uke sounding better?

matchubouye said:
i was wondering i f anybody knew how to make your ukulele sound better?
i play a lanikai concert with aquilla strings
if you know how to make it sound better by other things please tell me:)
Click to expand...

Practice.

Haha in all seriousness, practice will always make it sound better, but you may want to upgrade your uke if you feel the sound is really lacking.

If you can, go to a music store that has some ukes, try some out and see if you like any of their tones more.

Is there a particular sound you are looking for?
 
Honestly, the more you play, the more you'll love it, the better it will sound to you. When I first played, I was so frustrated, it sounded horrid to me

The love makes it sound better
 
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MisoHappy said:
Honestly, the more you play, the more you'll live it, the better it will sound to you. When I first played, I was so frustrated, it sounded horrid to me

The love makes it sound better
Click to expand...

This is true. :D Plus, the better you play, the clearer it'll sound. There are players in the UU community who could pick up a Hilo and make it sound beautiful. ;)

As for making it louder/changing the tone without any expensive surgery on your uke... I've heard that changing the nut/bridge saddles to Tusq ones makes a difference in intonation and sound. Otherwise, just try different strings.
 
Most Lanikai ukes are laminated. They will "open up" with lots of play time, not as much as a solid wood instrument, but they do open up some. That will make them sound better. Using Aquila strings, like you said, on that uke makes a big difference since Lanikai ships them with GHS strings on them. Depending on budget, if you opt for a solid wood instrument at some point, you will hear a big difference in volume, and tone, but be aware that your ukulele will have to be fine-tuned more as you play it. Solid wood instruments expand and contract a lot more in variations of temperature. When my heat comes on here, my instruments all need fine-tuning. I have all solid wood ukes lying around the place. Still... I like the look of Lanikai curly koa laminated ukes with their maple binding. I used two of them on an album a little over a year ago.
 
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Although you are likely to get a better sound from a better ukulele and the tone of any ukulele will be improved with decent strings that are appropriate for the instrument, these are not the main factors. The real answer is PRACTICE.

If you gave an absolute beginner a violin to play, they would sound just as bad on a cheap instrument as a $1000000 Stradivarius. If you give a cheap instrument to a real expert, you would be hard-pressed to realise that it was not a high-quality instrument that they were playing.

Take Aldrine, for instance. Why does he sound so good? Is it that nice Kamaka that he plays? No, in the end that is just an ordinary workshop-made ukulele like thousands of others. He sounds so good because he plays every note carefully. Notice the left-hand vibrato, the careful placement of the fingers. His right hand in just the right position, his fingers at the correct angle to get the tone he wants. Nails smooth and carefully sharpened. When he strums there is an evenness of dynamics. He is rhythmically precise. I could go on. I pick Aldrine because everyone knows his playing. He make the simplest thing sound good. Because of the sound he gets, he is actually a much better player than many people would believe.

I think we need to stop thinking of the ukulele as an easy instrument, one that anybody can just pick up and play. It is not about buying a better instrument and becoming a better player. Yes, having a good instrument helps. It gives you confidence and makes you feel like you are making progress. A good instrument may play in tune and this is important. But you can easily make a good instrument sound out of tune just by pressing on the strings to hard or by not getting it in tune in the first place.

I feel quite strongly about this. And I mean no criticism of anybody. But I believe that the ukulele is a serious musical instrument. Some of the best players on YT use inexpensive factory-made instruments and make them sound great. Why? Because they are passionate about their playing.

Sorry to go on so long.

KEN
 
Ken, you rock. That post contained a large amount of wisdom.

I noticed, however, that you did not say anything against the effectiveness of bling. ;)
 
Thanks for your great insight, Ken! I'm gonna constantly quote it when need be!
 
Ken Middleton said:
Although you are likely to get a better sound from a better ukulele and the tone of any ukulele will be improved with decent strings that are appropriate for the instrument, these are not the main factors. The real answer is PRACTICE.

If you gave an absolute beginner a violin to play, they would sound just as bad on a cheap instrument as a $1000000 Stradivarius. If you give a cheap instrument to a real expert, you would be hard-pressed to realise that it was not a high-quality instrument that they were playing.

Take Aldrine, for instance. Why does he sound so good? Is it that nice Kamaka that he plays? No, in the end that is just an ordinary workshop-made ukulele like thousands of others. He sounds so good because he plays every note carefully. Notice the left-hand vibrato, the careful placement of the fingers. His right hand in just the right position, his fingers at the correct angle to get the tone he wants. Nails smooth and carefully sharpened. When he strums there is an evenness of dynamics. He is rhythmically precise. I could go on. I pick Aldrine because everyone knows his playing. He make the simplest thing sound good. Because of the sound he gets, he is actually a much better player than many people would believe.

