Laminate vs Solid Mahogany: A Question of Mellowness

RedStickUkulele

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Hey Guys,

I mostly strum and I am into the mellower side of the uke sound. I played a Kala Solid Mahogany and a Kala Laminate (both tenors) in a local store and they pretty much sounded the same. I know the solid mahogany has to "open up" and would sound different/"better" with strings other than the stock aquila, but do you guys think the solid mahogany uke would eventually get more mellow/warmer than the laminate? Or is a laminate uke with aquila or a nylon string a good baseline for ukulele "mellowness"?
 
Funny you should ask, as there has been a lively conversation about the opening up process in ukuleles on Uke Talk the last few days. For the record, after building several hundred instruments over the last 35 years, I believe that most instruments will improve in various degrees over time. That said however, I would not advise anyone to ever purchase an instrument based on some belief that the sound will change over time. Buy solely on the basis of what you hear at the time. I would go so far as to recommend trying various instruments blindfolded to compare them. Too many people hear with their eyes instead of their ears.
Bradford
 
I played vintage mahogany ukes and always thought nylon strings sounded better than flurocarbon. They gave a smokey, blusey mellow type sound. Not a fan of Aquilas so can't compare. Carbon and fluros seemed to make my 'hog's too bright.

If you plan on playing outdoors, near a campfire etc, the laminate may be more appropriate. If basically indoors and not too much humidity change, I'd go solid wood.
 
Funny you should ask, as there has been a lively conversation about the opening up process in ukuleles on Uke Talk the last few days. For the record, after building several hundred instruments over the last 35 years, I believe that most instruments will improve in various degrees over time. That said however, I would not advise anyone to ever purchase an instrument based on some belief that the sound will change over time. Buy solely on the basis of what you hear at the time. I would go so far as to recommend trying various instruments blindfolded to compare them. Too many people hear with their eyes instead of their ears.
Bradford

Best post ever on this subject from someone with real world experience and expertise.

To answer the question about tone quality, just use YOUR ears. If you like the laminate and want to save some money go that route. I have played and owned some very good sounding laminate ukes. Fingerpicking is where a high quality all solid wood uke usually seperates itself for laminate, but not always.

Patrick made a great point about strings. Mellow can be had with good quality nylon strings, florocarbon and Aquila are usually brighter
 
I don't know how you define mellow. I have a solid mahogany concert and a mahogany laminate concert. The solid mahogany is not as loud and does not have as much sustain. I've owned them for over five years. Neither has "opened up", and they still sound the same as they did when I bought them. The solid one started out more mellow and stayed more mellow, in the way I would identify mellow. I did put a set of no name fluorocarbon strings on the solid mahogany one and did not like the sound. They did not make it more mellow. Other than that I've only used Nylgut strings on both of them.
 
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Well, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and if I step on some toes it’s because of my ignorance and not just crankiness.

I think all this talk about mellowness vs. brightness is a tempest in a teapot. My old ears just don’t hear all these vast differences that everyone goes on and on in the ol’ UU. THE NOTES ON A STRING INSTRUMENT SOUND DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING HOW THEY ARE PLAYED! THEREFORE AN INSTRUMENT CAN SOUND BOTH WAYS DEPENDING ON HOW IT’S FRETTED OR PICKED. IF ONE ALWAYS FRETTED/PICKED EXACTLY THE SAME, THE DARNED THING WOULD ALWAYS BE BRIGHT OR MELLOW! Like a piano. When, one plays a note on an in-tune piano, he/she gets that note.

Most musical instruments can be manipulated to sound bright or low down. I played trombone in a dance band a long time ago, and if one doesn’t position the slide exactly right he/she will have an off sounding noise. I’ve played all the brass instruments, at one time or another, and, if one’s embouchure isn’t held correctly, the note will be off. I don’t think one can go buy a “bright or mellow” instrument in any of the families. It’s the player who controls the sound of mostly all of them. That’s what makes an artist an artist.

The strings do probably make a difference, but it’s due to their reaction to one’s fretting/picking/strumming.

I guess my point is that one should obtain a great looking, affordable ukulele, tune it up and start bangin’ away at it until it sounds the way HE/SHE wants it to. THEN, buy another and another and another . . .

Anyway, that’s what I think about all this brightness/mellowness malarky. Play (lots) in good health! :eek:ld:
 
A solid wood instrument that has been carefully constructed will be very resonant and vibrate all over when you play it, and it will have unique tonal characteristics. With mass produced instruments the type and quality of wood becomes more a matter of decoration and being a marketing gimmick, as consistency of output is priority and unique tonal characteristics get lost. The only reasons to pay more for a solid mass produced uke is if you really like its premium looks or for "status" among your peers.
 
