Hluth
Well-known member
Since the time I started building ukuleles I have tried to unravel the mystery of tuning the top and back plates of a ukulele. During my last build it dawned on me that like a string, pitch is determined by both mass and tension. Tap tuning has always dealt with tension by shaving down bracing to lower the pitch of a plate. So, the instrument I was building taped about 75 cents apart after gluing on the top and back, and shaving braces would only bring them closer together before beginning to achieve the recommended 1 – 1 ½ step separation. That would have weakened the braces more than I wanted. So I added mass by attaching ebony bars to the outside of the back using high-tack double stick tape, and was able to precisely tune it by adjusting the length of the bars. Ah-ha I though, I can finally do an experiment that will prove how well tap tuning works. Then I played the ukulele and it didn’t help – it sounded the same with or without the bars. I was already happy with the sound and the F# wolf note didn’t bark all that loud anyway. The one thing that never made sense to me about tap tuning is that there is no way for the box not to have its own frequency, and when you play a note anywhere close to that frequency (no matter what it is), the string will jump from the fundamental partial to the second and loose volume and sustain. Does anybody know how or have a method to make tap tuning work?
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