I am looking at the possibility of getting a solid mahogany pineapple ukulele. The description says it will "open up with time". What exactly does that mean? I know it is referring to the sound, but will it get louder or richer or what?
My understanding Is that there are glues that hold the instrument together. Also, wood is a solid but flexible material. With play over time, the glue and wood “loosen” to some extent. Sound comes from the instrument’s ability to vibrate. Theoretically, an opened instrument is one that has microscopicly “looser” building materials.
There have been many debates over whether this "opening up" is real. Bottom line, some believe that acoustic instruments will change for the better tonally after a few months/years time, sounding better. Some believe that if the instrument is then not played for a while, the instrument will go "back to sleep". I believe that new instruments will sound better once broken in and played a lot.
Over four years ago I had a custom gypsy jazz wide mouth uke made with solid flame maple top and solid Indian Rosewood body. I played guitar for almost fifty years, and uke about a year, going through 16 ukes in that time, so I feel I know sound. When the custom arrived and I played it, it did not have the projection and sustain I was expecting, but it did have a very nice tone.
I brought it to rehearsal a couple days later and one of my friends said it has a "soft voice" and agreed the tone was very nice. I like good projection and sustain so I didn't play that uke very often, hung it in my humid controlled display cabinet. About a year later I decided to replace the stock Aquila Nylgut strings with fluorocarbons, but it didn't seem to help much. I also started playing bass uke with my group, so I didn't play my ukes as often.
A few months ago I started playing my uke on Sundays with an acoustic group. I rotated between my 8 ukes and when I got to the gypsy jazz, I found that the projection and sustain was much better than before. So I'm a believer.
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars
I am looking at ordering an Ohana solid mahogany pineapple from Mim, so I know it will be set up perfectly. I just don't want it to get louder as I have a hearing sensitivity.
Sounds like this "opening up" make not be overly noticeable but maybe will just become more relaxed - like breaking in a new pair of shoes!
The key to "opening up" when buying an instrument is that you don't buy the instrument in the hope that it will "open up". You buy the instrument based on how it sounds on the day you buy it.
I am looking at ordering an Ohana solid mahogany pineapple from Mim, so I know it will be set up perfectly. I just don't want it to get louder as I have a hearing sensitivity.
Sounds like this "opening up" make not be overly noticeable but maybe will just become more relaxed - like breaking in a new pair of shoes!
The short answer, because this debate can get very long and heated is that opening up usually means the tone will sweeten or improve. It can become more complex and expressive, not necessarily louder. If it happens or not depends on the individual pieces of wood and the construction. Some do "open up" some don't, most a little bit in the first month of playing
Following on DownUpDave, instruments made of solid wood have pores that literally open due to age, vibration from play, etc. They can add a depth and richness to the sound not present when first built. Laminates and ukes made of synthetic materials (plastic, resins, etc.) aren't capable of that and will sound pretty much the same no matter how long you own them. Unless you change strings!
I believe that over time an instrument will change, but I'm not convinced it is always for the better. I mean, changes are pretty random, and I would think that it could go either way just as easily. Anyway, in the case of my three, I think that the more I play them the better they sound. I'm not sure if that is because they are opening up, of that I'm opening up. I'm hoping the latter. But if I had a ukulele that didn't sound good, I would not bank on the belief that if I play it enough that the ukulele itself it will magically sound better at some point.
I think of an instrument opening up a bit like people aging — they just get more so. So in my mind ukuleles will not change character like Jekyll and Hyde unless they are abused or altered somehow.
As a chemist I've always been fascinated with the concept of a wood instrument "opening up" over time. The one explanation that I find reasonable has to do with the resins and lignins in the wood crystallizing after many years, or perhaps breaking down a bit. It's also been said that when old logs are recovered from the bottom of lakes and bogs and made into instruments, the sound is already "opened up" due to the age of the wood. There's enough out there to convince me that the effect is probably real, but I've listened to old and new Martin guitars side by side and not been able to hear the difference. And of course I'm not expecting my Farallon to open up any time soon.
