Extended fretboard vs. classic fretboard: difference in sound?

Jannik Lindquist

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I recently saw someone somewhere on the web claim that the difference between the Kiwaya KTS-4 and the Kiwaya KTS-5 is like "night and day" because of the extended fretboard on the KTS-5. The person claimed that this judgement was based on playing both instruments in a store. What is the general verdict on this issue? If it really is the case, does this go for the Kiwaya KTC-1 vs the KTC-2 as well?
 
I'm weird . First off I have to like the way the uke looks , I dont like the look of the extended fretboard on a soprano.
I have one soprano with an extended fretboard and I never go above the 12th fret , above that the sound is
like the tine on a comb , not musical just a "boink? "
I don't know if there is a difference in sound but my guess is that the extended fretboard would limit the soundboards vibrations if that
even matters on an instrument so small as a soprano.
 
The presence of an extended fretboard should not make a "night and day" difference. If the difference in sound is so great, there must be some other factor at work.

John Colter
 
I prefer 12th on a soprano as well simply because of aesthetics. Then again, on certain ukes it's more of a luxury feature, like on the Kiwaya KTS-7, and suits them well. On larger ukes, I always prefer more than 12th frets. Tke Kiwaya KTC-1 looks like a little baby concert with the 12 fret fretboard. :D

If the fretboard is thin enough (like on the Kiwayas) the difference in sound is completely negligible. I can't see how anyone could hear the difference unless gifted with superhuman hearing.
 
Which one did they say was better? In theory the shorter fretboard should sound a bit better, but likely not too noticeable, let alone night and day. I play one or two songs which have one or two notes above twelve. As a finger picker, I find the extended fretboard an annoyance and doesn’t look as nice. But if you need to go past twelve, there’s your decision made for you.
 
Thank you for excellent comments, all :) From an aesthetical point of view, I prefer the 12-fret neck on both the KTS-4 and the KTC-1. I guess the slightly longer scale length on the KTC-2 - as well as the different bridge placement - are both more significant factors than the extended fretboard.
 
Glenn: I think the implication was that the KTS-4 was better - but I can't find that post again. Perhaps it was at Ukulelecosmos.
 
"Better" is, of course, subjective. If I like a bright aggressive tone, and someone else likes a darker, warmer tone with less attack, we might have different views of those two instruments.

However, there is absolutely a difference in tone from an extended fretboard on otherwise identical instruments. The fretboard extension adds stiffness and mass to the top. Builders spend a lot of time and effort working on brace design and carefully shaving braces away in minute amounts to get to a specific desirable end result. The fingerboard extension is both denser and stiffer than any typical brace! So, of course, adding it or removing it is going to make a difference. Granted, the top above the soundhole is already pretty stiff, and is small enough in area that it's not a major contributor to the tone or volume in the first place, so the difference is going to be pretty small in relative terms. And as always there are so many factors involved that it's hard to narrow any one change down to a specific factor, even on "identical" instruments (which may not be that identical, in terms of stiffness, density, etc of the materials used, thanks to natural variations, even if they are "the same" design). Play one of each and your ears may be tricking you, or you may be attributing incorrectly due to a difference you're not aware of. Play ten of each and see if you can tell a difference on average.

Think of it this way. A uke is the sum of maybe half a dozen major variables (some of which are hard to control), and a hundred small choices. The tone you get is the result of those factors added together. I would categorize the length that the fretboard extends over the top as a small choice and not a major variable.
 
I'm a little confused. Is the assumption that if you play the fifth fret on a standard fretboard and play the fifth fret on an extended fret board, the rendition on the standard fret board will sound better? That strikes me as utterly ridiculous. I understand that there is a difference if you play at the fifteenth fret because an extended fret board you could get an Eb7 and with the standard fret board all you would get are the sound of crickets because there is no fifteenth fret.
 
The supposition is that the extended fretboard will affect the way the sound board vibrates. It will, of course, but whether that has a significant effect is open to question. Certainly not a "night and day" difference IMHO

John Colter
 
A violin IS built for this reason so that the fingerboard is above the top, not touching it. So the top can vibrate freely.
 
I guess I am confused about the terminology: "Extended fretboard."

It sound as though y'all are talking about instruments that have identical scales, but one has a longer fretboard that extends further over the upper body of the instrument. Often touching or glued to the upper bout sound board.

Isn't the term also used for ukes with identical bodies, but one has a longer scale length? Such as a soprano body that has a tenor neck on it? Or am I confused about "extended fretboard?" :confused:
 
I guess I am confused about the terminology: "Extended fretboard."

It sound as though y'all are talking about instruments that have identical scales, but one has a longer fretboard that extends further over the upper body of the instrument. Often touching or glued to the upper bout sound board.

Isn't the term also used for ukes with identical bodies, but one has a longer scale length? Such as a soprano body that has a tenor neck on it? Or am I confused about "extended fretboard?" :confused:

The ukes have identical scale lengths but the extended fretboard is longer, extending over the soundboard farther toward the hole because it has additional frets. Standard is thought of having 12 frets whereas the extended ones may have 15 to 17.
 
If you put your fingers inside a soprano uke and feel towards the neck joint, you will find that there is a cross brace under where the extended fretboard would be placed, and the neck block is at least 5/8" thick. That leaves about 3/4" of free soundboard at that point. It is a fairly solid structure. It will not be contributing much to the overall vibration. The addition of an extended fretboard will have little effect on the sound.

John Colter
 
If we want play melodies, the normal soprano is very limited. With concert and 14 frets, we re-entrant with ukes are still still missing the C scale double octave. I doubt also if the extended fretboard can have that much have a meaning effect to the sound, to worsen those higher frequences.

On the other way of thinking, we with mostly laminate ukes. We can be happy with just playing restricted to 3st frets, sometimes 4, to accompany ourselves. I saw recently a video from "Bernadette teaches music" in youtube. of a song, I think it was Le Vie en Rose. My french is mighty limited, but I think it was one Edith Piaf sang.

There was a particular difficult chord for us with ukes, Fmaj7. It was given as 5500. That is ok, but I would have played it easy with Am (or F), but Am sounded better. Anyways the recommended fingering went to the 5th fret.

For chords we don't need that many frets. 12 are too much for them even.

But for melody playing yes that extended fingerboard.

I like her videos.
 
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I would say that unless you're bringing a professional level of playing experience to the instrument, this is seriously splitting hairs.

A good player can make a crappy uke sound great. Just like a bad player can make a great uke sound crappy.
 
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