Ukulele Break-in period

I've been reading about break-in periods for instruments like acoustic and classical guitars, mandolins, and violins. Although there are few articles on ukulele break-in periods, I'm sure some of the articles on the other stringed instruments apply.

I've heard new ukuleles break-in as it is played. My cedar top koa ukes opened up quite quickly, within weeks and months of playing. The articles I have read on the other stringed instruments state that the average full break-in period is about 2 to 3 years, of course dependent on how much the instrument is played.

I've also noticed the following and wondered if others have heard the same thing. For my new all koa ukulele, when I take it out of the case and start playing it, I can hear it open up a bit within say an hour of playing. Put it back in the case and take it out days later, and it's like again it needs some warm up time. I've read that this is due to the stiffness in the wood due to it's cellular structure and that the more the instrument is played, the looser the top becomes and the warm up time not only becomes shorter, but the open sound will keep longer. There is also theory that if not played, a stringed instrument can stiffen up, but if it's already a "broken in" instrument, that it will open up quickly once played.

What I found intresting is the analysis on koa. Koa is described as a tone wood that is usually dense and produces a bright tone. But the more a koa instrument is played, the more it opens up yielding midrange and a richer more resonant tone. Therefore, it's important for the buyer to know that a brand new quality built, koa ukulele won't sound exactly how it did brand new. Instead, you'll be rewarded with a much more richer and fuller sound the more it is played.

There are articles that also talk about techniques on speeding up the break-in such as chording, scales, percussive and tremollo strumming, and the use of speakers or shakers to work the instrument when not being played. That's a whole other thread.

It's important to note that the breaking in of an instrument usually applies to those that are built with quality and that a lesser quality instrument may never see the changes compared to a better built instrument.

Here's a link to the Taylor Guitar Wood and Steel publication that talks about tonewoods, pretty interesting. http://www.taylorguitars.com/news/community/ws_fall_2008.pdf

uluapoundr said:

There are articles that also talk about techniques on speeding up the break-in such as chording, scales, percussive and tremollo strumming, and the use of speakers or shakers to work the instrument when not being played. That's a whole other thread.

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Yes it is.

Thanks for the info and link.

The differences in tone referred to above will be very subtle, and I wonder how many of us would be capable of detecting and appreciating them. Judging from the number of ukulele players who are perfectly happy to play an instrument that is not in tune, or that has intonation problems when fretted, or that uses poor strings, my guess is that not very many will ever notice.

I don't say this to knock uke players, we are the salt of the Earth, but when discussing such rarified subjects, I can't help feeling that most of us are out of our element, as we would be at a gathering of connoisseurs of fine wines.

The factors which have the greatest effect on the sound of a uke, in my experience, are temperature and humidity.

Ukantor.

I think the idea and practice of an instrument (especially an all-wood one) "opening up" with time and use is fascinating. I can only hope that as I improve and stop calling myself a beginner I will start hearing those differences. I love playing, but right now it's a challenge to just hear my own ukulele and judge whether it's in tune or not.

For those who can hear those subtleties, I offer this: :worship: :shaka:

interesting...

I've heard a few theories on this myself. Thanks for the write-up and the links to the article. I'll check it out.

best,
Shawn

http://ukulelefriend.com

Informative article. Thanks.

The concept of tone is akin to taste. A cook is different from a chef and eating because you have to is not the same as eating for pleasure.

With some guidance, Average Joe can learn to appreciate the result of fine ingredients combined for a dish, as part of an overall meal.

Similarly, given some side-by-each instrumental demonstrations with appropriate direction on what to listen for, Average Joe can appreciate the more subtle difference in tone.

Of course, Joe might still prefer meat over veggies, low notes over high. He can get educated, but at some point in the game, he has to make those decisions for himself.

Then again, there's the old joke of when the guitar player saw the ukulele player and laughed "Who do you expect to please with that little thing?" The ukulele player replies "Me."

I've noticed on the ukes that the warm-up is more noticeable from picking the instrument up to when you put it down, compared to say a guitar. Guitar I just nod at my friends and say wow, and I can't hear any change from beginning to end. But on the uke it's more apparent, to me at least, and I notice it most on Koa instruments. I haven't owned a koa uke long enough to get to hear full maturity, but that is part of the journey and fun. As my local music store owner says. A stringed instrument always sounds best right before it falls apart.

uluapoundr said:

I've heard new ukuleles break-in as it is played. My cedar top koa ukes opened up quite quickly, within weeks and months of playing.

