ukuDaily
Well-known member
I am new to the Luthier's area, but have been lurking for some time. As a former carpenter, I excited about the prospects of building some ukes, just as soon as I can tool up. In the mean time, I am thrilled to have such a place to learn construction techniques from the pros.
Today, I have a question about sound board thickness. I have a Pono Ohai soprano, widely known by those in the know as a quiet instrument, assumed to be because of its overly thick sound board. Not satisfied with the easy answer, I thought I would dig deeper into what effects a think top have volume in general and perhaps more importantly, what it does to the volume and tone of each string?
As I play this uke, I find that the C string seems to resonate pretty well through the thick top, but the higher strings all but disappear, especially as I strum louder. Is this what one would expect? After reading a thread about SouthCoast strings, it got me thinking about the effects of string tension on soundboard vibration. Can thick soundboard issues be overcome by different strings? My gut feeling here is that they can, but not in the way most people would accept. In order to get the strings to balance, you would have to use looser low strings to reduce their volume to match the quiet high strings. Am I right here?
I also have had another idea I would like to pass by you luthier gurus. Another option I thought of to overcome the thick soundboard would be to make it thinner. I read one post were a guy sanded it down significantly and it made a substantial difference. Rather than going through the hassles of sanding and refinishing, I have been thinking about taking the uke to a laser engraver and give them a cool picture of waves crashing onto the beach or some intricate pattern and have them etch it into the sound board, effectively thinning it by say 25%. It could end up being pretty cool looking. Any thoughts?
Today, I have a question about sound board thickness. I have a Pono Ohai soprano, widely known by those in the know as a quiet instrument, assumed to be because of its overly thick sound board. Not satisfied with the easy answer, I thought I would dig deeper into what effects a think top have volume in general and perhaps more importantly, what it does to the volume and tone of each string?
As I play this uke, I find that the C string seems to resonate pretty well through the thick top, but the higher strings all but disappear, especially as I strum louder. Is this what one would expect? After reading a thread about SouthCoast strings, it got me thinking about the effects of string tension on soundboard vibration. Can thick soundboard issues be overcome by different strings? My gut feeling here is that they can, but not in the way most people would accept. In order to get the strings to balance, you would have to use looser low strings to reduce their volume to match the quiet high strings. Am I right here?
I also have had another idea I would like to pass by you luthier gurus. Another option I thought of to overcome the thick soundboard would be to make it thinner. I read one post were a guy sanded it down significantly and it made a substantial difference. Rather than going through the hassles of sanding and refinishing, I have been thinking about taking the uke to a laser engraver and give them a cool picture of waves crashing onto the beach or some intricate pattern and have them etch it into the sound board, effectively thinning it by say 25%. It could end up being pretty cool looking. Any thoughts?