70sSanO
Well-known member
A little backstory...
About 5 years or so ago, I picked up a Fred Shields solid wood 3 string soprano ukulele. Not to argue about the legitimacy of a ukulele with only 3 stings, I found it to be the ultimate instrument for those motivationally challenged moments.
I play instrumentals and with only 3 stings it obviously forces the use of the fretboard. The issue was the "D" (5th fret A/1st string) note that lacked enough sustain to match the other notes. If I fretted it just right I could coax out a bit more, but that was way too much effort for the purpose of this instrument.
Having heard the folklore of David Crosby shaving the braces on his D-18, I thought that if a guy under the influence of that many drugs could successful alter the sound, how tough could it be for me.
I took some 220 sandpaper and attached it to my index finger with double side tape and started scalloping the center of the brace between the soundhole and the bridge. In my mind it was improving ever so slightly, then again, in my mind I buy a Quick Pick and feel I'm going to win.
I now moved into the blind squirrel phase of this endeavor. I thought that if I did a bit of the Charmin' squeeze on the soundboard, I could get things to free up a bit faster. I thought the approach was really working right up until the pop. While the "D" now had much more sustain, the rest of the notes lacked that crispness, especially the "A" which had the undesirable double note thing going on. I put it back into the gig back with a physician heal thyself determination, but the passage of time yielded no better result.
I located what I thought was the issue, the tail end of the brace on the treble side seemed loose. It took a few months to decide if I should tackle this, or let someone who actually knows something do it.
Armed with some Elmer's Glue-All (indoor in case it had to be removed), I made a feeble attempt to lightly sand around the area. My one (LOL!!!) concern was how to support the brace so it would glue back close to, but not exactly, how the original was done. In my mind I was still trying to improve that "D" note. The closest thing I had to a luthier's clamp in my box of tools was a yellow foam practice golf ball. When wedged between the back and the brace, it seemed like the perfect Goldilocks amount of pressure to use.
Well 24 excruciatingly long hours I am proud to announce that I actually did find a nut. I have no idea if it will stay this way, but I got crispness back and unbelievably, the dang "D" note has a lot better sustain without any special fretting technique.
John
About 5 years or so ago, I picked up a Fred Shields solid wood 3 string soprano ukulele. Not to argue about the legitimacy of a ukulele with only 3 stings, I found it to be the ultimate instrument for those motivationally challenged moments.
I play instrumentals and with only 3 stings it obviously forces the use of the fretboard. The issue was the "D" (5th fret A/1st string) note that lacked enough sustain to match the other notes. If I fretted it just right I could coax out a bit more, but that was way too much effort for the purpose of this instrument.
Having heard the folklore of David Crosby shaving the braces on his D-18, I thought that if a guy under the influence of that many drugs could successful alter the sound, how tough could it be for me.
I took some 220 sandpaper and attached it to my index finger with double side tape and started scalloping the center of the brace between the soundhole and the bridge. In my mind it was improving ever so slightly, then again, in my mind I buy a Quick Pick and feel I'm going to win.
I now moved into the blind squirrel phase of this endeavor. I thought that if I did a bit of the Charmin' squeeze on the soundboard, I could get things to free up a bit faster. I thought the approach was really working right up until the pop. While the "D" now had much more sustain, the rest of the notes lacked that crispness, especially the "A" which had the undesirable double note thing going on. I put it back into the gig back with a physician heal thyself determination, but the passage of time yielded no better result.
I located what I thought was the issue, the tail end of the brace on the treble side seemed loose. It took a few months to decide if I should tackle this, or let someone who actually knows something do it.
Armed with some Elmer's Glue-All (indoor in case it had to be removed), I made a feeble attempt to lightly sand around the area. My one (LOL!!!) concern was how to support the brace so it would glue back close to, but not exactly, how the original was done. In my mind I was still trying to improve that "D" note. The closest thing I had to a luthier's clamp in my box of tools was a yellow foam practice golf ball. When wedged between the back and the brace, it seemed like the perfect Goldilocks amount of pressure to use.
Well 24 excruciatingly long hours I am proud to announce that I actually did find a nut. I have no idea if it will stay this way, but I got crispness back and unbelievably, the dang "D" note has a lot better sustain without any special fretting technique.
John