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I don't have any tips but just wanted to say thanks for mentioning this! this is really fascinating. I noticed the tone of my uke started changing and I thought it was just me but now I know it really IS changing.

Funny thing is, years ago, I kept swearing that I would hear the uke open up say an hour into playing. I kept asking myself, is it me that needs warming up? Or, is it my ears getting in tune? Well, now that I am playing an uke that is 4 months new, I can hear it opening up just the same. When I first strum it out of the case, it sounds tight, but minutes into playing it does loosen up. I also have another uke that has a cedar top, this one sound a bit more open already, but I have heard the changes in the last couple months.

Khrome,
Try this, take your uke out of the case, give it a few strums and take note on how it sounds. Then, play some bar chords, all the way up the frets. I like to just bar the first fret, the work my way up giving the uke a few strums till I reach the body. If you know scales, do that. Play a few common chords like C, F, G, D. Change up your strumming, don't be afraid to let the uke sing, the goal here is to get the top moving. After about an hour or so, do the same strums you did prior to your warm up. Not sure if you'll hear the difference, but on my new ukes, I do. Call me crazy, it is what it is, ha!

I've made a number of ukes, and one thing I have noticed is that when I string them up for the first time, they never sound as good as I hope they will. The next day they sound very much better. The first twenty-four hours seem to make a big difference.

Ukantor.

I have noticed that storing my fairly-new koa soprano in a humidified case actually has negative effects on its tone. It takes a while for it to open up and be more agreeable to playing. If, on the other hand, I leave it out, I never have to go through this warm-up phase with it. So I just leave it out all the time now, even though I used to think I was doing the right thing by adding humidity to it in the case.

NatalieS said:

I have noticed that storing my fairly-new koa soprano in a humidified case actually has negative effects on its tone. It takes a while for it to open up and be more agreeable to playing. If, on the other hand, I leave it out, I never have to go through this warm-up phase with it. So I just leave it out all the time now, even though I used to think I was doing the right thing by adding humidity to it in the case.

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Natalie,
That's an interesting observation. I'm guessing as the ukulele sits out, it's a bit more dry, which lends in giving it a brighter sound. When it's "humidified", probably tends to be a bit dull in response. Be careful with the "lack of" humidity, many instruments have been ruined this way. I sent a Koaloha soprano to a guy in Canada who thought a ziplock and wet towel would be enough to humidify the uke in it's case. He later found a crack down the back of the uke.

Here's an article on humidity and how it affects a guitar's sound and construction: http://www.pjguitar.com/article2_copy(1).htm

I don't think I have to worry about lack of humidity. I live in a very small house with 275 gallons of aquariums. It's humid enough that I get condensation on the inside of my windows during the winter.

Four and a half years. No exceptions.

NatalieS said:

I don't think I have to worry about lack of humidity. I live in a very small house with 275 gallons of aquariums. It's humid enough that I get condensation on the inside of my windows during the winter.

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Ha, so you play for your fish? They must be happy and healthy.

Wood Age and Sound

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to ask everyone here to help me verify something by describing any experiences with solid wood ukuleles and any changes in sound as time goes by. I've read somewhere that for Koa, as time passes, the look of the wood becomes more beautiful and the sound is also affected by it's age. Does anyone here have any experiences they can share?


For me, I've noticed that with my Soprano Kamaka. I bought it last year, 2008, but it was born in 2006. For the past year i've owned it, I have noticed that it is sounding soo much more sweeter. Is it just me? I've had the same brand of strings on them for about as long as I've had it, only switching them out for a new set about every three months, and within that time, I also picked up a couple of other ukes. I always noticed though that my soprano still sounded the sweetest and only gets better. Does this happen to all wood ukes? Could it go either way and some could end up sounding terrible as time passes, with proper care? thanks for any response!

I have a spruce top concert, and I too have noticed an increase in sound quality, but that is also because I've gotten better at playing.

You should hear my 1915 Kumalae. Most local luthiers won't use koa that's not at least 10 years old from cutting and some prefer 20 years.

cpatch said:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9376

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Thanks cpatch!

I was trying the search function, but I guess "wood age" wasn't the right words to put in. Appreciate the link.