mahogany vs brand x

Hello all. First post here. I built my first instrument about 2 years ago. I had a guitar building book plus my grandson's concert ukulele and thought a uke would be a good place to start. Being my first attempt at this I bought some aspen at Lowe's for the body and neck. The fingerboard , tuners,etc. I got from StewMac. When finished I put on D'adddario strings that were called monofilament and kind of purple. It sounded OK so I played it 6-8 mos. Then one day I was in a guitar shop and I saw Martin fluorocarbon ukulele strings and decided to give them a try. It sounded so much better my wife "stole" it from me and plays it constantly. Well, recently, the woodworkers guild I belong to acquired several Honduran mahogany doors. I bought one and built another uke exactly the same size, only I made the body as thin as I dared. I put the same Martin strings on it. I'd heard that koa and mahogany are the best woods for ukes. It sounds a little mellower than the first, but not as loud, almost muted by comparison. What can I do to make it a little louder? Different strings? Bigger soundhole?(currently 2-1/8" dia.) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Danny Gray

Sounds like you might be over-building the mahogany. If that's the case, you're pretty much stuck with it the way it is. You can take all the body wood down to .060" (1.5mm---I'm try to convert) and still be safe. Mahogany is usually stiffer/harder than aspen, especially the old stuff.