Glass Ukulele

bornagainjeeper

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Messages
623
Reaction score
2
Location
Makanda, IL USA
So i just got an idea last night, after playing a gig at winery...a wine bottle ukulele....do you think glass resonates at a low enough frequency to make this work? obviously it resonates very purely, such is the case with playing wine flutes with a spoon or your finger...also i was thinking of finding a way to remove the bottoms of the bottles and cap then cork the small ends again as i think it might improve the sound...this could all also be done with a solid jug'o' wine like carlo rossi...any suggestions builders? i know it won't sound great but would be a nice little piece to play at a winery show Also if you have ideas about apoxy that will work for the plastic or wood bridge as well as glass
 

Attachments

  • Vinolele.jpg
    Vinolele.jpg
    52 KB · Views: 137
What about a uke made out of an old wine barrel?

JJ
 
Did you drink those 4 bottles before coming up with this idea? :biglaugh:

I have no idea if it would work.....but seems to me that wine bottles are much too thick and heavy. Maybe you could do a mock-up to test it.... Stretch a string across the bottle and use a nail or something as a saddle. See if you get any sound out of it
 
Did you drink those 4 bottles before coming up with this idea? :biglaugh:

I have no idea if it would work.....but seems to me that wine bottles are much too thick and heavy. Maybe you could do a mock-up to test it.... Stretch a string across the bottle and use a nail or something as a saddle. See if you get any sound out of it

i would drink some much more delicious southern illinois wine and then do it! 4 bottles is just a good breakfast
 
are there any other glass string instruments?

If not... I bet it doesn't work. But if there is a glass guitar or something out there, then it might work.

I think glass might be a bit too dense for uhh... musical purposes. You always hear about rim rubbing or bottle tooting, but bottle strumming....

Hey, if it works out, I'd love to have a Smirnoff Ukulele :)
 
Maybe they have pine boxes with their logo on them. I live near Napa and have long thought a wine box uke would be pretty cool. I know, pine top, with a neck made from an oak barrel stave. Coolio.
 
FO6BCL6F8DOSUHR.MEDIUM.jpg



Wine Box....
 
Glass might make an interesting saddle. Glass has great acoustic transfer properties. I am looking for a small piece of plate glass to use for an experimental saddle, myself. Hard to find something that small, but if I find one, I'll see if I can work it into something.​
 
glass instruments

If you google you will find a glass violin and trumpets with glass bells have been around for a while and glass flutes.
 
I think you might get better results by using one of those large wine bottles, rather than four standard sized ones - Keeping in mind that the geometry of the body is just as important as the material used. I'm interested in how something like that would sound, as well.

Glass would probably not make the best sound board, but having it for side and back material sounds like something that could work. If you cut off about a quarter of a large wine bottle, and epoxied a wooden sound board on, that might make for a very unique sound. Generally speaking, you want your sides and back to be stiff, while the face needs to flex.
 
I'd love to see a place that had glass saddles. I think they would do a great job and would noticeably improve the sound of a uke. This is probably especially so with an all nylon string uke. I would be a little hesitant to put wound strings on a glass saddle for fear of chipping and the creation of glass dust (especially if this occurred in my case).
 
I would be a little hesitant to put wound strings on a glass saddle for fear of chipping and the creation of glass dust (especially if this occurred in my case).
Plate glass should be fine, since it's already hardened. You then use a diamond sandpaper to smooth the edges so it's not sharp.​
 
i would drink some much more delicious southern illinois wine and then do it!

What's your favorite? Von Jacob, Owl Creek, Alto, Kite Hill? Genkota in Mt. Vernon has some nice ones as well.
 
Top Bottom