Long Board v. Short Board

Mentioned briefly in another thread, I'd like to hear some input on my thinking that on a soprano ukulele a fingerboard that reaches over the top to near the soundhole tends to dampen the instrument's volume and tone. Admittedly a ukulele rookie, I base this thinking particularly on the two Gibson ukes I own. The Poinsettia's fingerboard lays on the top and comes quite close to the soundhole, while the Uke 2's fingerboard pretty much ends at the neck/body joint. The Uke 2 is very loud and barky, while the Poinsettia is much quieter without the sparkle in tone the other has. I have strummed some older Martin sopranos with the short fingerboard and they to seem to have a much spankier tone..........

Is fingerboard length a tonal factor in a soprano ukulele?

take both, you never know the day could be better than you thought

Well, by definition a long, non-cantilevered fret board is going to have some impact on sound. However, the area between the sound hole and the neck is not an especially active part of the soundboard so I think in comparing two ukes that are otherwise unequal the long fret board would probably not have as much bearing on the result as other factors do.

Now, if somebody built two substantially identical ukes (same design, woods from the same tree, constructed about the same time to the most careful of standards, and one had a short or cantilevered fret board and the other a long, non-cantilevered fret board, we might get a more definitive answer about how much impact a long fret board resting on the top has.

John

buc mcmaster said:

Mentioned briefly in another thread, I'd like to hear some input on my thinking that on a soprano ukulele a fingerboard that reaches over the top to near the soundhole tends to dampen the instrument's volume and tone. Admittedly a ukulele rookie, I base this thinking particularly on the two Gibson ukes I own. The Poinsettia's fingerboard lays on the top and comes quite close to the soundhole, while the Uke 2's fingerboard pretty much ends at the neck/body joint. The Uke 2 is very loud and barky, while the Poinsettia is much quieter without the sparkle in tone the other has. I have strummed some older Martin sopranos with the short fingerboard and they to seem to have a much spankier tone..........

Is fingerboard length a tonal factor in a soprano ukulele?

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It depends. There is no definite yes or no answer to this question when talking about vinatge ukes. It just depends on the individual ukes you are comparing. Most of today's luthiers who know what they are doing, compensate in their build if it is to have an extended fingerboard and is glued directly to the top.

I happen to believe that the upper bout of the top can add to tone and volume with a uke or guitar; hence my use of the cantilevered fingerboard design borrowed from bowed instruments, better archtop guitars, and Howe Orme guitars and mandolins of the late 1890s.

Do you think a violin would sound the same with the fingerboard glued to the top? Ask a violin player or luthier and see what they think.

In the uke world, the best examples might be the lower level vintage Martins vs. the upper level ones. Wood quality and graduation is very similar, but many good players feel the ukes with the shorter fingerboards actually sound better. Ukulele Dick, aka Rick McKee being the one who pointed this out to me when I was starting to design the Compass Rose ukes; I was already doing the cantilevered fingerboard on guitars, so I just made it smaller.

I suppose the difference would be significant on instruments where the luthier has painstakingly controlled every factor reasonably possible to maximise tone.
On your typical factory uke, perhaps its effect is diluted out by the multitude of other factors

My thinking exactly, Rick......any dampening of the top can have a significant impact on sound. How could it not? Granted, the upper bout top surface of a soprano ukulele is small, but it surely contributes to the instruments' overall tonal character if left free to resonate with the top as a whole.

Violins are bowed instruments and have a carved arch top. Trying plucking one of the strings and see now long it sustains. Comparing them to a soprano uke is a mistake, apples and oranges.

I would always choose a soprano (or concert for that matter) that had a fingerboard that didn't extend too far - not so much for the sound (though I suspect there might be a difference) but for where my hand falls on those smaller sizes. I combine strumming and plucking and find that if there is fretboard under where my hand naturally extends, there is not enough clearance to dig in when plucking. Tenors are big enough not to present that problem.
Besides, in reality, there's not a lot of use for those extra frets.

I don't believe in shutting off knowledge of other stringed instruments just because they are generally bowed rather than plucked. As far as the sustain goes, the biggest reason for short sustain on a violin is the damping of the fingertip stopping the string on the fingerboard. Plucked notes on an upright bass sustain quite nicely because the ratio of damping area to string length and diameter is so different. Then there are cellos...close to guitar in scale length. They sustain quite nicely on open notes in direct comparison to guitars under similar conditions.

And I go back to the "apples to apples" comparison: Martin Styles 0, 1, & 2 vs. Styles 3 & 5. Players I respect and who have extensive experience with these prefer the tone of the simpler ones over the more expensive & collectible ones.

This is not to say that one cannot make a good sounding uke with a damped upper bout top. I just prefer not to build either guitars (unless it's a recreation of a historical piece) or ukes.

I do know for sure that when I tap on the upper bout top of my ukes or cantilevered fingerboard guitars, there's a lot more going on there than with conventionally made instruments. My sense is that it gives the instruments more harmonic sustain which I like.