Warmer sounding tonewoods for top?

CYN

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Would like opinions on which woods would sound warmer, deeper for a ukulele . Not a fan of bright sounding ukuleles and would like something with a less traditional ukulele sound, more lower end guitar like.
 
The wood is only a small factor, and also one that can be controlled the least as it changes from tree to tree and cut to cut. If you go with laminate it will be "warmer" than a solid, and a larger and deeper body will also add some warmth. The kind of strings you use will also be a major factor, probably much more than the type of wood ... thicker strings at lower tension may also sound warmer.
 
The strings and body size also play a factor. In addition to cedar, redwood has a mellower sound IMHO. And koa has a sweet less bright voice than say spruce.
 
You never mentioned size, tenor will have more guitar like sustain and resonance then the smaller bodied concert and soprano.

Typically western red cedar and redwood are the warmest sounding softwood tops. Pair that with mahogany, koa, myrtle or walnut back. An all mahogany tenor is usually warm sounding. But these are generalizations and can depend on the brand and or builder. I have owned three spruce topped tenor that were warm and a cedar top that was bright.
 
Lots of good advice that I'll second. For a deeper, warmer sound, go for a tenor (or even a baritone). My suggestion in terms of tonewood would be Western Red Cedar as well. Also, different types of strings can make a huge difference, especially fluorocarbon. Last but not least, different builders have a signature sound that might affect the tone most: Most Kalas, Ohanas (as well as Anuenue, Flight, Kmise, Enya, Rebel) sound brighter to my ears than a Pono or Romero Creations. Same goes for custom builders: Mya Moe on the brighter side, whereas the instruments from Beau Hannam or Jay Lichty aim towards the warmest end of the spectrum.
 
It's hard to generalize—as individual designs can make a big difference—but to my ears the all mango and mahogany ukuleles tend have the warmest timbres. Spruce and cedar tops tend to lean toward the brighter side.

I agree, especially with mahogany. To my ear, cedar has more warmth than spruce but it’s a dry warmth, even a bit scratchy. Mahogany, otoh, seems to have a nice comfortable warmth to my ear, like a nice sweater.
 
Think I'd choose all solid mango...for myself. Been looking at these from Big Island.
 
I agree. My solid mango tenor is very warm and mellow. You can fine tune that with brighter or warmer fluorocarbon strings.

The solid mango Pono tenor is warmer than my other Pono tenors of: all-acacia; cedar/ebony; spruce/rosewood & cedar/mahogany.
 
There is a video somewhere on YT, where a brunch of pro ukers try out ponos with different tops.
That way the build difference should be covered.

Is believe that there is consensus that spruce is brigther than cedar. And hence supposedly less warm.
But how cedar compares to mango, koa and Mahogany is another story.

To me it sounds like cedar is brigther than mango which is brigther that Mahogany. Where to place koa is a bit more difficult, since it both has some bright and some mellow qualities.

But perhaps I am mistaken in how I define brightness.
 
Would like opinions on which woods would sound warmer, deeper for a ukulele . Not a fan of bright sounding ukuleles and would like something with a less traditional ukulele sound, more lower end guitar like.

I think makers rather than tonewoods will make a bigger difference. If you're looking for recommendations, Romero Creations come to mind. You can hear their classical guitar roots in their ukuleles. They have some made of mango, which, like others have said, is pretty warm sounding. I haven't played their Grand Tenor, but I would imagine that would be one of their warmest and deepest models. Their grand series have very deep (literally) bodies.

I'd also suggest taking a look at the Rebel tenors; Mim and HMS have new stock. Not quite as guitar-like as the Romeros, but the Rebels seem to me very rich sounding in general, and the tenors are probably their deepest and warmest models.
 
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