What's your favorite wood for a uke?

T

teryg

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2016
Messages
119
Reaction score
0
Location
Pike Creek, DE
Way back in my acoustic guitar playing days, I paid a lot of attention to the wood the instrument was made of. It seemed that Spruce had a bright tone, Mahogany projected well, Rosewood had a kind of sweet mellow sound, etc. There are a lot more woods out there now than there were then (or that I knew about, anyway).

The reason behind the question is that I'm happily playing my Cordoba baritone, which is mahogany. I was considering getting a Cordoba tenor but decided I would wait and search around more. I'm really new to the uke, so this could be me, but the Cordoba doesn't sound as balanced as I would like. The bottom and top seem strong, but something about the middle doesn't seem to sound as good (to me) as some other ukes.

I just listened to a couple of spalted maple tenors on youtube and they sounded beautifully balanced. I know it could be the players but I was also wondering if it was the wood.

Do you have a favorite wood for a uke? Would you share what it is and what you like about it?
 
:deadhorse:

I was looking for the popcorn emoticon but the dead horse one is just as relevant.

This one has been talked to death. The answer is,

Its all about the builder and how he builds the instrument. Not the wood used. The build is 90% and the wood is 10%.

Anthony
 
Sorry. I actually did do a search because I figured it must have been discussed, but the topic didn't come up. Maybe I didn't use good search terms.

Tery
 
Hello Tery and welcome to the forum.

Anthony's right in that this is a subject that's been discussed. Also you've discovered how bad the search engines are here (no way for a new member to anticipate that!).

But one thing that gets overlooked sometimes in these discussions is what wood for what size uke. My personal preferences are for softwood tops as the sizes get larger.

You've identified a Tenor as your main interest here. That's kind of in the middle for me - it can go either way. But while the build is most of the equation, wood does have it's part, for sound and of course aesthetics as well.
 
Last edited:
Welcome, Teryg!

I agree in that I've some of the mango ukes I've heard recently sound fantastic.

I also agree with what has been said in that it is the build, first and foremost, that matters. Some of the very best luthiers have a certain sound they strive for regardless of what wood is used. The wood can add some flavoring or spice, if you want to use cooking terminology. And, by the way, the top wood has a much larger impact than the body wood. I tend to like beautifully figured woods, so even though I realize it doesn't have as much impact on tone as the top, I am often keen on ukes with beautifully figured body wood. I just recognize this I end up paying for aesthetics, if you will.
 
teryg said:
Sorry. I actually did do a search because I figured it must have been discussed, but the topic didn't come up. Maybe I didn't use good search terms.

Tery
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to jump dow your throat. But this topic has been covered many times. One of the biggest issues with mass market ukuleles is that the tops are overbuilt no matter what the wood used. I often like the sound of Spalted Maple to and I was talking to a luthier about it. His take on Spalted Maple was that the "Spalting" was a Defect which weakens the wood. The weakening of the wood compensates for the instrument being overbuilt in the first place so its really a construction issue, rather than a wood issue.

Anthony
 
teryg said:
Sorry. I actually did do a search because I figured it must have been discussed, but the topic didn't come up. Maybe I didn't use good search terms.

Tery
Click to expand...
Tery, don't feel badly that your search didn't find what you wanted. It's not your fault, as the search function doesn't work very well. Many of us use this Google search that one of our members posted:

https://cse.google.co.uk/cse/home?cx=006086160372685481724:y43bmh-bwgc

I have it bookmarked and it really does a nice job.

Eddie got it right about mango. It's not the easiest wood to find but it makes a very nice instrument. I just strung this concert up to today:

28244260744_0d08c23660_b.jpg
 
Another classy Ono. Sweeeet. :shaka:
 
If there was one perfect wood, I wouldn't be able to rationalize my UAS, LOL! For me, it depends on size. I would say nice Koa, but lots of other gorgeous wood out there.
 
As the expression goes, "....whatever gets us through the night". We all have our individual preferences. I agree that quality of build is most important.
 
Live and learn--I learned to be more patient with the search engine. I tried things like "favorite wood" and "favorite wood for a uke." I think I should have just used "wood" or a particular type of wood. On the up side, I did get to read about some people's favorite ukes.

That's interesting about the Spalted Maple being a defect. I wondered about that when I saw it, since it doesn't look like any maple in instruments that I'm familiar with. I also didn't know (though now that you say it, it makes sense) that the tops of the mass market ukes are overbuilt. Now I've gotten interested in uke construction . . . there must be a good book for that :).
 
southcoastukes said:
Hello Tery and welcome to the forum.

Anthony's right in that this is a subject that's been discussed. Also you've discovered how bad the search engines are here (no way for a new member to anticipate that!).

But one thing that gets overlooked sometimes in these discussions is what wood for what size uke. My personal preferences are for softwood tops as the sizes get larger.

