Hi. I’ve been lurking in UU for a while learning from your wonderful discussions but I’ve never posted anything. I’ve often seen you talking about your ukes opening up or that your ukes now sound open. I can’t for the life of me understand what that means. How do you know what an open sound is? Let’s say you’re blindfolded and given an uke to play, how do you know whether it has an open sound? I’ve been playing for over a year and just enjoying learning. Thanks for any feedback.
Open sound
- Thread starter Su S
- Start date
Su S, I can understand your puzzlement. I've been playing for about thirty years and have no idea what is meant by a ukulele "opening up". I hear the term used quite frequently, and gather that some people can perceive an improvement in the sound/tone of an instrument, supposedly brought about through much use. There are people whose senses are much more subtle and discerning than mine - particularly in the areas of sound and taste. I would never argue with a wine expert. I simply do not operate at that level. Same with the finer nuances of sound that some people can hear. I don't hear them. I just have to accept that they do.
Thank you for asking the question. I will be interested to read the responses.
John Colter
Thank you for asking the question. I will be interested to read the responses.
John Colter
anthonyg
Well-known member
Good question and I suspect that there will be a few different opinions and answers.
To start with let me put on the table the idea that an "open" sound is kind of opposite to a "tight" sound. You could also talk about an "open" sound being different to a "closed" sound.
A tight sound is a sound with short sustain and you hear it quite a bit on instruments with "overbuilt" tops in as much as a heavily constructed top needs a lot of power from the strings to move back and forth where as a lightly constructed top responds quickly and loudly to the strings movements.
A closed sound is often heard on instruments that respond mostly in just one part of the sound spectrum, usually in the midrange or the highrange but restricted in the lower range. An instrument that responds broadly across the spectrum can be considered more "open".
To start with let me put on the table the idea that an "open" sound is kind of opposite to a "tight" sound. You could also talk about an "open" sound being different to a "closed" sound.
A tight sound is a sound with short sustain and you hear it quite a bit on instruments with "overbuilt" tops in as much as a heavily constructed top needs a lot of power from the strings to move back and forth where as a lightly constructed top responds quickly and loudly to the strings movements.
A closed sound is often heard on instruments that respond mostly in just one part of the sound spectrum, usually in the midrange or the highrange but restricted in the lower range. An instrument that responds broadly across the spectrum can be considered more "open".
Croaky Keith
Well-known member
The term 'opening up' is really just the components of a uke 'bedding in' to each other, occasionally there will be a perceived increase in tonality, but not by much, if at all, & it may feel easier to play too, but I think it is just the fact that the player is getting used to the uke. :music:
My experience with opening up: About 6 1/2 years ago I had a custom uke made by Bruce Wei Arts out of Vietnam for $750 delivered. I specified a tenor gypsy jazz Django style with a solid flame maple top and he suggested solid Indian rosewood for the body. When it arrived 7 months later, he made it nicer than I was expecting and it was comfortable to play, but I was disappointed with the sound. It did not resonate well, lack of sustain and projection. I played it off and on for the next year and a few months when one day I played it and I was surprised that it had much better resonance, sustain and projection. It's been that way ever since.
This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)
• 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
This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)
• 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
I think this is the key. Wood does change over time, it is just the laws of physics; so your instrument sound will change as the wood changes. Now whether the change bring good things or bad, I guess that'd depend on how the instrument was made. (just read up on old violins, some age well others don't).
merlin666
Well-known member
It basically means that over time the player of the instrument is getting better at playing and figuring out the instrument. The aging process can alter an instrument but more often than not this is not an improvement.
Thanks for your input guys. It has certainly helped me to understand this better. I now know that not everyone believes in this process. Also, not everyone who believes in it, believes that it’s necessarily a good thing. I’ve observed that the tone wood most associated with opening up seems to be spruce. I recently saw a video of a very accomplished player describe a particular uke as sounding open even when brand new so I guess how an uke is built also contributes to its openness.
