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My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
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Author:  jfmckenna [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
I don't really know what to thing because I've never even played a quality hand made Uke, don't know much about them in general and had to spend an hour yesterday just learning how to play the chords. I modeled this Soprano Uke off of one that my wife's father bought her when they lived in Hawaii as a child. It's basically a toy Uke, all plywood but it had the right shape and so on.

I think I took a guitar makers approach to building it and used fan bracing, not too unlike some pics I found from Internet searches.

I don't really know what a soprano Uke is supposed to sound like. The toy one I modeled it on is sort of high and plinky sounding. My guess is that is what you should go for in a soprano uke. The one I made is deeper in tone and perhaps a bit sweeter but it's not as loud and punchy which seems to me to be a good characteristic of a uke? I'm thinking that perhaps a ladder brace woudl be better for such an instrument.

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Author:  ernie [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
perfect, if you like it I .Use the same fan bracing, and sometimes balsa with cf or laminated spruce with cf. Lots of bracing patterns for top /back
Author:  Quine [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
3 finger braces is pretty heavy for a soprano uke. Most have 0 finger braces (but a bridge patch) That may be why you're not getting much volume.

If you want sound comparisons, check out youtube. I recommend GotAUkulele where you can hear many instruments recorded by the same guy. The one you like best is how a ukulele should sound.
Author:  Terence Kennedy [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
I just had a thin line Kayla travel uke in for a repair. Surprised to see it was X braced with an arched unbraced back. Sounded amazing.
Author:  jfmckenna [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
That GotAUkulele site is a great resource thanks for that. The cheap model Uke I have is not braced as well except for a bridge patch that runs the full width of the lower bout. I thought that was good enough for a laminate top though. Those 3 braces started off at 1/8th thick and went down to about 1/16th. I wonder if they should be closer and coupled with the bridge ends. Next one will probably just have a bridge patch. But after listening to a few of those reviews on the GotAUkulele site I can at least say it sounds reasonable. Most of the cheap reviews sound more like what I described as high and plinky so I guess that is not desirable after all, unless of course it is.

I imagine like any stringed instrument there is a break in period but so far it's been nothing like a guitar which I notice drastically changes sound even in the first day.
Author:  johnparchem [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
Sure looks good. I have had trouble with my Tenor ukuleles sounding like small classical guitars. So I am not sure what a good ukulele sounds like.
Author:  Clay S. [ Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
"Bouncing flea" might be a good description of what a soprano should sound like. "Small classical guitar" might be an apt description for the sound of many tenors. A lot of tenor players are playing them CG and Flamenco style, sopranos still seem to be strummed.
I just finished a concert size and a tenor. The concert leaned toward a plunky soprano sound and the tenor was more guitar like. If you watch uke videos on you tube you will hear both "sounds" and see how they work in the different styles of music played.
Some ukes take a while to "open up" so I don't worry too much about initial impressions.
Author:  Quine [ Wed Aug 02, 2017 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
jfmckenna wrote:
That GotAUkulele site is a great resource thanks for that. The cheap model Uke I have is not braced as well except for a bridge patch that runs the full width of the lower bout. I thought that was good enough for a laminate top though. Those 3 braces started off at 1/8th thick and went down to about 1/16th. I wonder if they should be closer and coupled with the bridge ends. Next one will probably just have a bridge patch. But after listening to a few of those reviews on the GotAUkulele site I can at least say it sounds reasonable. Most of the cheap reviews sound more like what I described as high and plinky so I guess that is not desirable after all, unless of course it is.

I imagine like any stringed instrument there is a break in period but so far it's been nothing like a guitar which I notice drastically changes sound even in the first day.



