I've been enjoying the Mainland concert I just got over the weekend and was very excited about the new portability compared to my Pono tenor. It's currently strung with PHD tenor low g strings, waiting for the concert scale strings to show up.
I notice the sustain and tone isn't nearly as good starting at about the 10th fret as compared to the tenor I'm used to. Is this simply an inherent difference between scale lengths?
That would seem to make sense...
A soprano gets less resonant and more "plucky" up in the top frets where the string becomes very short. A baritone stays more resonant up high
Yes, it is at least partly due to the shortened string. Some ukes are better than others high up the neck, but on any instrument physics is against you as you move up the neck. Depending on internal construction the difference may be more noticeable or less noticeable, but it's there. It's a problem with at least two dimensions: the shorter length of vibrating string has less mass to transfer vibration through the bridge to the top, and the relative elasticity of the string changes as the ratio of vibrating length to diameter changes. Shortening the scale length effectively reduces the number of frets one can go up the neck before the string physics makes the difference noticeable or objectionable.
So, a really great uke will do better than a more mundane specimen, but shorter scales always suffer in this regard against longer ones on ukes of similar quality.
Yes, it is at least partly due to the shortened string. Some ukes are better than others high up the neck, but on any instrument physics is against you as you move up the neck. Depending on internal construction the difference may be more noticeable or less noticeable, but it's there. It's a problem with at least two dimensions: the shorter length of vibrating string has less mass to transfer vibration through the bridge to the top, and the relative elasticity of the string changes as the ratio of vibrating length to diameter changes. Shortening the scale length effectively reduces the number of frets one can go up the neck before the string physics makes the difference noticeable or objectionable.
So, a really great uke will do better than a more mundane specimen, but shorter scales always suffer in this regard against longer ones on ukes of
Sort of. The scale also reflects the tension of the strings. more tension = greater energy imparted to the saddle thus through to the top. Shorter scales = less energy. When you put a finger on a string, you also dampen the effect somewhat because your finger absorbs some of the energy.
Plus the surface are of the top is smaller, therefore less wood to resonate and make the sound.
Another issue with the shorter concert scale is placement of the fingers between the closely spaced upper frets. The small space makes it harder to cleanly fret the string. You may be able to adjust your finger position a bit to find the "sweet spot."
Strings can also make a difference. I get much better tone and greater volume from Fremont Blacklines on my Pono concert than I did from the stock Ko'olau strings.
I agree with Gary, on shorter scale lengths. If you are planning on playing up the neck a lot, then a thinner flourocarbon string can improve the voicing up top. It will sound less "fat" and chunky in first position and may sound a little quieter but can give you a nice balanced tone on Soprano and Concert scale instruments.
I see good arguments here to give my wife about possibly selecting a Tiny Tenor as my ultimate portable and playable uke. I will have to give those a closer look whenever I go down San Jose and can stop by Ukulele Source.