I think there's a difference between "sounding open" and "opening up." And in reply to the idea that one just gets better at playing, I played guitar for almost 50 years before I picked up the uke, which took me maybe an hour to warm up to it, and a day or two to feel comfortable and settled.
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The theory behind opening up is as the instrument is played the top vibrates. This in turn causes the fibres to break down or soften up a bit. The top will then flex or vibrate more freely causing the tone to change, possibly more open, resonant and sweet sounding. This is debated vigorously in stringed instrument circles, it can get ugly. Some believe it some don’t. Wood is wood and it is all different from piece to piece. Some tops will open up, I have experienced it and some do not.
The old saying still holds true: if an instrument doesn’t sound good to you when new chances are it wouldn’t improve enough over time to make you change your mind about. Because again, some might open up and some might not.
The old saying still holds true: if an instrument doesn’t sound good to you when new chances are it wouldn’t improve enough over time to make you change your mind about. Because again, some might open up and some might not.
Throwing my opinion into the agnostic yet practical camp: ukuleles might open up, but you should not base any of your decisions on the possibility.
If it happens, great. Hopefully you like the sound of your uke as it develops a richer character.
If it doesn't, great, because you chose to own a uke that you loved the sound of as it is anyway.
There is (IMHO) a lot of superstition out there on this topic, with little beyond subjective evidence for ukulele tops "opening up" over time and actually undergoing a substantial change in sound. I try to keep an open mind... maybe it does happen to some degree for some instruments. I just don't trust the notion nearly enough to put my money behind it.
If it happens, great. Hopefully you like the sound of your uke as it develops a richer character.
If it doesn't, great, because you chose to own a uke that you loved the sound of as it is anyway.
There is (IMHO) a lot of superstition out there on this topic, with little beyond subjective evidence for ukulele tops "opening up" over time and actually undergoing a substantial change in sound. I try to keep an open mind... maybe it does happen to some degree for some instruments. I just don't trust the notion nearly enough to put my money behind it.
etudes
Well-known member
I experienced it with my Taylor 812 grand concert guitar purchased new in 1994. About 12-18 months in I started to notice changes in the overall sound. Prior to that I always thought this was a lovely little instrument with great mid-range and highs, but lacking a bit in the bass. But at this time I found the bass much more present and in a few years it completely won me over. Plenty of bass and in general a more musical voice. My two cents worth..
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Mark.T
Well-known member
I was fortunate enough last December to take possession of a beautiful double bass made for me by a wonderful luthier here in the PNW. It played and sounded nice when I picked it up and I had a few weeks to play it before leaving for about 14 days over the holidays. When I returned, my perception of the sound just a few weeks on was that it had changed since I’d left. I think the sound has more or less stabilized since then but my belief is that the bass settled into its current configuration.
I don’t get to play it as much as I’d like (I’d rather not put it down at all so there’s that) but I do hope that the sound continues to develop in the years to come. I’ve never owned a classic old instrument but my other bass is about 30 years old and has a rich resonant sound (although it’s somewhat difficult to play well). Perhaps in 10 or 20 years my new one will retain its easy playability and warmth and add something as well.
Suffice it to say, I’m a cautious believer in the ability for instruments to develop with age, but there’s also no substitute for good luthiery.
I don’t get to play it as much as I’d like (I’d rather not put it down at all so there’s that) but I do hope that the sound continues to develop in the years to come. I’ve never owned a classic old instrument but my other bass is about 30 years old and has a rich resonant sound (although it’s somewhat difficult to play well). Perhaps in 10 or 20 years my new one will retain its easy playability and warmth and add something as well.
Suffice it to say, I’m a cautious believer in the ability for instruments to develop with age, but there’s also no substitute for good luthiery.
I hope to get a good luthier-made uke some day and see how the sound develops overtime but I will subscribe to the idea of getting the sound that I like while new and enjoy it. If I’m lucky, it’ll open up and become more refined like aged wine.
