Tone-Woods

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.

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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

Helpful indeed. Thanks for this.

You're welcome, indeed.

Yes, thanks. You're causing me to rethink things.

bumped for those who might want to know...

Thanks for that!

I'm about to pick the tonewoods for an Anakoneke tenor, and I would like for it to have a sound distinct from the sound of my other ukuleles. I currently have a Kamaka (solid koa), a Mya-Moe (solid myrtle), two Compass Roses (one is solid walnut, the other is a solid mahogany nano-jumbo). I'm considering a spruce or cedar top to get a brighter sound than that of these other tenors. Any thoughts/recommendations about a soundboard tonewood and complementary tonewood for the back and sides?

spruce family / w rosewood family would be my choice Mark...I believe that will be your combo for the bari?

Thanks Pippin...I find it very useful.

Nice informative thread...thanks.

Great Job Mickey...I have also been trying out tone woods over the years....and other factors too..such as different top hardness combination too....also the
the builders craftmanship too....like chuckie has made one of my best sounding ukes...also how strings affect tone too and which ones to use for which uke builds..... I am currently trying to figure why some ukes the the note has such a quick decay in the building process....intesting for sure....thank you again

Pippin said:

redwood... very soft, but warm tone

Click to expand...

My Ohana redwood is very loud, with lots of overtones (same as warm?) and a bit dark (some amount of low overtones)

Thanks, Pippin, for the list. It is very helpful indeed!

Aloha and Mahalo Mikey,
Through PMs, you've help me in my wood choices for my Wixom Tenor. You said you haven't seen my wood choices before, but sounded interesting. Well, the finished product has a soothing voice, mellow and warm for sure with great clarity and long sustain.
Book marked this thread for future builds.
Again, Mahalo.................................Bo....................

mm stan said:

Great Job Mickey...I have also been trying out tone woods over the years....and other factors too..such as different top hardness combination too....also the
the builders craftmanship too....like chuckie has made one of my best sounding ukes...also how strings affect tone too and which ones to use for which uke builds..... I am currently trying to figure why some ukes the the note has such a quick decay in the building process....intesting for sure....thank you again

Click to expand...

Stan, I hear ya. I recently put Martin fluorocarbon re-entrant tuned strings on my KoAloha Super-Concert and it really came alive. What a change from the low-g strings that were on it. It has more sustain and really rings nicely.

equina said:

My Ohana redwood is very loud, with lots of overtones (same as warm?) and a bit dark (some amount of low overtones)

Thanks, Pippin, for the list. It is very helpful indeed!

Click to expand...

I love my Ohana redwood-topped concert uke. It has rosewood back and sides with maple binding. It's very pretty and really sings. Redwood will get mellow with age, like cedar, but moreso.

808boy said:

Aloha and Mahalo Mikey,
Through PMs, you've help me in my wood choices for my Wixom Tenor. You said you haven't seen my wood choices before, but sounded interesting. Well, the finished product has a soothing voice, mellow and warm for sure with great clarity and long sustain.
Book marked this thread for future builds.
Again, Mahalo.................................Bo....................

Click to expand...

Bo, I was thrilled to hear how well you liked your custom tenor. Some people don't think the wood of choice makes a difference, but, yes it does. Sure, there are other variables, but, as wood ages, the differences are even more pronounced.

Pippin said:

Stan, I hear ya. I recently put Martin fluorocarbon re-entrant tuned strings on my KoAloha Super-Concert and it really came alive. What a change from the low-g strings that were on it. It has more sustain and really rings nicely.

Click to expand...

Aloha Mickey,
I am currently trying the Oasis strings....I have started on the soprano/concert set and they are a little more punchier, sweeter and balanced than the martins Fleuro's on rich bodied ukes..you
must try them if you are a martin fan....

I've noticed the softer woods sound light and airy, the hardwoods dense and concentrated. For the back/sides, hardwoods reflect more bass and softer woods absorb it. A very hard wood like rosewood combined with a very soft wood like spruce is usually considered the best - lots of bass response and all frequencies coming out due to the top wood vibrating a lot, and inside a more rigid chamber, don't get lost, they just bounce right back.

My favorite ukes are all "Toon", some have back/sides of harder woods. The nature of the back and side wood makes a big difference.

mm stan said:

Aloha Mickey,
I am currently trying the Oasis strings....I have started on the soprano/concert set and they are a little more punchier, sweeter and balanced than the martins Fleuro's on rich bodied ukes..you
must try them if you are a martin fan....

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, Stan. I'll have to give them a go. I'll check and see if Elderly has them the next time I order.

MyaMoe has a very nice overview of wood characteristics on their website, incl. sample pictures.

And I love their explanation:

MyaMoe said:

Sound is air movement. Think of the top as an air pump. Its function is to take the energy from the strings and pump air by moving up and down. So, the ideal wood for a top is something light and stiff. Spruce, cedar, redwood and the warmer hardwoods (koa, mahogany, mango & myrtle) are the best choices.
The function of the back is to reflect those sound waves. So, the back needs to be something dense, like a hardwood (which is why spruce and cedar aren't found on the back of an instrument). By adjusting the thickness and bracing of the top & back we can affect tone, volume and sustain.

Click to expand...

I am loving the sound of my cedar/rosewood concert, though it is very "alive" sounding. It came with Aquilas and I'm going to try Worth clears next.

Pippin said:

You're welcome, indeed.

Click to expand...

I found this so interesting, I am very new to the ukulele and I have never played any instrument before. I bought a Kala SMLT which is made of Okoume . Can you tell me a little bit about that wood?