How Many Holes Can You Put in a Uke?

Twibbly

Twibbly

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I'm looking at eventually getting to the point where I can go backpacking (accumulating gear, getting in shape, etc.).

I'm reading stuff about people breaking off handles on cups, shaving off handles on things, etc., in an attempt to save a bit of weight.

Which brings me to my question.

How many holes could you make, how big, and where would you place them, on an Outdoor Ukulele Soprano to save weight without completely destroying the sound? :rotfl:

Note: No ukuleles were injured in the asking of this question. It is entirely theoretical at this point, as I haven't got an OU Soprano.
 
you're only going to save a few ounces...
 
My ukulele (Kala bocote tenor) is so light now that I can't imagine putting any holes in the wooden body will save enough weight to be noticed. The main weight on any uke is the neck and the tuning machines and you can't reduce the weight there. When you mention "backpacking" what exactly do you mean? The people who are breaking off handles from cups, etc. are likely planning to be backpacking for weeks at a time, if not months (such as hiking the Appalachian Trail). If you're just hiking into a campground, camping out for a few days or a week and then hiking back out to your car I can't imagine that reducing the weight of a ukulele by cutting holes will make any difference in your trip. However hiking for weeks or months, I wouldn't even consider bringing a ukulele with me. I'd go for size as well as weight and bring something like a harmonica if I want to make music. The added bulk of a ukulele would be impractical in my opinion.
 
dhbailey said:
My ukulele (Kala bocote tenor) is so light now that I can't imagine putting any holes in the wooden body will save enough weight to be noticed. The main weight on any uke is the neck and the tuning machines and you can't reduce the weight there. When you mention "backpacking" what exactly do you mean? The people who are breaking off handles from cups, etc. are likely planning to be backpacking for weeks at a time, if not months (such as hiking the Appalachian Trail). If you're just hiking into a campground, camping out for a few days or a week and then hiking back out to your car I can't imagine that reducing the weight of a ukulele by cutting holes will make any difference in your trip. However hiking for weeks or months, I wouldn't even consider bringing a ukulele with me. I'd go for size as well as weight and bring something like a harmonica if I want to make music. The added bulk of a ukulele would be impractical in my opinion.
Click to expand...

It amuses me to try to figure out things like this. It may never happen, but it's interesting to think about.
 
Start with the 3 for 3 rule, and you dont need to drill holes into your uke.
 
Yeah thats the one :)! Funny that you found a swedish site with it, the rule is from the ultralight bp community in the us. Doesnt have to be expensive, it's more of a mindset thing.
 
This thread's worth it if only for the 343 rule.
Thanks Twibs.
 
cml said:
Yeah thats the one :)! Funny that you found a swedish site with it, the rule is from the ultralight bp community in the us. Doesnt have to be expensive, it's more of a mindset thing.
Click to expand...

*nodnod*

I will keep it in mind whilst figuring out what equipment I'm going to put together.
 
cml said:
Yeah thats the one :)! Funny that you found a swedish site with it, the rule is from the ultralight bp community in the us. Doesnt have to be expensive, it's more of a mindset thing.
Click to expand...
Also if you're two people thats easier, since you share the tent weight. There are cheap and great alternatives out there :). Luxe outdoor for example seem to get great reviews at low cost, if that is available down under.
 
I wouldn't be putting holes in one to save weight, but a side sound hole could let you fill it with small items, & therefore it wouldn't take up much room overall. ;)
 
Down Up Dick said:
Tie a long string on it and drag it along behind you. No weight to carry at all! :eek:ld:
Click to expand...

they actually make a single wheel cart to carry stuff while hiking/backpacking.

Heres one... but there are others. Some lighter, with a bigger wheel for rougher terrain.

https://gearjunkie.com/mule-backpack

That being said, I dont think drilling a uke is worth it. You'd be better off changing out other gear. If you are using a mug that has a handle you can break off... your cup is probably too heavy anyway. Changing to a light camp mug would be better, and then you can use it to boil as well.

There's lots of places to cut for ul packing that will be a better use of the weight than drilling out a uke. More efficient use of items that can be multi purpose will save any weight you are trying to shave.

And really, your big 3 are the biggest weight offenders outside of water.

Think of it this way, you pee once, and you'll drop more weight than youll save drilling your uke.
 
This is more than theory; I had this uke made a few weeks ago by Bruce Wei in Vietnam when I saw the design on his eBay store. It has really good projection and sustain. I has a solid spalted mango top and binding, and solid curly mango body, no top sound hole, but there are 8 sound holes around the bouts, including a larger one in the cutaway, though each has a decorative insert so. If it's lighter than my other standard ukes, I sure can't tell. (He also makes one with the Hawaiian Islands as stop sound holes so it looks like a fair amount can be cut out, but for little weight savings.)

Spalted done montage.jpg


BWA Hawaii uke.jpg
 
kohanmike said:
This is more than theory; I had this uke made a few weeks ago by Bruce Wei in Vietnam when I saw the design on his eBay store. It has really good projection and sustain. I has a solid spalted mango top and binding, and solid curly mango body, no top sound hole, but there are 8 sound holes around the bouts, including a larger one in the cutaway, though each has a decorative insert so. If it's lighter than my other standard ukes, I sure can't tell. (He also makes one with the Hawaiian Islands as stop sound holes so it looks like a fair amount can be cut out, but for little weight savings.)
Click to expand...

That's awesome. Yeah, I know the weight savings will be minimal, the theory just amuses me.
 
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