Ever experience instrument to instrument variability?

Aloha Everyone:

I went shopping for a cheap low-end ukulele today for my student, as a gift. I selected the bottom of the line Flight Soprano model 310. The one off the rack sounded surprisingly great -- good clarity and volume.

I then asked the sales guy if he could replace the strings because it was probably played by tons of people. He then said he could give me a brand new one from his stockroom. He brought it out, tuned it up, and I played both of them side by side. They sounded different. The brand new one had less volume and less clarity. So I bought the one off the rack.

Ever experience this type of variability? Exact same model from the same builder but yet different sound. To me, it was a bit unexpected. Is it common with all builders or just some builders?

Luke

Yes, it's very common. Even two ukes from the same woods built by the same luthier at the same time will have differences. There is less difference with the best builders, but there will be differences.

With high volume, production instruments there can be a great deal of variation, even among instruments that are certainly not low end. They simply do not go through as rigorous as QC process. And they are not properly set up. Set up can have a big impact, too. That's why whenever possible I would buy from a reputable dealer who does proper set up.

Exactly what Eddie said. All solid wood ukes in the $500-$1000 range will sound different between two of the same model. Sometimes a little some times a lot.

This is why when I buy one that I really love the sound of I hold on to it, I have regretted selling some in the past.

Yes to what Eddie and Dave said. Also, we don't know how long the instrument on the wall was used as a demo and whether it "opened up" at all. Second, the one in the back room could have been stored under different temp and humidity,............which could alter volume and tone.

I feel it is completely normal. No two instruments can be the same, even when built side by side at the same shop. Some differences are subtle, some are more apparent. That's part of the fun, for me.

I'll add a different take. While I agree that there may be variability from one Uke to the next, even with the same model and brand, that may not be the case here. What may have happened is that the one from the back had not been tuned up long enough to have the strings reach max stretch and settle in. I seem to notice volume and clarity on most ukes improve after the strings have stabilized well. Just a thought.

That's a cool reason to play lots of different instruments and fall in love with the right one!

They are far from entry level ukes, but the two Cocobolo concert ukes we have sound uncannily similar...
Could there be fewer variables when dealing with denser woods?

All good answers. Thanks for your explanations.

Luke

Thank you for saying what I would have said about the difference in strings. It really is an unfair comparison. My mind set is that one sounds as it does BECAUSE it has been conditioned, and the other is YET to be conditioned. I would like to see some scientific evidence that wood changes somehow other that responding to temperature and humidity. I think the strings have a far greater impact.

Though people are infinitely more complicated than an ukulele, musical instruments are like people. You can presume and profile but you won't know anything until you actually spend time with one. Just have no opinion until you have actual experience.

For what it's worth, a couple of years a go I drove all over Oahu trying Kamaka tenors. Only one spoke to me.

kkimura said:

For what it's worth, a couple of years a go I drove all over Oahu trying Kamaka tenors. Only one spoke to me.

Click to expand...

I know the feeling. A few dozen ukes, guitars, mandolins and banjos have gone through the stable in recent years, trying to find the "righr" ones. Even among so-called similar instruments the voices were quite different. Granted, different brands of strings do make a difference. What is always amazing is that the instruments that are a little "long in the tooth" usually seem to have the best voice. A few months of "air" in the music room rather than closeted away in a foam case seem to mature that voice, regardless of the price or wood type.

There's a great Jimmy Buffett tune (Rue de la Guitare) which describes this phenomenum. The lyrics tell of him finding an aged Martin D-18 guitar in a used instrument store, the imagining of the instrument's history, and what a great find it was. Ironically, JB has been using this guitar on his tours and his guitar tech raves that it's the best-sounding of all JB's acoustic guitars.

Give them air!