Pippin
Well-known member
I combined two posts from a long time ago in this post. Since questions always arise about tone-woods and how various ukes will sound made from them, I thought this would be helpful
Keep in mind that I have "tested" and "reviewed" a lot of ukuleles and guitars over many years, especially since I started publishing Ukulele Player Magazine.
Tonal descriptions are largely subjective and construction from one instrument to the next may produce variances.
---
What tone, over all, do I want? A rosewood back and sides will have better low and mid-range tone than a mahogany uke.
Spruce will be brighter than mahogany and will not mellow as much as cedar with age. Cedar will sound bright at first and
just continue to get more mellow and sweeter with age. Then there are the exotic woods, starting with koa, very punchy with
clear tone. Mango is softer and sweet, but it doesn't carry as well as koa. Zebrawood, pretty new on the market is bright,
but it is a thinner tone than any of the others mentioned thus far. Maple is bright and combined with a spruce top will be
one of the loudest ukes you can ever find, yet played softly, it can be about as sweet and mellow as any instrument. Maple
is usually laminated, so the solid spruce top is important.
The "sound" changes with the combinations of wood, the bracing, the body size and shape, and variables in construction. Many
companies have different sounds on different instruments depending on the choice of woods used. So, here is a basic
rundown...
bright sound.... maple back and sides, spruce top (very loud).
fairly bright sound, warms with age.... solid mahogany
warm sound, warms slightly with age, not as loud as koa.... mango
bright sound, can give a pronounced "bark" with warm tone, yet very loud.... solid koa
warm sound with a sweet tone that gets sweeter with age.... mahogany back with cedar top
bright, yet warm sound that will mellow with age, but remain loud.... mahogany with spruce top
warm sound, middle-volume, with smooth sweet tone.... koa back and sides with a cedar top
warm, rich sound with good midrange and lower registers... rosewood back and sides, cedar top
warm, rich sound with brighter highs and good volume.... rosewood back and sides with spruce top
less common woods...
myrtle... bright, mid-range tone with good balance
zebrawood... chipper, bright tone, average volume (add a spruce top for increased volume)
monkeypod... sounds similar to Koa, not as pretty, but nice straight grain
blackwood... nice grain, sounds a lot like koa, warms with age
walnut... bright, loud, not commonly used in ukes... used a lot in hammer dulcimers.
sycamore... bright, mid-volume, but soft
redwood... very soft, but warm tone
Keep in mind that I have "tested" and "reviewed" a lot of ukuleles and guitars over many years, especially since I started publishing Ukulele Player Magazine.
Tonal descriptions are largely subjective and construction from one instrument to the next may produce variances.
---
What tone, over all, do I want? A rosewood back and sides will have better low and mid-range tone than a mahogany uke.
Spruce will be brighter than mahogany and will not mellow as much as cedar with age. Cedar will sound bright at first and
just continue to get more mellow and sweeter with age. Then there are the exotic woods, starting with koa, very punchy with
clear tone. Mango is softer and sweet, but it doesn't carry as well as koa. Zebrawood, pretty new on the market is bright,
but it is a thinner tone than any of the others mentioned thus far. Maple is bright and combined with a spruce top will be
one of the loudest ukes you can ever find, yet played softly, it can be about as sweet and mellow as any instrument. Maple
is usually laminated, so the solid spruce top is important.
The "sound" changes with the combinations of wood, the bracing, the body size and shape, and variables in construction. Many
companies have different sounds on different instruments depending on the choice of woods used. So, here is a basic
rundown...
bright sound.... maple back and sides, spruce top (very loud).
fairly bright sound, warms with age.... solid mahogany
warm sound, warms slightly with age, not as loud as koa.... mango
bright sound, can give a pronounced "bark" with warm tone, yet very loud.... solid koa
warm sound with a sweet tone that gets sweeter with age.... mahogany back with cedar top
bright, yet warm sound that will mellow with age, but remain loud.... mahogany with spruce top
warm sound, middle-volume, with smooth sweet tone.... koa back and sides with a cedar top
warm, rich sound with good midrange and lower registers... rosewood back and sides, cedar top
warm, rich sound with brighter highs and good volume.... rosewood back and sides with spruce top
less common woods...
myrtle... bright, mid-range tone with good balance
zebrawood... chipper, bright tone, average volume (add a spruce top for increased volume)
monkeypod... sounds similar to Koa, not as pretty, but nice straight grain
blackwood... nice grain, sounds a lot like koa, warms with age
walnut... bright, loud, not commonly used in ukes... used a lot in hammer dulcimers.
sycamore... bright, mid-volume, but soft
redwood... very soft, but warm tone