You might want to try different strings too. I built a concert size that sounded OK with my usual Aquila strings....but really came alive when I changed to flourocarbon strings
Author:  jfmckenna [ Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
Quine wrote:
jfmckenna wrote:
That GotAUkulele site is a great resource thanks for that. The cheap model Uke I have is not braced as well except for a bridge patch that runs the full width of the lower bout. I thought that was good enough for a laminate top though. Those 3 braces started off at 1/8th thick and went down to about 1/16th. I wonder if they should be closer and coupled with the bridge ends. Next one will probably just have a bridge patch. But after listening to a few of those reviews on the GotAUkulele site I can at least say it sounds reasonable. Most of the cheap reviews sound more like what I described as high and plinky so I guess that is not desirable after all, unless of course it is.

I imagine like any stringed instrument there is a break in period but so far it's been nothing like a guitar which I notice drastically changes sound even in the first day.



You might want to try different strings too. I built a concert size that sounded OK with my usual Aquila strings....but really came alive when I changed to flourocarbon strings


Yeah I was just thinking of that last night. I put Dunlop strings on it to set it up. Don't really know of that quality but they feel lighter than the ones on my cheap Uke.
Author:  Goat Rock Ukulele [ Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
As others have said strings really matter on a ukulele. And while comparing strings is a bit like judging wine I have come to settle on the PHD strings. If I want a wound low G I use a Fremont Soloist G string. Making a good soprano is much harder than making a good tenor or concert for that matter. If I were just starting I would start large as in tenor and work down rather than starting small as in soprano.
Author:  jfmckenna [ Tue Aug 08, 2017 8:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
Goat Rock Ukulele wrote:
As others have said strings really matter on a ukulele. And while comparing strings is a bit like judging wine I have come to settle on the PHD strings. If I want a wound low G I use a Fremont Soloist G string. Making a good soprano is much harder than making a good tenor or concert for that matter. If I were just starting I would start large as in tenor and work down rather than starting small as in soprano.


Interesting, I never would have thought that the soprano would be the harder one to build. I took a look at your website and must say you take Ukulele building to a whole other level ;)

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Well, that uke has sold so it's on to the next one. This one will just have a bridge patch and upper transverse and sound hole bracing. Same exact wood, same top deflection and everything. Incidentally the mahogany for these Ukes came from a local professor of Geology (hobbyist wood turner) that my wife used to work for who's father worked for Martin in the 1970's. He collected a bunch of miss matched scrap pieces, spruce too, and had them stored for all these years till he learned I build guitars and just gave me a pile of it. Gotta love that.
Author:  edstrummer [ Tue Aug 08, 2017 10:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
jfmckenna wrote:
Goat Rock Ukulele wrote:
As others have said strings really matter on a ukulele. And while comparing strings is a bit like judging wine I have come to settle on the PHD strings. If I want a wound low G I use a Fremont Soloist G string. Making a good soprano is much harder than making a good tenor or concert for that matter. If I were just starting I would start large as in tenor and work down rather than starting small as in soprano.


Interesting, I never would have thought that the soprano would be the harder one to build. I took a look at your website and must say you take Ukulele building to a whole other level ;)

---

Well, that uke has sold so it's on to the next one. This one will just have a bridge patch and upper transverse and sound hole bracing. Same exact wood, same top deflection and everything. Incidentally the mahogany for these Ukes came from a local professor of Geology (hobbyist wood turner) that my wife used to work for who's father worked for Martin in the 1970's. He collected a bunch of miss matched scrap pieces, spruce too, and had them stored for all these years till he learned I build guitars and just gave me a pile of it. Gotta love that.
I built a tenor uke for my wife as my first scratch ukulele build and used two fan braces and bridge patch . All mahogany body. Sounds very good with nylon strings but will switch to flouro some day.
Ed

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Author:  jfmckenna [ Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First Ukulele - Not Sure What to Think
Incidentally, here's the one I am working on now. It's just going to have a bridge patch so it's basically a ladder braced top. I'm hoping that the long dipole mode will be more prominent and I will get more projection with it. The fan braced one sounded sweet but just not very loud.

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