Is spruce underrated?

hoosierhiver

hoosierhiver

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Is spruce underrated?
It's a great tonewood, but doesn't seem as popular as it could or should be.
Does anyone think it's because of the color?, do people naturally want a darker colored ukulele?
Just curious to hear some opinions on this.
 
I love a spruce-topped ukulele, and I have a few. And there do seem to be quite a few made, although probably not as many as the hardwood-topped ukes. I think the reasons are pretty simple:

1. The earliest ukes were made of koa, and the next generation, led by Martin, were made of mahogany. Therefore, there is a lot of history around hardwood-built ukes, both in terms of appearance and in terms of tone.
2. Many people identify the spruce top as a "guitar thing," and gravitate away from it with ukes, because they don't want a "little guitar"
3. The spruce-topped tone tends to be deeper and more resonant, which I think some people feel isn't "uke-y" enough.

I doubt the color has much to do with it, except to the extent, perhaps, that people feel it makes a uke "guitar-like."
 
I own two solid spruce top Ohanas: a TK-70g tenor (laminate maple back and sides) and the Vita replica (laminate mahogany back and sides). The spruce top really boosts the projection of the sound, and I think they're lovely instruments. (I bought the tenor from Mim, who said something along the lines of "it makes you look like a televangelist," but I really like it.)

Somewhere on my wish list is a cedar-topped uke. Those guys are gorgeous.
 
Certain instruments get associated with certain tonewoods. Ukuleles have been historically linked with Koa and koa derivatives for sound, and appearance goes hand-in-glove. It seems like most uke-makers have gone to other tone woods for economy, and tried to keep the historical appearance via cosmetics to the tonewood.

Personally, I love spruce , cedar and maple for the sound. Almost all my stringed stuff is one of those woods for the brightness and bark, as I play mainly R&R. Sometimes it seems folk buy instruments mainly for appearance with no understanding or appreciation of what different tonewoods bring to the party, and thus are sometimes disappointed when the sound they get is not what they anticipated it to be.
 
Yeah. I love softwood tops too. In fact I like a uke to sound like a little guitar. These woods certainly seem definitely popular among professional players. James Hill, Craig Chee, Herb Ohta Jr, etc. I will admit that when i first started playing I was also drawn to more interesting looking tone woods (mango, walnut, koa). They look great and sounds delicious compared to a straight grained spruce top. But after buying and selling too many ukes I realized that ones I kept always had soft wood tops. Certain songs and styles do sound best on a jangly little koa or mahogany soprano. But my favorite all around ukuleles always have softwood tops.
 
I thought Spruce tops are fairly popular on ukes, as I see a lot around, but maybe also my view is skewed because I have a lot. Out of my 6 ukes, 4 are spruce tops. 2 are Koa. Since I had so many spruce, I wanted to try at least get a different look and sound in some of my uke collection, so tried the Koa's, and enjoy them and their sound. But, I guess that a lot of the ukes that I like the sound on, just happen to be spruce, so guess I like the sound spruce gives. And I do like some more of the guitar sounding ukes, so that is also why I prefer the tenor size. I am buying 2 more custom ukes, one more in a spruce top, and another one trying in a cedar top.
 
RichM said:
I love a spruce-topped ukulele, and I have a few. And there do seem to be quite a few made, although probably not as many as the hardwood-topped ukes. I think the reasons are pretty simple:

1. The earliest ukes were made of koa, and the next generation, led by Martin, were made of mahogany. Therefore, there is a lot of history around hardwood-built ukes, both in terms of appearance and in terms of tone.
2. Many people identify the spruce top as a "guitar thing," and gravitate away from it with ukes, because they don't want a "little guitar"
3. The spruce-topped tone tends to be deeper and more resonant, which I think some people feel isn't "uke-y" enough.

I doubt the color has much to do with it, except to the extent, perhaps, that people feel it makes a uke "guitar-like."
Click to expand...


I am sorry RichM but you stole my answer........give it back. ;)

This is every point I could think of that had validity. When I came to the uke I did not want a spruce top because it made it look like a mini guitar. But then I heard a spruce top and all that went out the window, love them.

I think the general buying public associates ukes with a dark wood because ukes have been like that for over a century.
 
It's because buyers are about the bling, whether they (we) admit it or not.

Words like "figured" and "curly" sell ukes. Words like "spruce" sell Christmas trees.
 
coolkayaker1 said:
It's because buyers are about the bling, whether they (we) admit it or not.

Words like "figured" and "curly" sell ukes. Words like "spruce" sell Christmas trees.
Click to expand...

You just need to add things like "bear claw," "Adirondack," "German," or even "moon," in front of "spruce" to make it marketable. Anyone here ever try a moon spruce ukulele?

-Steve
 
I'm saving up for a new uke...and a Mainland Spruce top Concert is the one I'm leaning towards. I think it's beautiful and I've heard that ukes that have a spruce top with the mahogany back and sides sound awesome.
 
DownUpDave said:
Another one was "Kit leather gloves". What the heck is "Kit" ...........short form for kitten. That should get me some hate mail. Relax folks, long time cat owner. They are nice and soft though.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to drift off-topic, but I found this on the Internet: "The term 'kit gloves' refers to physical gloves. They are used when carrying out repair work and are offered supplied within kits that include other tools to help repair any physical damages. They are often made with fine cloth which aims to keep human oil of the parts that need to be repaired. Others are sometimes made of latex or vinyl which allows the hands to work intricately but prevents contact from any human oils that may contaminate the substances you are working on."

http://www.blurtit.com/164644/kit-gloves-or-kid-gloves

The same article also describes "kid gloves," which were made from young goats, producing a softer and more elegant leather. "Kid gloves" has become a metaphor for handling a situation or person gently.
 
Last edited:
I think it's unreasonable to inject why other people buy something or don't.
And really in the end it doesn't matter unless you're selling something.

You're going to pick what you like. Whether thats because of the look, the sound, the reputation, or the price.

Delivery guy literally just brought me a Pono ATD. It can accurately be described as not fancy. I liked the sound over the mahogany, and the spruce top versions. But that's just me.. and really that's all that matters right?
 
I've actually been thinking a lot about Spruce (and cedar and other non-traditional woods) as I'm looking to round out my collection with some different configurations that don't step on each others toes sound-wise as much. Variety = spice of life and all that.

As far as the larger ukulele market, it's hard to say why people might or might not want to stay traditional. Marketing works in many ways. What are the popular players playing, what personal history does someone have with ukulele, did they land here first or youtube first or a local music store first, and so on. I tend to think that having traditional options while evolving in non-traditional ways (carbon fiber anyone?) is the sign of a healthy and mature hobby/industry/culture (whatever you want to call it).
 
spookelele said:
I think it's unreasonable to inject why other people buy something or don't.
And really in the end it doesn't matter unless you're selling something.

You're going to pick what you like. Whether thats because of the look, the sound, the reputation, or the price.

Delivery guy literally just brought me a Pono ATD. It can accurately be described as not fancy. I liked the sound over the mahogany, and the spruce top versions. But that's just me.. and really that's all that matters right?
Click to expand...

People guessing about what other people are doing is what the internet is for! Besides, I'm pretty sure the guy who started this threat is selling something... and, I've bought a few of what he's selling, too! :)
 
I'm not a fan of it...
...IMO does not sound good for strumming, and many sound very twangy when picked.
That being said, I've heard some beautiful finger-style on them, but they were always very expensive models.
 
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