Moodyville Tenor, Build Update

nongdam said:

I really like the sound Doc. Seems like the tuners stick out a little too much due to such a thin head but it looks really nice. I really like the shape of the body.

How come you tuned it down half a step?

Click to expand...

It came tuned down for shipping. While tuning it up I thought I'd stop at half step below C tuning, F#,B,D#,G# tuning for a while, as it might sound pretty good with the larger body.

As it happens, I just watched a documentary about Django Reinhardt and his gypsy stylings and guitar shape were in my mind when I saw this thread. : )

Doc, this is a beautiful Maccaferi-inspired uke. Love the walnut and the sound is really fine: I agree with step down tuning on many tenors, this one sounds great! I'm curious about the neck width at the nut and the neck depth, front to back?

Congratulations!

Thanks Craig. The neck is the standard 1-3/8 inch at the nut, while the depth (fretboard + neck) is a shade over 5/8-inch.

Congrats Doc! It looks and sounds great! That is one big ass body. Or does it just have a big ass? My ML style Boat Paddle also has a bigger body and I agree that it adds to the resonance and volume.

Congratulations!. Love the walnut you chose. I'm interested in how you think it compares to the "similar" bodied LFMD and Kepasa?

Thanks Dana, you crack me up.
Yeah, the Moodyville tenor is 3/4-inch wider and taller than my LFdM, so I guess we can call it a B.A.T.


Thanks pcspud, the English walnut turned out well. I like how the grain on the back seems to flow with sides
Body lengths for the Kepasa, LFdM, and Moodyville are the 10-7/8, 11-1/2, 12-1/4-inches, respectively.
Lower bout widths are 9, 9-5/8, 10-3/8 inches, respectively. But they are all 2-3/4 thick.
Fret sizes vary too. Large frets for the LFdM, small frets for the Kepasa, and medium frets for the Moodyville.
All use a zero fret. The rosette and bridge on the Moodyville are very much in keeping with the Django style, a litttle more than the other two.

All three sound great. But the Moodyville is the lightest, loudest, and most resonant. The LFdM is the heaviest but still has great volume, resonance, and good bass. Some of that has to do with the wood types, necks, and headstock style. The LFdM has the most 'bling' while the Moodyville is simple and clean.

Sound is very subjective. To me the Moodyville is the warmest and broadest tone, the LFdM has most note clarity and bell tones, the Kepasa is in the middle.

The Three Amigos

Beautiful. Love that spruce top and bridge shape as well as the walnut.

Nice! What is the purpose of that differently shaped sound hole? It reminds me of Django Reinhardts guitar...

Nickie said:

Nice! What is the purpose of that differently shaped sound hole? It reminds me of Django Reinhardts guitar...

Click to expand...

Some Gyspy guitars/ukes have a small oval soundhole while others have the wide D-shaped soundhole like this one. Seems the D-shape gives more soundboard to vibrate below it, and maybe more volume (purely conjecture on my part). I have read that one style was for rhythm players and one was for lead. (not sure how true that is either)

Beautiful uke, Doc. Love the wood combination. It looks and sounds great. Congrats!

Thanks for the nice comments.

A few folks have wondered how the Moodyville sounds a half step higher at regular C tuning. So, I cranked up the tension to C tuning and put this sample together. It sounds great in C, too. But, a little lower is a little warmer and richer sounding to me.

Sound Sample: https://www.box.com/s/8wcsg58ha1iz013voixr


***Thought I would add the first sound sample here (since I like it better).
tuned down half a step and has Worth Brown strings.
Sound Sample: https://www.box.com/s/apey50rbo1dt73akhyih

Sounds great. I like the lower tuning as well. Bet it sounds even better in Bb.

I recently added a wound Aquila low G string to my Moodyville tenor with Worth Browns. I like it better in linear tuning.

Here's a sample: Moodyville tenor, Linear B tuning
https://app.box.com/s/4uz2howhrbc06mqgffsp