chuck in ny
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has anyone had success with heavier soundboards, and whatever your observations are if you did.
First one I ever made...it had a 2.5mm thick utile mahogany soundboard, it was very treble no bass end and no volume ....It looked great ..I still have it and play it when I don't want to disturb anybody.has anyone had success with heavier soundboards, and whatever your observations are if you did.
First one I ever made...it had a 2.5mm thick utile mahogany soundboard, it was very treble no bass end and no volume ....It looked great ..I still have it and play it when I don't want to disturb anybody.
You need to specify the size of the instrument for this to be pertinent. And if and what type of bracing you expect to use.
The real take away here is that playing it safe probably inhibits the potential of your ukes, and that until you have a top fail you'll never know how thin/light is too much.
Could we keep Donald out of this forum? It's bad enough that he dominates the news.Does quantitative trump qualitative when it comes to building great sounding ukes?
Yes, failure is how you learn. If you don't know what is wrong how are you going to know what is right? This knowledge is accrued through the process of doing again and again and again, etc. As in over and over... I have seen videos of luthiers using a quantitative deflection device. Like taking a 4.7 pound weight (dreadnought guitar) and seeing how much deformation takes place along the top plate and measuring the deflection. I really think this allows the production factory to output a consistent thickness that varies with the different types of wood encountered but gives a consistent sound (hopefully good). Dial in deformation and deflection to a set number and bingo! The top is going to sound pretty much like the last set and the one before it.
This is all well and good and I get it. It takes out the experience part. Anybody can sand and read numbers on a digital output. 14.0019/0.44444 = 1.6.0017 = Good sound. But it also takes out the experience and art of flexing a top until it "feels right". This is why buying an uke from a good luthier is so expensive. He doesn't need the frigging numbers. It just feels right. ... Here is the question: Can a low production luthier that doesn't use quantitative deflection ever really be as consistent as a big time manufacturer that uses quantitative measurements and does consistency even matter as long as the damn things sound good? In other words: Does quantitative trump qualitative when it comes to building great sounding ukes?
Here is the question: Can a low production luthier that doesn't use quantitative deflection ever really be as consistent as a big time manufacturer that uses quantitative measurements and does consistency even matter as long as the damn things sound good? In other words: Does quantitative trump qualitative when it comes to building great sounding ukes?