Automatic Ukulele Break-in Device

KamakOzzie · May 13, 2010

I thought this should be a new thread instead of hi-jacking a previous one.

From Experimentjohn in another thread;

"But, mine has been sitting in its case for the past few weeks though...not quite as long as my Kanilea Baritone, but I've just still been trying to break in my Pineapple Sunday whenever I actually do have time to play. (Someone really needs to invent a machine to do that automatically.)"

Check out this web site.
http://tonerite.com/ukulele/vmchk

I borrowed the mandolin model several months ago from a friend to use on my Kamaka tenor. I left it on for a week, and real of imagined, I swear it opened it up some. A little louder and more sustain. I also tried it on my Kiwaya pineapple and didn't see any improvement. The Kiwaya is a laminate, the Kamaka is solid.

I'm just throwing it up for discussion. It's a lot of money. You could buy another uke for the price.

Chris Tarman · May 13, 2010

I don't know if this sort of thing works or not, but I read an article in Bass Player magazine about 12 years ago about some luthiers experimenting with clamping instruments to big vibrating tables to try to accomplish the same sort of "playing-in". Kind of an interesting idea, I suppose.

jer989 · May 13, 2010

ok, I normally charge money to do it, but for any UU'ers that need your solid ukes broken in, just send it to me for a week, I'll do it free of charge... ;-)

Seriously though, seems like a neat idea. Do they have an A-B audio sample before and after comparison? That would be neat to hear.

cletus · May 13, 2010

It's a lot of money. You could buy another uke for the price.

End of discussion.

Craig · May 13, 2010

This is my favorite gadget:

Chris Tarman · May 13, 2010

Craig said:
This is my favorite gadget:

Reminds me of the old Far Side comic strip titled "-----'s last day as the band's sound-man", showing a guy about to push a button on the mixing board labeled "SUCK".

experimentjon · May 13, 2010

I saw the title of this thread and got excited already. XD

And the Kanilea Baritone has not been touched since I wrote that post. T_T I swear, this semester has been ridiculous. But just two more days of finals and I can fondle my ukes again.

However, $150 is way overpriced for that device, esp since I'm not convinced that it works. If it did work though, I'd probably be willing to pay $50 or so.

Teek · May 13, 2010

I dunno, I took a look at the website and it seems like a really slick con. Especially with the T-Shirt being extra, lol. And where deeper in the site they admit to how ineffective the Signature model was compared to the new Luthier model which is significantly quieter....

AC Baltimore · May 13, 2010

What the heck ever happened to playing your instruments to break them in?

clayton56 · May 13, 2010

any sound will make your uke vibrate. Speak into the tonehole and see.

How about playing the radio into it?

GVlog · May 13, 2010

AC Baltimore said:
What the heck ever happened to playing your instruments to break them in?

Maybe some people have too many instruments and not enough time.

Parlor Picker · May 13, 2010

I seem to remember the Tone-Rite subject coming up a while ago on the Larrivée Guitar forum. As I mentioned there, a luthier friend of mine has always advocated standing your instrument in front of your stereo speakers, so it picks up the vibrations. He is convinced a session in front of a particular John Martyn album (can't remember which one) worked wonders for a new guitar!

I keep an open mind and agree with the comment that there's no substitute for playing the instrument, be it a guitar, mandolin, ukulele or whatever. However subjecting it to supplementary vibrations can surely only aid the process(?).

micromue · May 13, 2010

Wow, according to their website it is a high-tech device straight from the military/industry complex! And it is made by musicians just like ourselves! I want to buy two of them...

Chris Tarman · May 13, 2010

Parlor Picker said:
I seem to remember the Tone-Rite subject coming up a while ago on the Larrivée Guitar forum. As I mentioned there, a luthier friend of mine has always advocated standing your instrument in front of your stereo speakers, so it picks up the vibrations. He is convinced a session in front of a particular John Martyn album (can't remember which one) worked wonders for a new guitar!

I keep an open mind and agree with the comment that there's no substitute for playing the instrument, be it a guitar, mandolin, ukulele or whatever. However subjecting it to supplementary vibrations can surely only aid the process(?).

I didn't do this to "break in" my uke, but more than once I have taken a nice one to band practice to show one of our guitarists (the one who likes cool instruments), and ended up setting my uke near my bass amp for the duration of practice. I'm pretty sure it picked up some vibrations from my Ampeg!

dparrothead1 · May 13, 2010

I wonder, if you put it up against a wall; will it kill mice and roaches????

dnewton2 · May 13, 2010

I have heard of people setting thier instruments close to a subwoofer and letting the bass do the same thing. Probably not a good idea if you live in an apartment though.

I agree that the instrument should be played to break it in.

Skitzic · May 13, 2010

I don't know man...that t-shirt is certainly tempting...

harpdog · May 13, 2010

Just lean it on a loud speaker box. I should do so when I play electric guitar through an amp....

haole · May 13, 2010

cletus said:
It's a lot of money. You could buy another uke for the price.

End of discussion.

Gotta go with this one.

lindydanny · May 13, 2010

You have to be kidding, right? This is as funny as the sliver labels that audiophiles buy to put on the back side of CDs to "enhance" the laser's ability to read them. Pure crap.

~DB

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