ukulele's tone will "open up" with age?

I read that for a solid wood string instrument, the tone will "open up" as it age. What does that mean? Louder? Richer sound?

Does the speed of aging depend on how much you play it?

I just bought a Mele Mahogany Concert 2 weeks ago and have been playing it everyday. (on average 2 hours/ day)

It actually sounds better already, but maybe that's probably just me improving

I wonder what kind of changes in the tone can I expect in 6-12 months?

Thanks,
Donna

Hi annod, that is something that is very difficult to predict. In my 26 years of building I have found that my instruments all improve with age, but how much and how fast varies a lot. The only thing I have noticed for sure, the ones that start off quiet and tight sounding, improve the most and the fastest. Instruments that sound great right away, get better, but not as much or as fast. The type of finish plays a part in this, nitro lacquer takes years to fully cure.

Brad

I was wondering about this too. I just got a lovely Koa soprano. It is an old discontinued Bushman model that an ex-distributer still had. The date it was made was 2006. I bought this new. So if it has been sitting around for the last 4 years in a box somewhere curing has it alreay matured and improved, or like Donna asked, does this "opening up" required it actually being played.
Thanks,
Rox

It's my belief that solid wood instruments (but not laminates) do change over time, but whether or not that can be quantified in any way is hard to say. Of my two vintage Martins, the older, MUCH more played Style 2 is a lot louder and fuller sounding than the newer-by-a-couple-of-decades Style 1. Part of that might be that they are strung with different brands of strings, but you can FEEL the Style 2 vibrating a LOT more than the Style 1. So in the case of these two instruments, it's tough to say whether it's the extra 20+ years of age, the different environments they've each spent their lives in, how much (or how LITTLE) they've been played, HOW they've been played, or what...
So far, I haven't owned a new ukulele long enough yet to notice any real difference. I bought my first solid wood uke just about 11 months ago, and I don't play it a lot, since it's a tenor and I like sopranos much more. I sort of think I've noticed some changes in my koa Kala soprano though.
Whether they do or not, there must be a lot of folks who THINK they do, as witnessed by the prices of some vintage guitars! There are a whole lot of other factors that affect vintage prices, of course, but apparently SOMEONE thinks old instruments sound better!
Something to think about though... wood changes as it dries, and the vibrations from playing might have an effect on the density of the wood fibers, or the way the top and sides vibrate in relation to the bracing, or who knows what.

What you are looking for most of all is a change in the soundboard. Hardwoods are not going to change that much and not that quickly. The effect is most noticeable with a softwood top.

If you have a spruce top, you can definitely expect an audible improvement, with Englemann pretty quickly - the change in the others being more gradual.

A western cedar top opens up quickest of all. In just a few months, you can hardly beleive you're playing the same instrument.

southcoastukes said:

What you are looking for most of all is a change in the soundboard. Hardwoods are not going to change that much and not that quickly. The effect is most noticeable with a softwood top.

If you have a spruce top, you can definitely expect an audible improvement, with Englemann pretty quickly - the change in the others being more gradual.

A western cedar top opens up quickest of all. In just a few months, you can hardly beleive you're playing the same instrument.

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That's good to know! I bought a Mainland Red Cedar pineapple at the end of May. I'll have to listen for changes.

Chris Tarman said:

That's good to know! I bought a Mainland Red Cedar pineapple at the end of May. I'll have to listen for changes.

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You won't notice much if you play it all the time. Record your playing and then listen to later recordings and you will be amazed, assuming that you record the same way.

This is an oft disputed subject on the guitar forums.

Firstly if there is a change its subjective, and in some cases, the change may be for worse!

I think its subtle on a guitar, and therefore I suspect even more subtle on a uke due to the scale.

I gave up on thinking about it for guitar - you end up driving yourself mad (did I hear a change)

Age of strings, and changes over time in your playing technique and style are much more noticeable

pauljmuk said:

This is an oft disputed subject on the guitar forums.

Firstly if there is a change its subjective, and in some cases, the change may be for worse!

I think its subtle on a guitar, and therefore I suspect even more subtle on a uke due to the scale.

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Not sure on this one, but I have a feeling the change may actually be more noticeable on the ukes. Maybe because changes in the samll body have a more pronounced effect.

You are so right about the changes not always being for the better. I'm pretty sure about uke changes being more dramatic here. Having a wider range and more volume is usually a good thing, but on a uke it can sometimes put you into that "shrill, overbearing" area.

I thougth this post was a good one to bring up
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...al-ToneRite-Ukulele-Round-the-World-Road-Trip
I have found in reviewing ukes that I can hear a big difference in the first 2 months on many brand new ukes.
As the glue really dries, and the instrument settles in your climate (I live in IL so I get the 80% humidty summer and 10% in the winter and that changes the sound) I it will change. Playing is the key I have found. Ukes are like people, they develop better with love.

I am on the list for the ToneRite and hope that it does do something.

I know violins open up with time and I think my Flea sounds better after a year and its top is laminated. My fender koa tenor has not changed much and it has a laminated top. Everyone I talk to about this says something different! One violin expert said to me that it takes a fiddle 25 years to mature. My luthier says that isn't so but a string change results in a short period of improving sound. I put Worth strings on my Ohana SK15BL a month ago and in the past three days I hear a much better sound. So you have to take string type into the aging discussion.

I know of a builder who would strap the body to an old transistor radio for days to let the wood open up. For me, I have ukes that are over 40 years old and ukes that are less than a year old and I don't know if I could tell the difference...

I received my LoPrinzi concert right after it was built and I thought it sounded pretty mellow at first. Donna LoPrinzi assured me that the sound would "open up" soon and much to my surprise she was right. It's now much brighter with more projection than when I first got it. When I brought it back to her recently to have a MiSi pickup installed I strummed a few chords and she immediately noticed the difference too.

- Steve

My new concert seems to have 'opened up' in 7 days!

Or maybe, I'm just playing it more proficiently. I dunno, it seems like it sounds better, so it doesn't really matter why.

ukulele's tone will "open up" with age?

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I hope so - I'm 52.

seriously, I haven't really noticed it with my ukes, except for my Ko'olau which I might have played the most. But it's early yet.

The ones I've had the longest seem to stay in tune better than newer ones, I wonder if they get pulled in or compressed with the string tension and find a nice balance.

I tell you what's opening up, my wallet from UAS ......

Amen! ( reply message is too short lol)

The original question/post is 3 1/2 years old... Maybe the poster can answer the question of "opening up" for us now... No? ... The meaning of life? … the meaning of 7th Aug. 5 ?

It's interesting to read these threads where people thinking they're ukes open up after hours, days, weeks, or months...even a year. And now a laminate uke with a plastic body? Umm....sorry, but no.

I've heard it takes decades, with all solid wood instruments, not a year or less. It wouldn't be a big deal if it took a month or something.

I am not sure if it is the settling or the wood opening up or what... but I know my Ohana all solid mahogany sopranino that gets a lot of play sounds a tad bit better than the out of the box sopraninos. But it used to not be that way. I just think it gets played a lot! Or maybe it is just because it is loved so much!