The Joy of the Uke

JackLuis · Nov 14, 2015

I was wondering about the jargon, terminology, of describing how different Ukes sound. I have a Zebra wood, lam, that with Phd strings sounds kind of bell like, while my Ohana spruce top with Fremont blacklines sounds "papery."

The Ohana is light and very responsive. I can hear my fingerprints on the strings, maybe?

Anyway I was switching back and forth listening to each different voice and playing as softly as possible and started laughing.

Inksplosive AL · Nov 14, 2015

Careful now that laughter from playing a uke can be quite addictive.

Chopped Liver · Nov 14, 2015

Seriously! Even mistakes on the uke make me laugh! It's just a happiness maker!

DownUpDave · Nov 14, 2015

UkeMania said:
Seriously! Even mistakes on the uke make me laugh! It's just a happiness maker!

Funny you should say that (pun intended). Years ago when I tried to learn how to play acoustic guitar (was never successful) mistakes were irritating, maddening and frustrating. On the uke it is all just nice happy, happy. Maybe it is the nylon strings, whatever it is.......... it is a joyful noise

JackLuis · Nov 15, 2015

DownUpDave said:
Funny you should say that (pun intended). Years ago when I tried to learn how to play acoustic guitar (was never successful) mistakes were irritating, maddening and frustrating. On the uke it is all just nice happy, happy. Maybe it is the nylon strings, whatever it is.......... it is a joyful noise

Yep, agree. I have a guitar in the corner. I restrung it as a Baritone Uke (4 strings) and capoed the fifth fret when I thought about buying a Uke. But it was soooo big! I like a concert or tenor Uke much better, though I do miss the throaty bass of the guitar.

Even better is the instruction available now for the Uke.

I was playing around with the Howling Hobbits chord progressions and smiling all the while

I've always like nylon strings and the happy sound of the Uke is fun.

Nickie · Nov 18, 2015

Glad to hear you are enjoying your uke so much! Lots of people put their guitars down, sell them, give them away, or play them a lot less when they take up the uke. I sold both my guitars.
Have fun!

Fleacia · Nov 18, 2015

I've been playing over 10 years. Laughter and just overall goodness is still a regular thing.

I'd say the nylon strings have at least something to do with that, and the small(er) instrument. But I wouldn't want to over analyze it - fun is fun in this case, and not hurting anyone.

I also play acoustic guitar. I only started last year, and I do enjoy playing. But it's not the same vibe I get from the uke, and mistakes irritate me no end!

pluck · Nov 19, 2015

JackLuis said:
I was wondering about the jargon, terminology, of describing how different Ukes sound. I have a Zebra wood, lam, that with Phd strings sounds kind of bell like, while my Ohana spruce top with Fremont blacklines sounds "papery."

The Ohana is light and very responsive. I can hear my fingerprints on the strings, maybe?

Anyway I was switching back and forth listening to each different voice and playing as softly as possible and started laughing.

I mostly play my mahogany soprano. The sound from it is often described as a bark and with good reason. Raspy could be used to describe it also. I have a laminate soprano that can sound boxy to me at times. I think the thing I like about my solid soprano is that the sound is a combination of the sweet tone of the wood and percussive sound from the fingers on the strings. It's a very textured sound. When I pick up my tenor (which is nice but not as high a quality as my soprano) it sounds very sweet but it lacks the more complex sound that I get from the soprano.

JackLuis · Nov 20, 2015

pluck said:
I mostly play my mahogany soprano. The sound from it is often described as a bark and with good reason. Raspy could be used to describe it also. I have a laminate soprano that can sound boxy to me at times. I think the thing I like about my solid soprano is that the sound is a combination of the sweet tone of the wood and percussive sound from the fingers on the strings. It's a very textured sound. When I pick up my tenor (which is nice but not as high a quality as my soprano) it sounds very sweet but it lacks the more complex sound that I get from the soprano.

I don't have a soprano but I have a zebra wood sopranino. It's hard to play for me, but it makes me smile when I can hit a chord cleanly. I loaned my tenor to my neighbor so he can try a Uke. It's making him happy I think, he's still learning to shift from C to F, next week he'll learn G7 then he'll be on his way. I successfully got my next door neighbor to buy a tenor. The three of us got together yesterday to fool around with Ukes we were all laughing.

The Joy of the Uke

JackLuis

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Inksplosive AL

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Chopped Liver

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DownUpDave

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JackLuis

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Nickie

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Fleacia

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pluck

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JackLuis

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