mentioned. Also made mention of Corian as a possibility.

But what really struck me was the author hypothesized that tempered glass might be the best. I'm not sure how you would go about adjusting for intonation but how about a possibility of a real different sound. I wonder how one goes about polishing glass edges so they round and not cut the strings?

You need a tempered glass saddle!
 
Forget the tempered glass saddle idea.

Apparently any rounding or modification of the glass has to be done before the tempering.

How about something really unique. Like getting a piece of Corian and carving the ends into like a scroll pattern. OR - OR maybe having long ends that curl so like it would be this huge handle bar mustache.
 
MoreUke said:
Forget the tempered glass saddle idea.

Apparently any rounding or modification of the glass has to be done before the tempering.

How about something really unique. Like getting a piece of Corian and carving the ends into like a scroll pattern. OR - OR maybe having long ends that curl so like it would be this huge handle bar mustache.
Click to expand...

I think you were on to something with your original idea of a glass saddle. Glass rods would work great for that. They are already rounded:
http://gb.dollarnights.com/i662056-wholesale-fireworks-glass-rod-set-opalino-filigrana-colors-1.html
 
MoreUke said:
Forget the tempered glass saddle idea.

Apparently any rounding or modification of the glass has to be done before the tempering.

How about something really unique. Like getting a piece of Corian and carving the ends into like a scroll pattern. OR - OR maybe having long ends that curl so like it would be this huge handle bar mustache.
Click to expand...

I wonder if there are glass artists out there who would take on the challenge of creating the saddle and then tempering it - I guess I don't know much about tempered glass - I'm picturing it being a process like with metal, but maybe it's totally different. I wonder if an artist could make a tempered glass NUT too!
 
chindog said:
I think you were on to something with your original idea of a glass saddle. Glass rods would work great for that. They are already rounded:
http://gb.dollarnights.com/i662056-wholesale-fireworks-glass-rod-set-opalino-filigrana-colors-1.html
Click to expand...

Glass rods would sure be convenient. All you would need to do is cut to length. But there are recommendations of how much of the saddle needs to be below the bridge and consequently how much needs to be above the bridge as well.

Of course you may be able to locate a glass rod that is the proper thickness and then carefully router a channel for holding the rod. Or make a whole new saddle.

Did some searching and found this link for glass rods: http://www.waleapparatus.com/index.asp?category=18573
 
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MoreUke said:
Glass rods would sure be convenient. All you would need to do is cut to length. But there are recommendations of how much of the saddle needs to be below the bridge and consequently how much needs to be above the bridge as well.

Of course you may be able to locate a glass rod that is the proper thickness and then carefully router a channel for holding the rod. Or make a whole new saddle.

Did some searching and found this link for glass rods: http://www.waleapparatus.com/index.asp?category=18573
Click to expand...

I wonder if you could notch those to use them as a nut?
 
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