Hang on tight, Dick, you are sitting rather precariously on that branch...... :smileybounce:

Having played a lot of brass instruments could have something to do with not hearing differences between ukes & strings. :p;)

I have a 'collection' of ukes, & I certainly prefer the sounds that emanate from my solid wood ukes, compared to my laminates, but I do mainly pick melodies.
 
A solid wood instrument that has been carefully constructed will be very resonant and vibrate all over when you play it, and it will have unique tonal characteristics. With mass produced instruments the type and quality of wood becomes more a matter of decoration and being a marketing gimmick, as consistency of output is priority and unique tonal characteristics get lost. The only reasons to pay more for a solid mass produced uke is if you really like its premium looks or for "status" among your peers.

I don’t reallyl know if what you say about solids is correct or not, but the reason I only have one with a solid top (only) is because I don’t like messing with all that humidity stuff.

All of mine are plywood (except my baritone’s top), and none of them have caved in or split or even cracked.

The funny part about all this snobby stuff is that one can readily buy cheap, poorly made solid wood ukes! If one doesn’t tell it’s cost, no one will know whatcha got!

Much better to buy a nice lookin’ uke and play the heck out of if it. Stop agonizing over what it’s made outta—PLAY IT! :eek:ld:
 
Hang on tight, Dick, you are sitting rather precariously on that branch...... :smileybounce:

Having played a lot of brass instruments could have something to do with not hearing differences between ukes & strings. :p;)

I have a 'collection' of ukes, & I certainly prefer the sounds that emanate from my solid wood ukes, compared to my laminates, but I do mainly pick melodies.

I see . . . And do you always fret and pick them all with the exact same pressure? Are the sounds emanating from the solids sounding better because you like those ukes better? Do the solids “feel” better? Look better? If you picked one up blind folded and without knowing which one it was — what then?

I suppose a person playing with a Stradivarius Ukulele would really sound better than I do on one of my Kala Plywoods, but so what? Am I a professional like the great Tiny Tim? Or am I just having fun? And, if I’m striving to sound my very, very best - for whom?

Better to grab yer favorite ol’ uke, take a good swig of beer and belt out yer favorite ditty — perfect or not! :eek:ld:
 
I have played solid wood ukes that sound dead and laminates [Kiwaya, Islander] that sound lively, so my impression is that the sound has as much to do with the build as the material.
 
I guess a question to those that have a number of ukuleles with a laminate top, does it make any or much difference between laminate koa, mahogany, mango, spruce, etc.? This isn’t a “better than” question, just a basic question that if the builds are equal is it more aesthetics or are there real tonal differences between laminate tops?

John
 
Not a large sample size, but I've owned both Kiwaya KS-1 (mahogany laminate) and KS-5 (koa laminate, owned 2 of those) and both koa ukes were indeed a bit brighter/chirpier, with more ring/overtones than the mahogany, which was mellower. That matches what I'd expect from solid ukes, when comparing those tonewoods, YMMV.

Of course, Kiwaya is known for using some of the best laminate material available, supposedly proprietary, so not sure if my observation would apply across other brands.
 
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to try to answer original question

To try to answer the OP's question, I think that laminate mahogany *might* be more mellow, but in a very specific way.

Laminate mahogany is probably going to be quieter, and i think that a lot of what the ear perceives as mellow is actually just volume, rather than low-end frequencies.
 
My take on this is 'it might do' - but it will be subjective. And there are far more variables which will affect tone before you worry about how they are going to change such as general build quality, bracing, thickness of the tone woods etc. You will get some laminates that are FAR nicer sounding, louder and clearer than some poorly made solid wood equivalents. A high quality solid wood, sure, that will come out on top for my money, but then you are comparing apples with oranges.

As I always say - i'd take a well made laminate over a poorly made solid uke, that has been made from solid wood 'for the sake of it' (ie to get sales based on the myth that solid is 'better') any day of the week.
 
Another question we could raise in this context is whether it matters at all for sound what the top veneer of a laminate is mahogany, koa, or any other exotic wood. I think for many laminate instruments a variety of woods can be mixed, but only the highest layer veneer is typically named as it provides the "look" of the instrument. One very popular choice for laminate cores is poplar, which is known to provide a very sweet sound. Surprisingly this is never used as a tone wood in its own right.

So should we just distinguish the ukes by the solid wood they are made off, and lump all laminates together regardless of their specific composition?
 
The quality of the materials and the quality of construction is far more important than whether the instrument is solid top or laminate. Most of my ukuleles are laminates and I'm quite happy with them.
 
Brian Griffin of Griffin Ukes, just made up 12 shakers with different woods as an experiment in sound differences. There is a vast difference in sound.http://www.griffinukuleles.com/blog. Towards the bottom.

I think once a person has played a vintage Favilla or vintage Martin Mahogany, they'll understand the difference in richness of a solid top vs. laminate. Build structure makes a big difference of course.
 
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