See Daniel, you're a much better player than me. I really can't tell much of a difference between them, maybe the Grande Bouche is the slightest bit brighter. (You are so right, my Bruce Wei doesn't compare to those LfdMs.)
What a lovely comparison, D. These types of videos are always helpful for people searching for that brand.
I agree with Mike that, if any difference, the spruce is slightly brighter (which I like). What are the dates of manufacture of these two instruments, Daniel?
I thought the spruce had a more dynamic range and had the sweeter, clearer highs myself. But I actually preferred the warmth and mellower, rounded tone of the other.
That said, they both sounded gorgeous in their own way and no doubt that was helped by the lovely feel of your playing.
First off that was beautiful playing. I always enjoy listening to the videos that you do, you made both instruments sound great.
Pertaining to the difference in sound produced from the Petite vs Grande Bouche. In the conversations I have had with Luis it is his belief the oval shape of the Petite accentuates more mid range where the horizontal shape of the Grande Bouche picks up more treble and bass.
That being said I think the spruce sounds brighter like spruce is known for. The last batch of LfdM's that HMS received back in October 2014 had two spruce and one cedar, all three with the Grand Bouche. I must have listened to those samples 50 times and the cedar has that warm mellow sound, quite different from the two spruce. I think it is great that your two LfdM's have distinctly different tones, they can serve a different purpose. Thanks again for sharing your music
My thoughts are Wow, and are otherwise incoherent. I'm just stunned by the beauty and sound of those LFdM's. First I thought I preferred the warmth of the redwood, but then you switched back to the spruce and it has such a jazzy shimmer.. Thanks a million for making this comparison video and sharing them with us. You're an excellent player too. LFdM, wow. I'm stunned.
Wonderful comparison Daniel. They both sound very special in your hands, that's for sure! If I had to choose, I'd go for the Spruce top, the tonal range, projection and dynamics seem a little nicer to my ears. Thanks for sharing, they really are fine ukuleles
Great instruments and playing. I liked the brightness of the spruce top more for the particular pieces you played. But the redwood was mellower and more balanced and would probably be better for other types of songs.
They do sound different but both sound great (as does your playing). The redwood sounds a lot like mine, which is also redwood. The spruce is a tad brighter, noticeably so.
Nice video, btw! The spruce has a real forward and focused sound. The separation of the notes is more distinct and makes the finger style crisper. The redwood topped uke is, as Jon stated, warmer. Great differences for different styles of playing. I might use the redwood for chord melody arrangements, and the spruce for classical finger style. Both sound real nice, though.
I find it helpful to minimize my browser window and listen to the samples without knowing what uke is being played.
I make a mental note and label them with numbers. There are only two ukes here so I use number 1 and 2. You'll be surprised how much better you can hear when not looking at a video. I think also it helps with our biases on wood.
The spruce ebony sounded like a more responsive instrument to my ears. You can tell that it reacts with more dynamics to string pressure. It's not necessarily a better instrument and if someone is heavy handed it might not be a good choice for them. It also had a nice bass response.
I found the Redwood/Milo combination to have a richer lower register tone. The midrange is beautiful on this instrument. The highs were not as pronounced but still very clear. The bass seemed deeper. I would say that it does not respond as well to finger pressure but there is nice evenness to the tone. It's still a very responsive instrument. But compared to the spruce, it's not as sensitive to the touch.
Would you mind adding your Moore Bettah using the same songs? It would make for an interesting comparison. I do not think the sound would be similar just because of the design, but it would be nice to hear the differences.
Justin, I haven't heard Daniels ukes in person, but I have spent quite a bit of time comparing my Moore Bettah to my LFDM. They are very very different. I'll leave it to Daniel to post a comparison because at the moment my LFDM is strung high G and the MB is strung low G. My LFDM is very similar to Daniel's Petite Bouche.
My perception is that the MB is more balanced overall. There is also some special Chuck Moore mojo in the setup that makes it the easier uke to play even though the LFDM is set up very nicely. Both are extremely responsive with a lot of projection. The LFDM seems to offer a bit more dynamic range. The lows and midrange are a bit more pronounced on the LFDM. They have very different voices like two different singers in the same range.
What everyone said is correct as sound is subjective and very hard to describe. Many of you stated it much better than I ever could. Luis asked for my opinion on the difference and I think I'll just copy the thread. Besides, he will do a better job since I only have limited experience in my two instruements.
The spruce was made in Aug'13 and the redwood was made in Apr'14. I don't know if I have any comparison videos between brands but I don't plan on making any new ones as each builder is great.
I have to agree with Jon and most of the comments here.
Great playing Daniel! The spruce top was sweeter and brighter but the redwood was warmer and very even. I'm not sure which is my favorite . I guess it depends on what you're playing.
I thought the spruce had a more dynamic range and had the sweeter, clearer highs myself. But I actually preferred the warmth and mellower, rounded tone of the other.
That said, they both sounded gorgeous in their own way and no doubt that was helped by the lovely feel of your playing.
Thank you for the information. I agree about the Moore Bettah sound. He has a very unique sound to his instrument. I've only head some samples online but there is a very nice balance to them. I hope one day to get a chance to play one.
The LFDM has a pronounced bass which I would expect from it's design. I love Django so I enjoy the sound where the bass and midrange punches through. I happened upon Django through an older neighbor during the 90s. He was huge jazz fan all his life. He introduced me to Stephane Grapelli and I learned about Django by listening to Grapelli. He taught me a lot about jazz and introduced me to many artist I would have never known. Right now I'm listening to Nuits De Saint - Germain Des Pres with Django. It's not Gyspsy Jazz. It's good music http://www.amazon.com/Nuits-De-Saint-Germain-Pres/dp/B000068WT0
Sound is a personal thing. Some people prefer brighter and others more mellow. I hope this thread is helpful and I think it's important to just listen and see what you like.
Dan, I'm thankful for the sound samples and time you put in to doing this. I would not compare the MB to the LFDM. They are two different instruments. I just wanted to hear the MB playing the same songs.
Justin, I haven't heard Daniels ukes in person, but I have spent quite a bit of time comparing my Moore Bettah to my LFDM. They are very very different. I'll leave it to Daniel to post a comparison because at the moment my LFDM is strung high G and the MB is strung low G. My LFDM is very similar to Daniel's Petite Bouche.
My perception is that the MB is more balanced overall. There is also some special Chuck Moore mojo in the setup that makes it the easier uke to play even though the LFDM is set up very nicely. Both are extremely responsive with a lot of projection. The LFDM seems to offer a bit more dynamic range. The lows and midrange are a bit more pronounced on the LFDM. They have very different voices like two different singers in the same range.
