Will all solid wood uke "open up"?

ErnieJ

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I've just received my new Kala Acacia tenor this afternoon which is made of all solid woods that is, no laminates. It is very nicely done and sounds good but I'm noticing that it is just not as loud or resonant as my lammy tenor. Does it need more time to grow accustomed to the disappointment of life in North Carolina after hanging out with musicguymic on the islands? More importantly will it "open up" with time and playing that is, after 10 or 15 years of constant playing will it begin to sound more resonant and louder?

Thanks,

erniej
 
I'm guessing about a year. I'm having an ukulele made for me and the builder said it would take about a year for the wood to open up.

P.S. Happy New Uke Day!
 
Ah one year is better. Thank you sukie. Getting a new uke is wonderful for morale. I would bet that it changes the brain chemistry for the better. I am certainly happier than I was this morning. :D
 
I've also heard it takes about a year for them to open up and really develop. I did notice that my Kala Acacia tenor wasn't very loud either. It still isn't as loud as some of my sopranos. I don't play it much, since I prefer sopranos. It's my only tenor, so I don't have anything really to compare it to. I've wondered if it's just that particular wood (it's also my only acacia uke), or if it is going to blossom later on. It sounds good, I think, just not as loud as I was expecting it to be.
 
Ah one year is better. Thank you sukie. Getting a new uke is wonderful for morale. I would bet that it changes the brain chemistry for the better. I am certainly happier than I was this morning. :D

My uke "opens up" my mind the minute I open it up from its case! :nana:
 
I'm not totally convinced that an instrument really opens up that much. It might be more that the player gets better at drawing the best out of the new instrument with time.
 
Yes that is it it is not as loud as I expected. We'll see what happens. It will be my main uke so it will be constantly played. The uke jam that I go to is a wall of uke sound. I was hoping to cut through. Then again it's pointless to fight the wall of sound.
 
Interesting point Brewerpaul. I don't really need to blast but I hope for more resonance with time.
 
Let us know. You might try recording a tune now and then record the same tune a year from now. Should be interesting.
 
Aloha Ernie,
Give it time, the strings need to break in yet....then see how it goes...before you think about the uke opening up....one step at a time....
 
Thanks stan I will. I feel patient. It does sound good. The laminated tenor sounds brash compared to the other which sounds nicer. When I play the laminated tenor I can feel the top and body vibrating. Not so with the solid uke though I feel a little vibration. It is heavier too. A more solid build. I was expecting to feel it more. I will put aside my expectations and just play it.

I tend to sing everything very loud which I guess is why I am concerned about volume. I've been told to be more dynamic with
vocals and sing softer and breathier. I think this will help me to soften my singing.

It would be interesting to record it now and later provided I could duplicate the settings later. Might try that and write things down.

erniej
 
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Thanks Bill. I've heard of that. I think there is a gadget one can buy. It will get plenty of exposure to high decibel music. It will get played a lot too. One thing I like about the uke is that you can play it while lying down on the couch for instance. It can be done with a guitar but it is not as easy. Technique suffers.

I'm starting to think that maybe it's not really quieter but more of a focused and mellower tone and sound.

I am liking it.

Thanks all for responses.

erniej
 
I don't know anything about acacia, but with classical guitars, cedar generally opens up considerably faster than spruce (the two most common solid tops). A laminate might sound louder from the get-go, but it really won't develop over time.
 
The thing I think more about lately is me opening up. I realized recently that there was not enough attack in my approach, definition, this sense of being specific in my playing. I think both soft and loud playing requires this. To be fair to the question, I think some, not all ukes open up. I agree with and concern myself more with learning a particular instrument's correct buttons...
 
My thinking goes back and forth on whether a solid uke opens up or not. I do believe that your playing improves a lot in a year, so most people would think any uke sounds better. On the other hand, my Ohana Sk-35G solid mahogany definitely seems like it has opened up in the 6 months I have owned it. Its loudness impressed me when I first got it, but now it just blows me away at how loud it is for such a tiny little instrument.

As far as lams go, I love to go to Sam Ash when I get a chance and play all their ukes. I was always impressed with the cheapest baritone in the store - a Makala MK-B for $69. Its a nato laminate. Unfortunately they were out of stock on that one for a few months. Last week I was in and they had another one. It was amazing how much louder that lam was compared to the Oscar Schmidt and Lanikai solid spruce tops they have. The Makala is very thin with no unecessary things on the body (like bindings). You can feel the whole thing vibrating when you strum it. I doubt any of the solid wood-topped baritones they carry in that store (Sam Ash isn't into really high quality ukes) will ever open up as much as that Makala lam. The Makala doesn't feel as nice in your hands, and it may be too boomy (although I have never recorded one) but its all sound. I have also played some solid wood ukes that were too thick, and built like tanks. Their muffled sound reflected the build. To some degree a lot depends on what the designer does with the wood or the lam. Try out a Kiwaya sometime if you want to see what can be done with lams.
 
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I'm not totally convinced that an instrument really opens up that much. It might be more that the player gets better at drawing the best out of the new instrument with time.

Well, you certainly have to play them during that year. But I am having a Moore Bettah built and I certainly believe what Chuck told me. Is it particular to his ukuleles? Maybe. I don't think so though. But I believe him. I also think my KoAloha sounds warmer after 2 years. Chuck also said -- and I paraphrase -- that the wood has to start acting like an ukulele and not a tree. Isn't that a really cool way to describe it?
 
Yes, but it takes time, and depends on many things: your local environment (heat, humidity), the kind of wood, how often you play, and so on. Check out the Tonerite device if you want to speed up the process.

Volume is also a factor of things like the flexibility and thickness of the top wood (BTW, is this just your opinion, or does your audience also agree?), the kind of strings, the saddle material, and the size of the body cavity. And resonance - by which I assume you mean fullness of sound - is also the result of many factors including the body cavity and sound hole sizes.

"Opening up" won't make a uke louder. What happens is that the grain expands and compresses in ways that parallel the sound waves produced by the instrument. This tends to make it sound "warmer" or more mellow, and creates more complex harmonics, so the sound seems richer or fuller. But not louder.
 
I'm not totally convinced that an instrument really opens up that much.
A scientific study was done 20-25 years ago by one the the big guitar companies - Gibson I think - and the results published in one or more of the popular guitar magazines of the day. I remember reading it, but didn't keep a copy. it was pretty exciting back then.

It basically showed proof that wooden instruments change texture over time and respond to playing. The study examined the wood fibres of various instruments under a microscope to determine the amount of change, and as I recall, several acoustic/oscilloscope tests were done on instruments before and after to verify it.

How much that change affects the sound may be open to debate, because concepts like warm, mellow or improved tone are subjective. But the study did show a change happens.
 
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