odd phenomenon

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chuck in ny

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i purchased a pono MCD over 5 years ago. it played with a very muted sound. the strings got changed multiple times to no effect and ultimately i put worth browns back on. i tried to get on with the instrument at different times over the years and the same thing, a very quiet type of concert ukulele. anyhow after sitting in its case a couple years more i took the instrument out, tuned it to pitch, and lo and behold it played at good volume with long resonance.
i can understand an instrument adjusting itself in over a half a year, or a year or two. it's surprising that the pono resurrected itself after many years.
any similar experiences?
 
When I was much younger I one day noticed that the girl next door had greatly improved in her looks.
 
Yes, it happed exactly the same with my custom made gypsy jazz tenor uke. Solid flame maple top and solid Indian rosewood body. Because it did not project and sustain the way I expected, I didn't play it much, but a couple years later it was much better. It's called opening up, especially for solid woods. Some people don't believe in it, saying that you just got to be a better player, but with my experience, I sure believe it, especially because for almost 50 years before I played uke, I played guitar.

This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
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This is a philosophical thread. I have noticed something similar, but instead of postulating a difference in the physical attributes of the instrument, I assume it is a cognitive adaption in my head. Just as some vegetables seemed reprehensible when you were younger or certain television programs seemed hilarious, the instrument seems {insert attribute} even though in the past it seemed ....

As I said, this is somewhat philosophical. In the philosophy of some people their perceptions are stable and can register fluctuations over time. Other people such as myself philosophize that the physical attributes are stable and any difference must be in our head.
 
chuck in ny said:
i purchased a pono MCD over 5 years ago. it played with a very muted sound. the strings got changed multiple times to no effect and ultimately i put worth browns back on. i tried to get on with the instrument at different times over the years and the same thing, a very quiet type of concert ukulele. anyhow after sitting in its case a couple years more i took the instrument out, tuned it to pitch, and lo and behold it played at good volume with long resonance.
i can understand an instrument adjusting itself in over a half a year, or a year or two. it's surprising that the pono resurrected itself after many years.
any similar experiences?
Click to expand...

You mention the uke stayed in its case for a few years... perhaps the wood dried out a bit. I’ve noticed differences in tone during the winter as the humidity drops.
 
swamp yankee,

the instrument's glued joints will set up and mature over perhaps 6 months by which time the thin wood panels have had plenty of time to lose moisture. you can stretch that to a year or year and a half. i'm a cabinetmaker familiar with mahogany as well as a uke picker. i would have to attribute the difference in the instrument to the extended glue curing over multiple years and the subtle readjustment and alignment of the wood panels. it's the only possible explanation for the enhanced volume and long sustain.
that said the time involved in this process is simply ridiculous as is the radical change in the instrument's response.
the other explanation would of course be a visit from the ukulele fairy.
 
chuck in ny said:
swamp yankee,

the instrument's glued joints will set up and mature over perhaps 6 months by which time the thin wood panels have had plenty of time to lose moisture. you can stretch that to a year or year and a half. i'm a cabinetmaker familiar with mahogany as well as a uke picker. i would have to attribute the difference in the instrument to the extended glue curing over multiple years and the subtle readjustment and alignment of the wood panels. it's the only possible explanation for the enhanced volume and long sustain.
that said the time involved in this process is simply ridiculous as is the radical change in the instrument's response.
the other explanation would of course be a visit from the ukulele fairy.
Click to expand...

This makes sense to me. The "opening up" phenomenon can probably have different causes. One of the most often mentioned is heavy playing, which does not apply here, with that uke being unused for so long. Whatever the reason, it's a happy event, we need more of those!
 
I had a dead uke so I gave it to a pro guitar player I knew, who wanted it. He played in a heavy metal rock group. Later I learned that every night he would lean that uke up against the bass guitarist's amp, which was normally at ear-splitting volume. Many months later he let me play that uke. It was sweeter than honey & the honey comb -- but he wouldn't let me have it back.
 
I suppose it's entirely possible. Last April, during my annual hearing checkup, my Dr told me my hearing had improved over the year before.
My spouse says that's a lie.
 
Probably why I prefer laminates. Pay less and get the sound you want now
 
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