Questions - Benefits of removing Inlay sticker?

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alvin320

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #1

Hi guys,

Correct me if i am wrong, different type of woods on ukulele varies in tone. And ukulele sounds better the longer one plays it as the wood pores open up especially for solid wood uku.

Hence my question. I recently got a Leho solid cedar top with flame maple back & sides ukulele. The inlay sticker(the brand sticker inside the hole) covers a huge part of the wood. Does removing it affect/improve the tone?

Alvin

 

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Bao

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #2

Be careful when removing it. I tried removing the sticker from my Lanikai and was only able to rip 75% of it off. The rest was stuck on super tight.

On a side note: Leho ukes are amazing!

 

UkerDanno

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #3

leave it alone! It will not make any difference, except make your uke look krappy...

 

Ukejenny

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #4

I would definitely not try to mess with it. Especially if you ever want to try and sell.

 

stevepetergal

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #5

There will be no benefit whatsoever to removing the sticker.

 

drmosser

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #6

If the tone is not what you imagined it would be, I would suggest trying different brands of strings. I have rarely gotten a ukulele with strings that I thought sounded the best for that particular uke. I usually try several types until I find the ones I like best for a particular ukulele. Although strings can't work miracles, finding the right strings for a ukulele can sometimes make a huge improvement in tone.

 

Rllink

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• Sep 3, 2014

• #7

I am a rank beginner, so I don't know much, but I can not imagine that taking that sticker out of the back of your uke is going to lead to anything good. I'm thinking that when you get so good that sticker makes a difference, someone will build you a uke without a sticker and pay you to play it. That is just my thinking.

 

brimmer

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• Sep 4, 2014

• #8

Removing the sticker might result in an unsightly patch of adhesive once you remove it. Or, as someone else mentioned, you might not get the whole label off. Leave it!

 

kissing

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• Sep 4, 2014

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You won't get any noticeable improvement in tone from removing it.

 

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thenewb

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• Sep 4, 2014

• #10

Wow I've a leho solid cedar top too. They're loud and have a decent tone.
I think the back and sides are laminates. The sticker's won't make a noticable difference on the sound. On the other hand, I've tried some Worth tenor strings and it sounds pretty good! You might wanna experiment with the strings to get the sound you like.
Be careful with changing strings though. I've had strings slipped under the bridge and dent the cedar soundboard!

 

Last edited: Sep 4, 2014

ksiegel

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• Sep 4, 2014

• #11

alvin320 said:

Hi guys,

Correct me if i am wrong, different type of woods on ukulele varies in tone. And ukulele sounds better the longer one plays it as the wood pores open up especially for solid wood uku.

Hence my question. I recently got a Leho solid cedar top with flame maple back & sides ukulele. The inlay sticker(the brand sticker inside the hole) covers a huge part of the wood. Does removing it affect/improve the tone?

Alvin

Click to expand...

Consider yourself corrected. The Top makes the biggest difference in tone. A piece of paper or plastic on the inside of the back does nothing, except to identify the instrument. calculate the number of square inches in that tag, vs the surface area of the rest of the back and sides, and it is pretty miniscule. I'd just leave it alone.

-Kurt​

 

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ukulelekarcsi

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• Sep 5, 2014

• #12

Kurt is absolutely right. Also 'opening up' is a misleading term: the wood doesn't become more porous, only the sound becomes more open because the fibers in the wood align up a bit more by repeated vibration. And those fibres are not just on the surface, where hard finishes counteract precisely that process.

This reminds me of the story by the late (and now controversial) Bob Brozman that his metal resonator guitar had 'opened up' by a severe car accident on his way to the studio: somehow it sounded better afterwards.