You've identified a Tenor as your main interest here. That's kind of in the middle for me - it can go either way. But while the build is most of the equation, wood does have it's part, for sound and of course aesthetics as well.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I'll be more patient with the search engine in the future, maybe try more search terms. I guess I'm used to google, where I usually get close in my first try, or at least my first 2-3 tries.

The combination of wood and size is interesting to think about. Coming from a guitar background, I'm not used to considering size. I have small hands so I was usually concerned with neck size more than body size. That's actually true of ukes as well. As I watch reviews of different ukes on youtube, my ears perk up when I hear that someone likes a particular uke because it fits his or her large or small hands. I would try them anyway (if I had a store around here with lots of ukes to try), but I would get less discouraged if nothing felt right and know to just keep looking.

One of the reasons I'm trying to learn as much as I can about ukes is that I will, in all likelihood, have to buy online. There's a store an hour from me that carries more ukes than anything else around here but I can't get there often.
 
I love looking at and handling beautiful instruments. As a beginner who can't justify spending a whole lot on a uke (yet), aesthetics have to come second for me. But down the road . . . . :)
 
saltytri said:
Tery, don't feel badly that your search didn't find what you wanted. It's not your fault, as the search function doesn't work very well. Many of us use this Google search that one of our members posted:

https://cse.google.co.uk/cse/home?cx=006086160372685481724:y43bmh-bwgc

I have it bookmarked and it really does a nice job.

Eddie got it right about mango. It's not the easiest wood to find but it makes a very nice instrument. I just strung this concert up to today:

28244260744_0d08c23660_b.jpg
Click to expand...


Oh, that's a beauty! A uke like that is (at least) a double joy. You get to play it, and when you're not playing it, you get to look at it and just appreciate its beauty.

And thanks for the link to a better search. I'm going to bookmark it as well.

Tery
 
PhilUSAFRet said:
If there was one perfect wood, I wouldn't be able to rationalize my UAS, LOL! For me, it depends on size. I would say nice Koa, but lots of other gorgeous wood out there.
Click to expand...


One of the unexpected differences between guitars and ukes is that, when I was in the market for a guitar, I could spend ages checking out stores, trying different guitars, and honing down to learn what I liked. So I love every guitar I have (only 3 now, actually), for different reasons. The nearest store for me to get my hands on ukes is an hour away. And they mostly carry tenors, for some reason. It's impossible for me to do what I like to do, which is to try different instruments then come home and think about them, try them again, and eventually buy the one I fell in love with. Long story short, I haven't seen any Koa around here yet.
 
Hello teryg,
You wrote in 1st posting......
""The reason behind the question is that I'm happily playing my Cordoba baritone, which is mahogany. I was considering getting a Cordoba tenor but decided I would wait and search around more. I'm really new to the uke, so this could be me, but the Cordoba doesn't sound as balanced as I would like. The bottom and top seem strong, but something about the middle doesn't seem to sound as good (to me) as some other ukes.""
Your choice of strings will really impress you. If you read the fine articles on Southcoast strings you will find a tremendous education awaits you. I have a Cordoba Concert 15 CM mahogany laminate everything. It is so lightly built and the inside is as nice as the outside. The top is only .070" thick. I removed the Aquilas and installed Martin M600 flurocarbon and worked the nut and saddle to my Very fussy feeling. So I think a little string research might make the middle suit you. Dirk at Southcoast is very knowledgeable as I have said before. Jim.
 
Last edited:
Mahogany first followed closely by koa but whenever I try out ukes, I seem to gravitate to the spruce tops.
 
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about Back/Sides wood type. IMO it has very little influence on the sound of the instrument. That may go against the grain (excuse me) of a lot of other people's ideas but that's my experience. I've done a lot of blind testing with instruments. In that respect the choice would be down to aesthetics and there's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing the wood type based on appearance. The soundboard is somewhat different. The average density of Spruce is around 0.42 Kg, Mahogany around 0.62Kg. That will (or should) have some bearing on the sound.
 
Michael N. said:
The average density of Spruce is around 0.42 Kg, Mahogany around 0.62Kg. That will (or should) have some bearing on the sound.
Click to expand...

Where does koa fit in? Close to mahogany? Does rich figuring/graing imply more or less density?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Doc_J
What's your favorite non-traditional uke wood (non- koa, non-mahogany)?
2
Replies
31
Views
3K
Sporin
Sporin
E
Favorite solid wood ukes made of classical guitar tone woods?
2
Replies
31
Views
3K
Kaelrie
Kaelrie
Hochapeafarm
Your favorite wood configuration for ‘ukulele
2 3
Replies
46
Views
3K
spookelele
S
J
Favorite Wood(s)?
Replies
15
Views
1K
bellgamin
bellgamin
Doc_J
Cedar as tonewood, a favorite soft wood top?
2
Replies
32
Views
4K
Dan Uke
Dan Uke
Top Bottom