Advice for playing outdoors

Schroeder

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I've started busking and my normally lively Bruko 6 sounds pretty dull outside. No volume and poor tone. I bring a tuner with me and keep it tuned, but it still sounds off. Hard strumming to get some volume doesn't help. Also, no amps allowed. Advice?
 
If the weather is not a factor, ie cold, windy or rainy then it is the instrument. I don't mean that as a put down, I like Bruko. Most instruments lose a lot when out of doors, including steel string guitars. With no walls for the sound to bounce back off of, like we are use to, they all sound a bit dull and dead. Some sopranos or concerts or tenors are louder than others. A bright tone usually cuts through and carries better. Maybe consider buying a spruce topped soprano by Kala or Ohana. I have the spruce top Kala super soprano and it is loud.
 
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Good advice. I also have a spruce-topped Kala (tenor) that is very loud. Since amps aren’t an option, the only other thing I’d suggest is standing a couple feet in front of a solid and flat wall to see if acoustics are any better, otherwise it may be time to shop for a louder uke.
 
It is cold, but not below freezing, and where I play-- on a pedestrian shopping street-- there are plenty of walls. I guess I'll invest in a spruce top-- the Ohana Vita uke is supposed to be loud. I'm also looking at some Ohana solid mahogany sopranos, like the SK 25, or the Barnes and Mullins Bowley soprano, which is solid spruce. Thanks for the advice.
 
It might be best to have someone stand where the listener would be and have them judge how it sounds. I bet it's better from there than from your ears.

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7 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://.www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos
 
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That crossed my mind, and I wonder if I'm not a bit comical strumming my Bruko as hard as I can and passers-by can hear it a little too well.
 
That crossed my mind, and I wonder if I'm not a bit comical strumming my Bruko as hard as I can and passers-by can hear it a little too well.

Almost certainly the case! The instrument has a natural capability to be louder from in front of it than behind.

Concentrate on playing well and singing well and far more people will slow down to hear what you are doing.

Make too much "noise" and passers-by will simply do that, quite possibly on the other side of the street.

:music:
 
Thanks for that, I love my Bruko, I want to keep playing it, and later this week I'll focus on just that and not worry about volume.
 
This might be too expensive an option for you, but the Blackbird carbon fiber instruments are weather resistant. The e-koa tenor and concert ukes are very loud.
 
A little pricey, yeah. I'm busking to save money for the next ukulele, and a Blackbird might take a few years worth of busking. Meanwhile, rather than spending baby's shoe money on a louder ukulele now, I'll just stick to the Bruko and play it as kypfer suggested, and then buy a louder uke in the Springtime with the money I made busking. Something around 150-200 euros. Thanks though.
 
It might be best to have someone stand where the listener would be and have them judge how it sounds. I bet it's better from there than from your ears.

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7 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://.www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos

I'm sure that this will be the case. I regularly play outdoors with anywhere from 10-25 other Uke players. They sound much louder when I stand in front, looking at them, as compared to when I am standing in the mist of them.

If any of your instruments have a pick up installed, an inexpensive belt mounted buskers amp should give you the extra volume to punch through the ambient noise.
 
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