Do ukes have bad days?

Well, there is no clear delineation as to why this happens, but from reading the thread, it is something that happens often. Nobody said it never happens to them. I just find it interesting that it does happen. I have a Martin Tenor that sounds absolutely gorgeous and then, on some rare days, it just sounds a bit dull-- so I pull out my loud and boomy Koaloha tenor-- and same thing. I just was not sure if it was the ukuleles that changed or my ears. Yesterday, for instance, every single ukulele that I own sounded so much better than the day before, which meant that yes, I spent all day playing uke-- taking advantage of the situation.
 
So many factors. Temperature and humidity. The acoustics of where you're playing (sit on a different chair three feet away and it could sound entirely different). How's your posture and how close are your ears to the soundhole? How long did your fingernails grow overnight? Are the tuners slipping? Is that flannel shirt muting the back of the uke more than the tee you wore yesterday? Those strings are one day older.

And those are just mechanical effects. We are one day older, too. Psychology is probably the main factor. We have ever-changing moods and expectations and playing techniques. Really the only surprise is that we think an ukulele should sound the same every day.

This is, of course, one reason why it is good to own a variety of ukes to fit every mood and situation. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
I have been thinking about this question all day especially since all of my ukes sounded super great yesterday, and not as great today. But just now-- they sound absolutely great again. I discovered the difference- at least for me. Yesterday and right now- when they sounded absolutely fantastic -- I had my hearing aids in. This morning, no hearing aids. I can be so dense sometimes --:)
 
As acmespaceship alluded to, everything sounds better on a heavily overcast day when it it could rain at any moment, but it just doesn't. :)

-Wiggy
 
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Lots of us say Jake or James or Delray or Sarah Jo can make any instrument sound good.
I always believe it's me when my uke doesn't sound just right.
I can make any uke sound s-----y, most any day.
 
The humidity level at my side of the globe is around 70-80% year round. It’s kind of having a bad uke day everyday given that the higher moisture content in the uke makes it dull sounding. Some folks here say their instruments sounded much much better when they played it in other regions such as Europe or America.
 
Interesting that some of you have pointed out that the uke may sound out of tune. I always thought that was just me being me, since the tuner has always said it was fine. Humidity and sound are weird...
 
H
DownUpDave said:
Two lessons I have learned from this. Don't go immediately selling an instrument you think you are tired of and own LOTS of instruments. That way you can always find one to play that you like.
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Now you tell me. I’ve sold ukes super fast, like the aNueNue I picked up in Tiawan. Sold it a couple weeks after arriving back in the states.

Interesting discussion. My baritone has not been sounding that great to me and it’s been really humid for weeks now. Changed the strings, too. So should I order that other new baritone or wait til fall to decide?
 
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apdsqueaky said:
Interesting that some of you have pointed out that the uke may sound out of tune. I always thought that was just me being me, since the tuner has always said it was fine. Humidity and sound are weird...
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That's one thing I have noticed, too. Some days, it's really hard to get the uke to sound in tune. Other days, it seems spot on.
And, as others have noted, the sound itself seems like it can vary. I do think that humidity plays a role.
 
I read a couple of scientific articles about sound waves and how they are affected by different atmospheric conditions and things like humidity in the air has a measurable effect. I was not reading it though in regards to ukuleles, but the principles are the same I would imagine.

Last evening I went to play with a strum a long group that I attend most every week, and I would swear that it sounded like my uke was out of tune. So every once in a while I would venture over where all my gear was laying and check the tuning. Every time it was spot on. I don't know what the deal was with that, but it threw me off all evening.
 
Rllink said:
I read a couple of scientific articles about sound waves and how they are affected by different atmospheric conditions and things like humidity in the air has a measurable effect. I was not reading it though in regards to ukuleles, but the principles are the same I would imagine.

Last evening I went to play with a strum a long group that I attend most every week, and I would swear that it sounded like my uke was out of tune. So every once in a while I would venture over where all my gear was laying and check the tuning. Every time it was spot on. I don't know what the deal was with that, but it threw me off all evening.
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I Hate to imply this, but have you had the straightness of the neck checked?
 
Rllink said:
No I haven't, but it looks pretty straight to me. I'm pretty sure it was operator error.
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I certainly hope so. I found that one of mine, which looks straight, is warped. IT won't stay in tune when fretted, and there's no hope for it.
 
Last night I couldn’t seem to get the ukulele I wanted to play in tune. Some strings flat and others sharp. I wondered if this might be a hint I should replace the batteries in the tuner, or maybe the ukulele was telling me to play another ukulele. I tried another ukulele and it was more co-operative.

I do have another tuner but it seems to be flat by several cents in comparison to the CPM I usually use.
 
Nickie said:
I certainly hope so. I found that one of mine, which looks straight, is warped. IT won't stay in tune when fretted, and there's no hope for it.
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I usually don't try to blame my own shortcomings on my defenseless ukulele, but you got me nervous. But after a morning of checking every thing on the uke, I can assure you that the ukulele is holding up its end of the bargain. The problem is with me. ;)
 
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