I think we need to stop thinking of the ukulele as an easy instrument, one that anybody can just pick up and play. It is not about buying a better instrument and becoming a better player. Yes, having a good instrument helps. It gives you confidence and makes you feel like you are making progress. A good instrument may play in tune and this is important. But you can easily make a good instrument sound out of tune just by pressing on the strings to hard or by not getting it in tune in the first place.

I feel quite strongly about this. And I mean no criticism of anybody. But I believe that the ukulele is a serious musical instrument. Some of the best players on YT use inexpensive factory-made instruments and make them sound great. Why? Because they are passionate about their playing.

Sorry to go on so long.

KEN
Click to expand...

i think i'm in love! (wait did i just say that out loud?:eek:)

i would plus rep you but you're all repped out.
 
Words to live by Mr. Middleton.
I'm a newbie at the ukulele but I have seen the same thing in other areas, we try to buy performance. Instead of putting in the work it takes to be good we think that throwing enough money around will make us good. Work trumps money every time
 
What Ken says is so true. I am as beginner as they come; I can play some chords and am mostly working on chord transitions and teaching my fingers to find the strings quickly and smoothly right now. But when I am sitting there, holding my ukulele and listening to the notes, I feel at peace and I just drink in the imperfect sound. Already I hear improvement, and I think it's because, for once, I have found the instrument I feel connected to...
 
words of true wisdom just came from mr middleton.

its funny how that always works out with me. i usually start out with something midrange. then ill work my way up a bit. but in the end, i will find an instrument of high performing value, yet low price.

my most expensive ukulele: $400+ pono
my most fun ukulele: $50 makala
most expensive guitar: taylor 614ce no need to post price
most fun guitar: $100 crafter
most expensive elec guitar: $700 epi les paul
most fun elec guitar: $100 squier strat
most expensive airsoft gun: $1000+ M14 EBR custom
most fun airsoft gun: frankengun made from spare parts. no cost.
most expensive fishing rod: custom that i built
most fun fishing rod: cheapo that i modified
most expensive tool: power drill
most fun tool: screwdriver

the list can go on. hahaha. but one thing... you do have to know what to look for in your gear. and thats why i get more expensive stuff. so i can feel what they are "supposed" to feel like. then when i find something of low cost, yet impressive attributes it just makes the deal sweeter.

ive been called "takaw mata", which loosely translated means that i just like to buy things that i see. my eyes get all googly and i buy on impulse too much. i am. BUT, there is still a method to the madness of why i have so many instruments etc.
 
Besides the "Practice" solution, I can suggest you try playing the uke away from your body. If you are holding your uke close to your chest or stomach, then it will muffle the sound coming off the back of the uke. This only really works sitting down, and you have to be able to play without seeing the front of the fretboard, but it is worth it. Just let the uke sit on your leg/ lap a few inches in front of your body. It makes a big difference. You might have to add fret markers to the side of your uke's neck so you know where to put your fingers. If the uke's neck falls out of position, a strap will help.

–Lori
 
Very good advice from Ken, as always. I'll add one other thing that I haven't seen mentioned here in this thread yet (and it kind of surprises me). It's not at all unusual for inexpensive laminated factory ukes to need a little work to make them intonate properly. They have a high nut more often than not, and when the nut is high that uke is never going to sound right no matter who is playing it! If the nut is high then strings fretted at the first or second, sometimes even the third, fret will pull sharp - often by twenty cents or more. So, when one is playing an "F" chord for example, the E string fretted at the first fret may be very sharp compared to the other strings. This may not be quite as noticeable with a really good player because experienced players tend not to mash the strings down so hard - but if the nut is very high at all even a good player can't completely eliminate the poor intonation.

Using a good tuner (not the cheapest clipons because they tend not to have a high enough precision), you can check this pretty easily. Tune each string, then finger properly at the first fret. (Properly means immediately behind the fret and pressing just hard enough to get a clean note.) If any strings pull sharp at the first fret those slots need to be deepened a little. I.e., if your E string, when properly tuned, goes sharp by some noticeable amount above the F when fretted at the first fret, that slot is too high.

Fortunately, fixing a high nut is pretty inexpensive - you can even do it yourself with some welder's tip cleaners and a lot of patience - just file each slot a little deeper until the corresponding string stops pulling sharp when fretted at the first fret. Work slowly!

You'll never make a laminated Lanikai (or Kala, etc., etc.) sound as loud and sweet as a "k-brand" Hawaiian uke but most even very inexpensive ukes can be made to intonate properly and play quite well with a little work.
 
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