Sound quality

Hi. I would like to make a VERY complicated ukulele shape. It is spiky. But i heard that the more complicated the shape, the less likely it is to sound good. Is this true? If so, can i make an octagon-shaped ukulele, then add on hollow spikes? Or would that jack up the sound worse? OR should i just give up and make a simple shape? Please reply ASAP. I need to make this before summer is over. Otherwise, i will be WAY to busy with school.

Have you ever made a uke before?

No I havent but i have spent the last 6 months researching and learning about it. I decided on the design because i dont want to have to bend the wood. Also, I plan on using in a special performance. If the sound ends up sucking, I will block of the hole, and use a mini microphone for amplification. I would just prefer to not have to do that.

Make an electric if it is more of a prop...

That would be awsome. But would that be alot harder?

Also I don't want the cost to be too high.

If you want to be certain it will make a noise, then I'd make a banjo uke and add the shape as a plywood cutout fixed to the rim.

Buy a tunable hand drum, 8 inch (eBay probably). Make a neck. Drill a 1/4 inch (6mm) hole in the end and epoxy a piece of threaded rod in. Drill holes opposite sides of drum, pass rod through, apply nuts inside rim (at neck) and outside (at tail). Buy a banjo uke bridge. Work out how best to attach strings (4 holes in the rim can work, look up Waverley Sreet Ukes to see how) - your decorative shape will affect this. You can adjust the neck angle with shims (small bits of metal cut from a tin can) - if strings are too high above the fretboard, put shims between end of neck above the rod. If too low, put them below.

I've made a few banjo ukes this way (apart from the spiky shape) and they all play nicely. A rolled-up T-shirt stuffed inside the drum mellows the tone.

Thanks for all the help. But I just need someone to tell me if wood on the ouside would ruin the sound of a wood ukulele. The judges are going to score me on

a. creativity
b. integration to the performance
c. craftmanship

In my opinion, wood on the outside would probably not ruin the sound. Consider the Tahitian ukes for example, they have a lot of wood on their sides and yet sound nice.

Brad

There is so much more to this than the shape...

Get a Grizzly kit and throw away the body; it sucks anyway. Or get a uke neck blank from LMI.

Build what you want, and it will certainly be a ULO...a Uke-Like Object. Don't worry about the sound or you'll never build this thing.

Look at the old Gretsch round bodied ukes. How much worse is a Death Star Uke going to sound if you do the rest right? It'll sound like a uke. That's all you need.

And what cost is too high? You could just get a busted up uke and use the neck and bridge. Or get a cheapie import.

From what I can gather, you have little or no experience at lutherie, and if that's a fact, you don't want to learn to make a proper neck under the conditions you seem to be working with. Too much time...

dancergirlm&m said:

Hi. I would like to make a VERY complicated ukulele shape. It is spiky. But i heard that the more complicated the shape, the less likely it is to sound good. Is this true? If so, can i make an octagon-shaped ukulele, then add on hollow spikes? Or would that jack up the sound worse? OR should i just give up and make a simple shape? Please reply ASAP. I need to make this before summer is over. Otherwise, i will be WAY to busy with school.

Click to expand...

It is reputed that this odd shape sounds very good, and the ones I have heard sound very very good. As others have said there is a lot more to building a uke than the shape.

Thanks for all the help everybody. Ill try some of these idea's. Btw " death star uke " lol!

Ill post a pic of the finished product.