New Kala STG Poor Sustain and Resonance

jaggerfoo · Oct 5, 2018

Need experienced players opinion on a problem.

I have played guitar for a while and wanted to get a ukulele to play around with - to do some arpeggios, classical, lead, and strum of course.

So after some research and viewing demos on theukulelereview website of the Kala STG I decided to buy it from theukulelesite since they included a setup.

I opted for the full setup, which was almost three week wait, but I was in no rush. When the Kala arrived I noticed poor resonance and sustain on the C string on the 5th fret, and some on the C 4th and 6th fret and also some on the A 6th fret.

Watching the video I saw on the review website demoing ukes under $200, in the first demo of the Kala STG, the player was using the C 5th fret and it sounded great.

So I am wondering if they performed any setup whatsoever on the Kala.

Before deciding to return the Kala I guess I will go over my concerns with a local ukulele shop, to see if it can be corrected with a setup, or if it's a problem with the ukulele structure.

I'm thinking the nut should be higher.

I'm in the So Cal area.

Cheers

DownUpDave · Oct 5, 2018

jaggerfoo said:
Need experienced players opinion on a problem.

I have played guitar for a while and wanted to get a ukulele to play around with - to do some arpeggios, classical, lead, and strum of course.

So after some research and viewing demos on theukulelereview website of the Kala STG I decided to buy it from theukulelesite since they included a setup.

I opted for the full setup, which was almost three week wait, but I was in no rush. When the Kala arrived I noticed poor resonance and sustain on the C string on the 5th fret, and some on the C 4th and 6th fret and also some on the A 6th fret.

Watching the video I saw on the review website demoing ukes under $200, in the first demo of the Kala STG, the player was using the C 5th fret and it sounded great.

So I am wondering if they performed any setup whatsoever on the Kala.

Before deciding to return the Kala I guess I will go over my concerns with a local ukulele shop, to see if it can be corrected with a setup, or if it's a problem with the ukulele structure.

I'm thinking the nut should be higher.

I'm in the So Cal area.

Cheers

It is not a set up problem. It is a ukulele problem. I have a Kala spruce top super soprano so this is not a bash on the brand. An inexpensive ukulele even with a solid top is bit and miss concerning sound quality up the neck. Some can be great, others not so much. Strings play a big difference and I would suggest trying a switch to florocarbons if they came with the white Aquilas as usual.

Coming from guitar you know the variablity in stringed and fretted wooden instruments. If it is very new and has not been played much it will improve over the first few weeks. But if you are not happy you probably need to return it before that. Hope this helps.

DownUpDave · Oct 5, 2018

Forgot to add this. The C string is the very worst offender, lots of threads here talking about thuddy, dead sounding C strings at certain positions.

I string all my tenors low G with wound G and C strings, cures the resonance problem big time

MopMan · Oct 9, 2018

Dead notes are a perennial problem with stringed instruments. Some frequencies just won't resonate as well given the size and shape of your sound box.

AFAIK (and I am by no means an expert) an experienced and enterprising luthier may be able to fix this on a particular instrument through a tedious process of experimentation, but it is generally something that is accepted as a limitation of stringed instruments.

I have eight ukuleles ranging in price from $50 to $1500 and every single one of them has certain notes on the fretboard that don't sing as nicely as the rest of the notes on that instrument do. Sometimes I will alter the tuning on an instrument, by raising or lowering all the notes a uniform amount, in order to move the dead spot to a location where I don't encounter it so frequently.

Nickie · Oct 15, 2018

Even with a better uke, one can experience a dead and thuddy sounding C string, especially on higher fretted positions. It drives me bug nuts, even with a solid wood Kala. I'm switching it to a set of Oasis strings to see if that helps.

Rllink · Oct 15, 2018

Sometimes you can chalk it up to technique. Beginners just aren't going to get the most out of their ukuleles to start with and more experienced players get complacent and sloppy. I've had to adjust over the years as I've progressed to clean up my playing. Just throwing that out there. It isn't always setup and strings. There is a human factor to it as well.

Ukecaster · Oct 15, 2018

DownUpDave said:
Forgot to add this. The C string is the very worst offender, lots of threads here talking about thuddy, dead sounding C strings at certain positions.

I string all my tenors low G with wound G and C strings, cures the resonance problem big time

I have a new (to me) Cordoba tenor, restrung with Worth Clears with Fremont Solist wound low G, and like it a lot. However, the C string (it always seems to be the C string with issues!) buzzes on fret #2, and a bit less on frets 3 & 4, but does not buzz when played open, or anywhere else. I tried adding a piece of paper under the string at the nut, but that didn't help. I didn't think it would, since it does not buzz when played open. Before I try shimming the saddle a bit, will using a wound C string perhaps help reduce/eliminate this buzz?

DownUpDave · Oct 16, 2018

Ukecaster said:
I have a new (to me) Cordoba tenor, restrung with Worth Clears with Fremont Solist wound low G, and like it a lot. However, the C string (it always seems to be the C string with issues!) buzzes on fret #2, and a bit less on frets 3 & 4, but does not buzz when played open, or anywhere else. I tried adding a piece of paper under the string at the nut, but that didn't help. I didn't think it would, since it does not buzz when played open. Before I try shimming the saddle a bit, will using a wound C string perhaps help reduce/eliminate this buzz?

One part of me thinks a wound C might help eliminate the buzz because the diameter is smaller and tension is usually a bit higher. But I doubt it really, sounds like a high fret, try shimming the saddle as you mentioned.

New Kala STG Poor Sustain and Resonance

jaggerfoo

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DownUpDave

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MopMan

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Nickie

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Rllink

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Ukecaster

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DownUpDave

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