Ukuleles sound better at night?

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sleepsinashoe

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Hi all, I only have my cheapo Makala dolphin, but I've noticed that it sounds better at night, by which I mean it sounds louder, fuller, and more resonant. I don't know if its because everything's a bit quieter so my ears are just adjusted (I kind of doubt it, it's not noticeable quieter around these parts), or maybe humidity changes significantly at night (I live on the East Coast). My last incredibly tenuous theory was that the "opening up" of all solid instruments might have been working for me even with this laminate, to a limited degree, since I've been playing all day. And to get it out of the way, I'm always reasonably warmed up mid day through.

I was just curious if anyone else was experiencing this.
 
I thought that for a while. I decided the lack of ambient noise just made it seem a lot better. Just my theory.
 
I don't think ... uhh my koaloha sounds "better" during the evening.. But! The sound of the daily bustle won't be in the air and you ukulele will have less interference, thus allowing it to sound clearer? Maybe after a hard day's work, it sounds better? I dont' know... where abouts on the east coast?
 
Right, it's quieter at night, so less ambient noises. It's just I didn't think it was all that much quieter, especially since there's a lot more talking and going's about in the ol' apartment.
Heh, and at least for me, I'm on summer break so not much coming home to relax with the uke.
And alternately between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
 
It sounds like magic to me.
 
I agree wholly with this.

I was jamming out under the stars a while back when that meteor shower was happening. My ukulele sounded noticeably different that night (I live on the East Coast too) and had almost magical qualities about it. Of course, my sleepiness, the stars and the shooting stars, might've had something to do with it. :D
 
MisoHappy said:
Try the bathroom. Works almost the same :D
Click to expand...
That made me smile. :)

I don't know... I'd say less ambient noise, even if not that much, is a factor.

For me, there's always a kind of peaceful/get-away-from-it-all quality that comes out when I play later at night.

That, and if I've had a couple glasses of wine already, it's going to automatically sound better to me. :D
 
You know what, I'm going to play ukulele in the bathroom, and
...
wait for it
...
I'm going to play it at night!
Once I record it, I'm gonna give Jake a run for his money.
 
sleepsinashoe said:
Hi all, I only have my cheapo Makala dolphin, but I've noticed that it sounds better at night, by which I mean it sounds louder, fuller, and more resonant. I don't know if its because everything's a bit quieter so my ears are just adjusted (I kind of doubt it, it's not noticeable quieter around these parts), or maybe humidity changes significantly at night (I live on the East Coast)............
Click to expand...

This is casued by the way the cellular structure of the tone woods react to the surrouning environment. The lower temperatures and lowered dew points cause the celluar structure to resonate at enhanced frequency ranges. This is the same theory that folks have proposed for the Stradivarius violin whose tone woods was thought to have been made from wood that had been submerged in water for many years. The effect became permanant due to the slowed decompsition of the celluarmembrane structure over time. It's the same effect but on a larger scale.

The theory can be illustrated by the simple formula:

R= (e*M/sl*F)/4*FT where is R = resonance, e = cellular elasticity, M= relative cellular mass, Sl=simple (average) string length, F= initial frequency and FT = Trail off frequency.

Some uneducated folks think its due to the reduced amounts of Ambient noise at night due to reduction in cars, plane, trains, kids, dogs, wind (most nights) more folks asleep, less bird noises, etc.
 
Ukuleleblues said:
The theory can be illustrated by the simple formula:

R= (e*M/sl*F)/4*FT where is R = resonance, e = cellular elasticity, M= relative cellular mass, Sl=simple (average) string length, F= initial frequency and FT = Trail off frequency.
Click to expand...

And here I thought I played the ukulele because it was simple and fun. That doesn't look like either. It is kinda scary looking.
 
Last edited:
Air density (and therefore the speed of sound) changes with temperature and humidity - whether you'd be able to hear the difference is another thing!
 
My Ukes always sound better at night...

Or is that the couple of cocktails that make it seem that way:eek::eek::D
 
If when you say you're playing at night, you mean after dark, then I've always found that all music - recorded or performed - sounds better in lower light. Your senses I think are less dominated by visual input, and able to focus more on sound.
 
None of them noisy birds making a racket at night too to compete with. That, and your whole state of mind more relaxed pau hana especially after an ice cold beer.
 
freedive135 said:
My Ukes always sound better at night...

Or is that the couple of cocktails that make it seem that way:eek::eek::D
Click to expand...

I was going to ask if alchol was involved at all. You know what they say, all the girls are prettier at closing time, same principle could be at play...:cheers:
 
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