Things That Could Improve Sound of Any Ukulele

[ukantor]

" 'Play better' responses miss the point of the question"

Or perhaps you are missing the point of the answer. Making music not about the instrument, it's about the player. To put it another way, it's not what you've got - it's what you do with it.

John Colter

[Graham Greenbag]

" 'Play better' responses miss the point of the question"

Or perhaps you are missing the point of the answer. Making music not about the instrument, it's about the player. To put it another way, it's not what you've got - it's what you do with it.

John Colter

Occasionally Wifried Welti posts on these pages, he typically plays an old Bruko No6 which when he bought it (say a bit over a decade ago) must have cost about €100. I’ve had Bruko, it wasn’t to my taste then but I still thought it a perfectly good little Uke for the money; what Wilfied produces from his ‘identical’ Bruko amazes me. Dr Bekken sometimes posts here - he’s a music professor (in Norway ?) - and what he makes a cheap Uke do really is amazing. The bottom line is that the music starts with the player.

As for the Ukes, well like I said in my post every Uke that I’ve bought benefitted from a little corrective work, small things and details overlooked in the build that were also possible for me to make right.

[sunshiNee]

Definitely not the answer OP was hoping for. When I started on my uke journey I was sort caught on the same trap trying to get a really good sounding uke, buying, and changing strings on a week to week basis. In the end it would just take away from my playing time and now I haven't change a gosh darn string on any Uke for over 2 years . They still sound pretty good to my ear.

One last thing to note another poster said "That leaves the easiest improvement area. being the player" ... well in my case improving as a player was a long tough road!! still is as we're all striving to get better.

[Mike $]

"Play better" responses miss the point of the question. There's nothing wrong with the KTM-00 (IMO it sounds superior to 99% of ukes). No physical object is in a perfected state, so there must be things that can be done to move the needle a fraction closer to perfection.

I don't think they do. In your OP you say -

Just curious what players have tried in their endless pursuit of optimal sound. <snip> Just want the best sound possible.

BTW, I love the sound my KTM-00 produces, so I'm not looking for "maybe you should try a different uke." My question applies to all ukes: what could be done to improve the sound, even if by only .01%, of any uke?

I think people have given you great advice. These are all things that will help you improve the sound of any uke and applies to all of them. With less than one year of music playing experience, your focus should be your playing and not improving an already great uke. I don't really think we are missing the point. The advice that you apparently don't want will help improve your sound much more than the .01% that you are looking for.

[Neil_O]

1. Sand the back of the neck to remove any gloss finish - comfort equals better sound
2. Cut a sound port facing you
3. Take those points off the headstock to improve the balance of the instrument
4. Get friction tuners to improve the balance
5. Open up the main sound hole or close part of it
6. Change the neck to a V-shape or asymmetrical tapering on one side or the other (Stevie Ray Vaughn style)
and even though this is not a physical improvement to the uke, neither is it a skill based improvement like "get better", get some nice calluses on your fretting fingertips. This will help you place the ideal part of your fingertip on the string, as long as you develop the calluses in the right place.

Would I do any of these things to a $1000 uku? No. I would get a StewMac kit and experiment with shaving braces and sanding tops thinner.

I am working on reshaping the neck on a Travel Kala I got at a yard sale this weekend. This morning I looked at it and said "what have I done?" but I think by evening today I will be back at it with sandpaper and a caliper!

[merlin666]

What people consider sounding good is totally subjective. The chiming that one person enjoys can be grinding harshness to another. It also depends on perspective, for example what the player and an audience at distance hear is completely different, and recording the uke still adds another dimension of recording equipment.

[hawaii 50]

To make any uke sound better, take some lessons from someone qualified to teach. That'll get you more bang for your buck than any gimmick or short-cut.

great advice as he has tried all kinds of strings
this is very good advice... simplest way is to order a custom uke...) and try talking to a good builder

[Ukecaster]

What people consider sounding good is totally subjective. The chiming that one person enjoys can be grinding harshness to another....

So true. I always find it interesting when some folks, who play longer scale linear ukes, sometimes even tuned down, find any reentrant uke to be plinky, toy-like or grating. Then there's the reentrant fans, who find low-G and/or baritones annoying, recommending those people to just go play a guitar. I like it all, there's music that fits each better, and I have fun with reentrant, linear, down-tuned, and bari-strung tenor. We're lucky to have so many options.

[LarryS]

Learn to play better...
I'll get my coat...

[kregger]

1. Sand the back of the neck to remove any gloss finish - comfort equals better sound
2. Cut a sound port facing you
3. Take those points off the headstock to improve the balance of the instrument
4. Get friction tuners to improve the balance
5. Open up the main sound hole or close part of it
6. Change the neck to a V-shape or asymmetrical tapering on one side or the other (Stevie Ray Vaughn style)
and even though this is not a physical improvement to the uke, neither is it a skill based improvement like "get better", get some nice calluses on your fretting fingertips. This will help you place the ideal part of your fingertip on the string, as long as you develop the calluses in the right place.

Would I do any of these things to a $1000 uku? No. I would get a StewMac kit and experiment with shaving braces and sanding tops thinner.

I am working on reshaping the neck on a Travel Kala I got at a yard sale this weekend. This morning I looked at it and said "what have I done?" but I think by evening today I will be back at it with sandpaper and a caliper!

Thanks Neil. You're the only one who understood the question. "Play better" "play more" "sound is subjective" should go without saying (instrument ≠ instrumenteer)...but I guess not (I already play about 2-4 hours per day). I've already implemented #1 (sanding neck) and that definitely helped in terms of playability. I'll talk to a luthier to see if there are any risky enhancements I could attempt to maximize my instrument.