Muffled Uke "Voice" when held against my body. Why?

rhiggie

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Like many here I have lots of ukes, and also the opportunity to play lots more. I've noticed a few ukes, all high end and some with Hawaiian "name brands", that when held in playing position against my body had a muted sound. Hold them away from my body and the sound was great, rings like a bell. Like I said I have lots of ukes that don't do this. But it makes me leery to buy a uke without playing it 1st. I wanted to ask if anyone out there with greater experience than me knows why this sometimes happens? Is it the bracing, is it the thickness of the back, is it a certain piece of wood used for that instrument? Sure wish I knew. Thanks, Rick
 
It may be you are holding it too tightly pressed to your body when holding. It's muffled because you are stopping the soundboard and possiblythe back from vibrating.
 
Like many here I have lots of ukes, and also the opportunity to play lots more. I've noticed a few ukes, all high end and some with Hawaiian "name brands", that when held in playing position against my body had a muted sound. Hold them away from my body and the sound was great, rings like a bell. Like I said I have lots of ukes that don't do this. But it makes me leery to buy a uke without playing it 1st. I wanted to ask if anyone out there with greater experience than me knows why this sometimes happens? Is it the bracing, is it the thickness of the back, is it a certain piece of wood used for that instrument? Sure wish I knew. Thanks, Rick

Sounds like someone with a physics background could be more precise, but my best guess is...

It seems to me, when you hold the instrument against your body, you are increasing the rigidity of the sides and back and the instrument vibrates less as more of the sound is “absorbed” by the back and sides. I could be totally wrong.

Unfortunately, I can’t play with the ukulele resting on my knee and not held against my chest/stomach.

I’m more curious about your statement that some of your instruments don’t do this. All of mine do. I wonder what’s different with those that don’t.
 
There is a device “Tone-Gard”(tm) which addresses this for mandolins. It’s a cage that fits to the back to keep the mandolin from being squelched by the body. There’s a DIY tutorial that would work on a uke as well: https://www.harmonycentral.com/arti...ourself-mandolin-and-ukulele-tone-frame-r339/

I suspect that you’re right that something about the way a specific uke is made and how much the back takes part in the resonance makes a big difference here, as well as technique in how you hold your instrument and body shape where you contact. I can’t speak to the differences other than that I’ve noticed them and sometimes have to shift to fix the sound! A strap helps me.

Anecdotally, Sierra Hull was trying a Tone-Gard at a concert I saw her at. She said she couldn’t hear any difference. Her mandolin, and technique are off-the-scale better than mine!
 
Sounds like someone with a physics background could be more precise, but my best guess is...

It seems to me, when you hold the instrument against your body, you are increasing the rigidity of the sides and back and the instrument vibrates less as more of the sound is “absorbed” by the back and sides. I could be totally wrong.

Unfortunately, I can’t play with the ukulele resting on my knee and not held against my chest/stomach.

I’m more curious about your statement that some of your instruments don’t do this. All of mine do. I wonder what’s different with those that don’t.

I am guessing that, based on the depth, size and shape of the various bodies, he is holding them slightly differently, without thinking of it, to what feels more comfortable. This causes some to be muffled, and some not. The difference in how they are held wouldn't have to be much.
 
There is a device “Tone-Gard”(tm) which addresses this for mandolins. It’s a cage that fits to the back to keep the mandolin from being squelched by the body. There’s a DIY tutorial that would work on a uke as well: https://www.harmonycentral.com/arti...ourself-mandolin-and-ukulele-tone-frame-r339/

Another possibility, cheaper than a Tone-Gard and not as involved (and frankly, ugly) as the DIY version is to look into various types of violin or viola shoulder rests, which can be adjusted to clamp onto the back edges of a uke or a mandolin, and thereby help separate the instrument from the player's midsection. Here is one that I wouldn't particularly like on a violin (no up-and-down adjustability), but due to its simple design and wide foot spacing would be good for a plucked instrument, at least to try - you can't beat the price, either!

bratsche
 
When seated, I can easily hold the instrument at such an angle so as not to be flush against my belly. Standing is more challenging since I can't support the instrument with my leg and thus tend to have more belly and arm contact. I can reduce gut muffling by bringing the instrument a little to the left and placing a small towel between belly and instrument back. It's not at 100% but is much better than a full gut press. It may also help to cut back on beer and do some crunches. I have the same problem with my guitars so it's a fairly universal acoustic instrument problem. After all, the darn thing needs to be free to vibrate in order to make tone.

I can also hear the volume fluctuate if I touch the soundboard with my hand or forearm...
 
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Peter, you made the comment in a different thread that you noticed this happening with the Romero Replica due to it's reverse fan brace on the back. That it made the uke more susceptible to gut muffling. I wonder if that is happening here?
 
Lots of great replies, enough to feel like I'm not alone. Many that feel like it's due to how I'm holding my uke at the time. Since I use straps, the position is pretty consistant and since I play 90% tenors the shape is typically similar. Of course this is only an issue in a quiet room, not in a uke jam, but it's very noticeable to the point that I try playing with the uke away from my body, either off to the side or just away. Neither is comefortable. Like I said, most of my "players" don't seem to change sound however I hold them. What's really got me wondering is I have a Big K uke that has a wonderful wide open sound, but the next one I tried out had this issue. So it's not just the builder or the model. I need to try one the the mentioned "spacers".
 
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