Looking for honest feedback

[UkeSlacker]

Asking for sound samples for an ukulele sale is silly on this forum. Cut it out. Not everyone has a studio and quality mics to capture every ukulele. Besides the compressed sound file won’t do any justice for the instrument and I bet the majority of us just listen to it on your phone or laptop.

If you are interested in buying the uke contact the seller directly and figure it out.

 

[richntacoma]

Since your thread is titled honest feedback, it is unclear if you are providing the honest feedback, or seeking it regarding your post. I will take it as the first, and say, telling GADs (grown ass adults ) how to behave (e.g. stop it), is not an effective way of getting them to stop said behavior, and is someone condescending at best, and infantilizing at worst, IMHO. Guess I can't wish you GLWS

 

[Jag-Stang]

It is a good point I was listening to a professional YouTube video of a very young boy from Russia playing a rather difficult ROLAND DYENS “tango en skai”and wondering about what it might sound like without an engineer at the helm and a great videographer on camera. Besides there are all levels of performance and a sound clip is, as you say, only as true to the instrument as the way it is recorded. Those who have the ability and are willing to make a clip, my attitude would be “why not it can’t hurt.” I have given an opinion on sound, but I don’t do sound clips. I have likely sold hundreds of instruments, as I have catalogued for an auction company and all the instruments sold, and not one had a sound clip, Many went to buyers far away, who never saw the instruments. There were always those who came to preview and tried out instruments in person. Most of the time the more money the instrument brought, the more likely it would be sold to someone who lived too far away to fly in and try it out. From time to time a far away bidder would write in and ask us what we thought about sound . If they asked for a sound clip the answer was always a flat out NO.
I don’t sell here as a general rule. I just listed an instrument for the first time and someone I know saw my post and told me to remove it and consider the instrument sold. It was a bargain price which resulted in a sale less than 24 hours within posting and the buyer was someone I know from somewhere other than UU although he peruses the ads here but is not an active member. A lot of instruments get sold because of who we are and what we know or simply because the luthier or Company who made them is followed by a reputation that already includes having a good sound. Few ever buy on hearing someone else playing, because someone else isn’t going to play that ukulele. The new owner is the player unless one decides to purchase it for someone else.

 

[rhiggie]

The only sound samples I find useful are those that compare instrument A to instrument B, especially if I know instrument B.

 

[kkimura]

The only sound samples I find useful are those that compare instrument A to instrument B, especially if I know instrument B.

That's why I like the Got A Ukulele reviews. Barry always plays the same routine when he demos ukuleles so a good comparison between the instruments can be made.

 

[Jag-Stang]

‘That's why I like the Got A Ukulele reviews. Barry always plays the same routine when he demos ukuleles so a good comparison between the instruments can be made.’

There is a great difference in comparing two instruments and sampling one instrument With two under the same recording conditions you can get an honest view of the differences with one that is all you get, so nothing to compare to!

 

[Jerryc41]

Asking for sound samples for an ukulele sale is silly on this forum. Cut it out. Not everyone has a studio and quality mics to capture every ukulele. Besides the compressed sound file won’t do any justice for the instrument and I bet the majority of us just listen to it on your phone or laptop.

If you are interested in buying the uke contact the seller directly and figure it out.

I agree about the equipment side of it, but the person playing also makes a difference. I've never provided a sound sample because it would be meaningless. You'd hear someone strumming a ukulele. Without seeing it, you wouldn't know if it was a $60 uke from Amazon or a KoAloha.

When the pros give sound samples online, they play beautifully, so they could make anything sound good. Would the listener be impressed by the beautiful playing or the beautiful sound?

 

[Jerryc41]

That's why I like the Got A Ukulele reviews. Barry always plays the same routine when he demos ukuleles so a good comparison between the instruments can be made.

True, but unless he tells me how he likes the sound, I can't judge. He strums, and says either, "Loud" or "Not loud." I can't tell from my computer or TV. I have to hear an instrument in person to tell good from bad. Fortunately, I don't buy ukuleles according to their sound. They all sound acceptable to me.

Experts haven't been able to distinguish a Stradivarius from a regular violin in blind comparisons.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Glad to know it's not just me, albeit I think sound samples help in some instances. I was torn between an aNueNue amm3 and Koaloha opio tenor and just by chance found a sound sample comparing them. With headphones and careful listening I found the amm3 more satisfying tonally. OTOH when I bought a Millar concert I couldn't really hear a difference between the one I purchased (cedar/rosewood) and a few other comparable ukes.

 

[Bill Sheehan]

With greatest respect for all viewpoints expressed here (and for the individuals expressing them), I would suggest that a brief sound sample, even a fairly primitive one such as I sometimes make on my cell phone or laptop computer, even though it wouldn't impart a totally accurate representation of the tonal characteristics of the uke, would still likely have the benefit of giving a prospective buyer a pretty good idea as to whether the uke is intonating accurately, which, to me, is one of the most important considerations in making a purchase.

Of course, if any of the strings happens to be slightly out of tune in its "open" position, this could "skew" the overall perception of intonation accuracy once we start playing chords; so when I request a sound sample, I ask the seller to start by striking each string individually in the open position, just to let me hear that the uke is accurately tuned to begin with, and then to play through a song or a few chord progressions. Sure, it's not a perfect science, but it will at least tell me if the uke appears to have serious intonation issues.

