Do you buy for bling, or do you want to hear it sing?

Age old debate - buying primarily for looks or for sound.

Obviously, it's nice to get both, but we all know that fancy bindings and exotic inlays and the like have no genuine effect on tonal qualities, and that fancier, more exotic tonewoods and designs do not necessarily result in great sounding instruments - Lord knows how many bling laden expensive guitars have sold for a King's ransom but sound dead as a dishrag. Still, how many nonetheless put aesthetics at the top of their priority list when purchasing, ordering, or simply dreaming of an expensive uke.

Asked another way, assume you have won a contest and a uke store is going to give you a ukulele free of charge. Both are hand built by a well known and highly respected luthier. First, though, you are blindfolded and the two ukes are played for you by an accomplished player and you must pick the one that sounds best to your ears. You are clearly and easily able to do this, but find much to your surprise when the blindfold is taken off that the uke you have chosen is a plain Jane with absolutely no bling whatsoever - no binding, inlays, exotic woods, not even a headstock logo, while the one you clearly passed on sound wise was decked out to the hilt with everything from extra sound ports to exotic tonewoods to tree of life fingerboard inlays, etc.etc.

Assuming you must keep the uke and not re-sell it, which do you choose?

There is no right or wrong answer here by the way, just curious about what the uke crowd thinks. As well, some may have already noticed immediately, if not sooner, that I avoided answering the question myself.

I'll play a weathered 2 X 4 and a used bedpan with barbed wire for strings if it sings...

John

Wanna hear it sing.

I downright - don't like the bling. I would never be comfortable playing an instrument that looks like a work of art.
I want something basic looking - that sounds Great.

I want it sings 100000%!!!!!!!!

https://soundcloud.com/baouke

Not a fan of bling, at all. My needs are simple: non-curly koa or plain mahogany, no binding, no inlays - and perfect intonation.

To me, it has to sound good , feel good, and be built well. Looks are very secondary. That being said, I think ukes with anything more than a tasteful rosette or some simple fret markers are ostentatious. I like the look of the wood. The uke is too small to sport a bunch of stuff on it.

fumanshu said:

I want it sings 100000%!!!!!!!!

https://soundcloud.com/baouke

Click to expand...

can you tell me what ukuleles you have played just wondering thank you

No brainier...it's all about the tone and feel...instruments are a lot like women!

both !

I agree with nongdam but ill go with sound over looks

this thread made my day. ive noticed that most peeps who shell out ridiculous amounts of hard earned dollars tend to have what i call " visual-over-aural-denial-titis" . at the end of the day, its just a damn ukulele.

Me three, both but not over blinged, just tastefully done................

I prefer a great sounding but subdued 'ukulele. When I was having my custom Emil Bader Milo Wood pineapple made he asked me what kind of bling I wanted. I gave him a bunch of native hardwoods so he said he would make whatever I wanted. I just went with plain jane the main thing being sound and did not want to distract from the Milo wood itself. I couldn't be happier.

Neither bling nor sound quality will make me a better player. Only practice will do that. But I have always had a preference for the simple and traditional. In my youth Jimmy Soul sang, "If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life never make a pretty woman your wife..." Now I married a beautiful woman, both inside and out. It is my constant struggle to "live up" to the marriage I made. That's work enough. I don't need my ukulele to make the same demands on me. Simple does it. But she must sing.

Not sure here if "bling" is a generic term that covers everything from inlays and the like that are simply for appearance all the way to finely crafted instruments that have already received the necessary attention to construction and materials that results in fine sound and, along to way to completion, are given finely constructed additional esthetic appeal.

Some of the real lookers that people here own are also some of the best sounding ukes around. It doesn't seem to do them justice to make the comparison between plain ukes with great sound and flashy ukes that don't sound as good as the plain Jane. It is possible to have both great sound and killer esthetics.

If I have to choose one, I want it to sing for sure. But I do like some bling too, so I typically shop for both. Maybe I'm shallow.

Both.

I ordered a custom because the builder is the best IMO.

I added bling because I want it noticed as a custom and not just something you could grab off a big box wall.

For me, sound over bling. Easy
-joe

I always buy for the sing,
Sometimes just for the sing,
Sometimes with bling and sing,
It is a nice thing when it has a good ring.
Never hurts to be able to say you sexy thing.

I wanna hear it sing, that is all that really matters anyway.