fat finger sustain enhancer

im interested in one of these. bunch of good reviews on them making noticeable differences on stringed instruments.

aldrine... what kind of differences did this make on your applause?

anyone else here have and use one? what do you think of them?

and will this actually lengthen the sustain on our ukes? or does it help more on tonal quality?

fat fingers rock! there is a huge difference in sustain. i have it on my applause and takamine jumbo. but i noticed when i put it on my classical, my bass strings would always break. if anybody knows why, please tell me!

hmmm ok so im reading up on this little item. and it seems that all it is, is just a piece of metal that you can clamp on to the headstock of the uke. so whats keeping me from just buying a mini C-clamp that weighs between 3 and 4 ounces and using that? haha

titoboy, i have no idea why your bass strings would break. that seems very odd. have you tried putting the fatfinger in different locations to see if it still does it?

Well basically the fat finger is just a little extra mass that helps even out the weight on your instrument. If the body is a little heavy; you might wanna try this out. The applause is a perfect example for this. The sustain is great and it makes a big difference to me. I tried it on my kamaka. The sound got a little better but i didn't want it to mess up the headstock. I also didn't want the kamaka to get too dependent on the fat finger. I wanted that natural sound that came out of Mika.

It basically balances out the instrument by making it weigh even. You'd be surprised on how much difference this makes though.

I suggest you try it out and just see for yourself. You might like it.

im wondering right now if my ears just suck. hahaha.

basically, in theory, i could take any metalic object and clamp it to the headstock of one of my ukes and get the same effect. so i did.

i used a 10" long metal file and an all metal pocket knife and clamped them to the uke with a capo. each weighs somewhere between 2-4oz (lotta experience with lead fishing sinkers so im not bad at hand-weighing). i tested out their connection with the instrument by using my chromatic tuner. clamped it to the object instead of the wood. good to go.

tried it on my kala (where i was expecting to see the most dramatic change) and on my leolani. i did not notice any difference in the kala, other than the extra weight at the head. the leolani actually developed a twang and lost its warmth. sustain on either uke was not affected.

ok so i realize my experimentation has a lot of variables that could lead to less than desirable results not expected from a small solid metal object designed to be used on an instrument and take up as little space as possible, compared to a 10" long scored strip of metal, and a 4" (when closed) metalic object consisting of spaces, hinge, and several pieces within the unit.

BUT, if the "added mass" is actually what is supposed to enhance the instrument, then as long as the contact is made and held securely in place well enough to transmit vibrations adequately through to register into a chromatic tuner, i would expect at least some sort of noticeable effect at least rivaling those reported on posted product reviews. im less than impressed.

when i was in the navy, we had this term called PFM (pure F'ing magic). whenever someone asked why things were the way they were, that was the answer given by senior sailors to their juniors if they didnt know how to answer. i never settled for that answer. and because of this. i must now purchase one of these little guys to prove to myself that either it does actually work, or my ears are just broken. haha

NukeDOC said:

hmmm ok so im reading up on this little item. and it seems that all it is, is just a piece of metal that you can clamp on to the headstock of the uke. so whats keeping me from just buying a mini C-clamp that weighs between 3 and 4 ounces and using that? haha

titoboy, i have no idea why your bass strings would break. that seems very odd. have you tried putting the fatfinger in different locations to see if it still does it?

Click to expand...

yep, broke 3 sets of bass strings.