I realize that this thread isn't about Got A Ukulele's review methodology per se, but I do like the way that Barry, in addition to commenting on whether a uke is loud vs. softer, will also make observations pertaining to the instrument's "jangle", "shimmer", "sustain", or "bark", or otherwise comment on how its overall sound strikes him (e.g., with regard to the favorablyly-reviewed Famous FS-1, "a little bit thin for my taste"). I find these insights immensely helpful. Plus, he always makes sure that a uke is tuned accurately before he starts playing it. And he acknowledges that "personal preference" always plays a significant role in these matters, and that a uke may not sound exactly the same in your room as it does in his.

Back to the original issue-- is it okay to ask for a sound sample when considering a purchase? I think it's fine, with the understanding that such a sample may be of somewhat limited value-- but it doesn't hurt a thing to request one.

As one of our well-known Forum friends likes to say... "that's my two bobs."

 

[kerneltime]

As a buyer, there are many things I can gauge from an audio recording. I usually ask for notes to be played slowly on A and C strings, for notes to be played beyond the 12th fret, and for some casual strums. This helps me know if there are any dead notes, what is the balance across strings, and if it rings up the neck. I am fully aware that a real feel of an instrument cannot be gauged even from recordings from Theukulelesite. As a buyer sound samples are useful and as a seller, I would rather give every bit of information than have a disappointed buyer.

 

[Wiggy]

Commonly available ukuleles already have youtube samples. For something special, I would like to know if the inner two strings (overpower the outer two. I also listen for pleasant harmonics (overtone "ring"), or a dull tone. Overall volume (how "loud" it sounds) is also good to know.

 

[Stoneyrun]

Asking for sound samples for an ukulele sale is silly on this forum. Cut it out. Not everyone has a studio and quality mics to capture every ukulele. Besides the compressed sound file won’t do any justice for the instrument and I bet the majority of us just listen to it on your phone or laptop.

If you are interested in buying the uke contact the seller directly and figure it out.

Admonishment for efforts toward enlightenment is ignorant.

 

[merlin666]

If sellers want to provide sound samples and potential buyers listen to them that's fine. As for myself I would not listen to samples or go to the through the effort of doing one myself. The reason is that my playing is my playing and no indication of what the uke may sound like if someone else played it. Similarly, someone else's playing would have relation to what I might be able to make the uke sound like.

 

[Bill Sheehan]

Asking for sound samples for an ukulele sale is silly on this forum. Cut it out. Not everyone has a studio and quality mics to capture every ukulele. Besides the compressed sound file won’t do any justice for the instrument and I bet the majority of us just listen to it on your phone or laptop.

If you are interested in buying the uke contact the seller directly and figure it out.

UkeSlacker, I'm giving you a "Like", not necessarily because I agree with your perspective (which, to clarify, I do not), but because I like posts that prompt spirited discussion!

 

[DanY]

As a buyer, there are many things I can gauge from an audio recording. I usually ask for notes to be played slowly on A and C strings, for notes to be played beyond the 12th fret, and for some casual strums. This helps me know if there are any dead notes, what is the balance across strings, and if it rings up the neck. I am fully aware that a real feel of an instrument cannot be gauged even from recordings from Theukulelesite. As a buyer sound samples are useful and as a seller, I would rather give every bit of information than have a disappointed buyer.

100% agree and this is the type of sound sample I prefer as well. When I’m listening to Corey and Kalei sample on HMS, I try to wait for them to pluck individual notes to hear how it rings out.

I’m listening for the body resonance and dead/wolf notes as well. With some ukes I can’t stand the thuddy D, D# or E note on the 3rd string. I’ve heard some bad E and F notes on the 2nd string. 1st string can have imbalances all over so I just ask for a recording (or on phone) to pluck each note slowly, just a simple chromatic scale helps a lot to understand what the uke will sound like.

 

[70sSanO]

Apart from new instruments, and those sold for financial needs, just about every ukulele on the Marketplace has failed to meet the seller’s expectations in some way.

It may not be any sort of flaw or shortcoming, but out the door it goes.

With that in mind, the asking price for a ukulele, and its uniqueness, probably plays a significant part on adding a sound sample.

As that asking number moves into and through 4 figures, I would hope the seller would take an initiative to add a sample, even if it meant some effort outside the home.

John

 

[Blank Williams]

I like sound samples myself. I don’t really care if they are not a 100% reproduction of the actual sound. I still find them useful mostly true to the actual sound. Jake Wildwood usually posts recordings of the instruments he works on and even tries to describe the sound in written form, and I very much respect his knowledge. So yeah I’m always for a sound sample vs nothing. Just my opinion of course.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

I'm not unique in the fact that I enjoy the sound of music and hearing a sound sample of, say, the newly-built Venetian style uke that @Jerryc41 recently bought from another UU member would be fun. Meanwhile, I tend to agree with the OP that a sound sample of a uke someone is selling through UU marketplace is generally worthless. Either you're a trusted UU member or you aren't and not one of us would stoop to the level of trying to pawn off a knowingly flawed instrument to another UU member.

 

[SweetWaterBlue]

I too like sound samples. If a buyer wants one and the sellers wants to do one, I can't see why anyone else would object. You can always not listen to them, and the seller can always politely decline. Sometimes YouTube demos are worthless because the creator is more interested in putting in a lot of weird effects, or in showing off their virtuosity.

I used to hear the advice that it is better to hear someone else play an instrument, because you often want to hear what an audience would hear - not what you hear when you play. They can be quite different.

Last week I was listening to some demos of Flight steel string ukuleles. They sound quite different than solid body nylon string Ukes, which also sound quite different than regular ukuleles. I know they won't sound like that when I play them, but it gives me some idea of what they sound like.