Hey! My uke sounds really good today!

moetrout

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Have you ever picked up your uke and thought "hey it sounds better today"? I can't explain it but that was me yesterday. Prior to yesterday I was hearing a bit of ringing on the A string. That baby was making beautiful music last night. Not sure what changed? Strings were ringing clear and the uke sounded sweet. It is about 4 months old now. Could this be what they mean by the uke opening up? I play it every single day, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 or 3 hours (weekends). It is getting used and maybe things are settling in? I don't know what do you all think?
 
could be you...

Some days I get up and do some of my best playing on classical guitar, other days it's back to the usual inconsistent quality of sound...

Just saying...
 
I have experienced the same type of thing but I don't know what might of caused it. I was thinking it had something to do with humidity. At the time I happened to notice it and took note, the uke was being stored in 50-55% Rh which was a little higher than usual.
 
If you're playing that much every day, its you, not the uke.

If it's all solid wood, it takes decades to open up, if at all.

I was in a uke shop this weekend where the sales guys, nice and sincere as they are, talked about ukes opening up as if it's definitely going to happen. I think a lot of this talk is akin to sales hype/marketing.
 
I have days like that. When the humidity is a little higher than usual for where I live it sounds better to me.
 
Played out in the sun on a lunch break the other day, and it definitely sounded better. I was playing better too. Conclusion? Ukes are solar powered.
 
Have you ever picked up your uke and thought "hey it sounds better today"? I can't explain it but that was me yesterday. Prior to yesterday I was hearing a bit of ringing on the A string. That baby was making beautiful music last night. Not sure what changed? Strings were ringing clear and the uke sounded sweet. It is about 4 months old now. Could this be what they mean by the uke opening up? I play it every single day, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 or 3 hours (weekends). It is getting used and maybe things are settling in? I don't know what do you all think?

IMHO its you playing better :) Overtime I think our fingers get smarter naturally at where on the strings to hit and press and settle. Its sub-consiouse improvement. Similar to learning to ride a bike and getting better and better over time.
 
While I agree that, as our playing improves, we might ascribe uke mellowing to our better sound when almost all the credit should go to the player, and sometimes there are day-to-day fluctuations, which, I think, are human senses, emotions, & ability to concentrate, all of which might indicate the uke is more stable than we are. :)
So then we read a book.
 
I've had my Koaloha about 3 yrs now and I live in the mid-Atlantic where we get humid, hot summers...and cold, DRY winters (humidified case). I DEFINITLY like the sound of my uke better when the humidity is higher (as in, it's just starting to come into it's own now as the temps are warming and the humidity (environmental) is increasing
 
So, the merciless humid Alabama summer will be my friend? Yayskippy.

I have days where everything seems just "on" and it is a good uke day, or a good whatever instrument day. It is like the musical planets align.
 
The more I practice, the better my uke sounds. Ever notice how good inexpensive ukes sound in the hands of a real pro?
 
I have my good days when my playing sounds much better than usual, but I also agree with the humidity thing. I think my Kanilea uke likes higher humidity.

I had a cello that absolutely sang in high humidity; gloriously rich & resonant. I had another cello that sounded tight & a bit screechy in high humidity.
 
It is a beautiful day :) Happy for you!
In our world so many things we can not explain, but we can just enjoy the good things happen. Someday we will understand.
Keep happy strumming! :)
 
An amature luthier I know said it was probably the humidity, but I like your answers better, you know....the ones that suggest that maybe my playing has gotten better.
 
skin moisture!

It's harder to feel the strings and use the right pressure with dry hands.

OK. Next topic.
(if someone uses a pick, my argument is scr#wed. Oh, w#ll.)

For a moment there I thought "skin moisture " was going to lead down the naked playing topic..............thanks for not taking that route, I am eating dinner at the moment:p
 
For a moment there I thought "skin moisture " was going to lead down the naked playing topic..............thanks for not taking that route, I am eating dinner at the moment:p

That would sound worse. It was probably the shirt the OP was wearing.
 
Yes, I just want to bottle those kinds of days! Sometimes I feel like the humidity Gods, string Gods, and fingernail Gods all got together at once and my uke sings with a particularly happy, round voice.
 
I've had my Koaloha about 3 yrs now and I live in the mid-Atlantic where we get humid, hot summers...and cold, DRY winters (humidified case). I DEFINITLY like the sound of my uke better when the humidity is higher (as in, it's just starting to come into it's own now as the temps are warming and the humidity (environmental) is increasing

Agree. I've even noticed this with laminates, but with those it happens more toward mid/late summer when you just wish it would be cold already!
 
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