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Thread: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

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    Registered User Mandobart's Avatar
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    Default NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    Still on the search for the right tenor 'uke. There are no decent ‘ukes in my area to try. I’m not sure what tonewood to choose. I’ve played some ‘hog guitars, but I have no idea about mango or acacia. I really like the warm mellow sound of redwood and western red cedar on my mandolins, mandola, mandocello and hardanger fiddle. I prefer a warm woody tone over a loud cutting sound. Any generalizations about tonewood? Is the acacia they mention in some ads similar to koa? What wood would you recommend to someone desiring a warm woody tone? Thanks!

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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    Koa is the traditional wood for ukuleles, that’s what the original ones were made from. Koa is part of the acacia family. When acacia is specified, it can be from a number of different species. But Koa is a specific species of Koa. So Koa is the best wood for Ike’s from a tone and tradition standpoint, but any acacia would be in the same tonal ballpark. And mahogany would have similar tone qualities. All of them are good.

    When Martin first got into making ukuleles, they made rosewood with spruce tops. They were a dismal failure. I never played one, but reports are they sounded horrible, built very heavily. Martin had to realize they shouldn’t make miniature versions of their guitars and call them ukuleles. So they started going lighter (like the native builders were already doing) and making bodies of all Koa or all mahogany, and that made all the difference.

    You see all kinds of wood combinations on ukuleles these days. Most aren’t worth a darn. I definitely prefer all solid Koa, acacia, and mahogany. My main uke is a Martin T1K. They are made in Mexico and all solid Koa. Very simple appointments, understated elegance. The strings they come with are not great, but it really sings with low G tuning Aquila Nylgut. At 500 or so, it’s the lowest price all Koa uke that I’m aware of.
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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    Go to theukulelesite.com and check out Pono ukes. Acacia and mango are woods related to koa. Koa is the bomb for ukuleles, but is expensive. $1000 up and mostly up.

    I have a mahogany Pono tenor Uke that is very well made and sounds terrific. They make solid mahogany, acacia, and mango models in a satin finish for around $400. They are nice and I recommend them. Lots of videos of these linked on the site. Of course, they make many more expensive ukes with cedar and spruce tops, you just need to call them and have a chat. Anything Pono is going to be nice.
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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    One correction to the above. Mango is not related to koa or acacia. Koa and acacia are both in the same genus but different species. Mango is not in the same genus as the other two, nor the same family. That said, a lot of people like mango wood for Ike’s. The wood certainly has a striking appearance, since it is almost always heavily spalted, leaving very pleasing patterns of highly contrasting dark and light.

    You don’t have to spend 1000 dollars to get a solid Koa Uke. As I indicated above, I am quite happy with my Mexico made Martin T1K, which goes for 500 new and I bought for 300 used. The only improvement it needs is better quality strings.

    Agree with the above about Pono ukes. Very, very nice ukes indeed. I have played the ones with the cedar and spruce tops, don’t like them. But I could say the same about any brand really. It’s hard to say exactly why, the just don’t sound right to me. In your original post you talk about dark and woody. I just don’t think those kind of descriptors work for ukes. A uke needs to sound like a uke. It should have a little brightness to it, but be well balanced across the spectrum. Most of all, it should really have the characteristic tone one would expect. Koa gives you that. Mahogany and acacia get you real close too. If you stray too far from that you get something that sounds like a little guitar instead of a uke. That’s why the spruce, redwood, and cedar tops leave me cold. The islanders who invented the ukulele didn’t have spruce, redwood, or cedar available to them. They had Koa. So that’s what they used, and that’s what gives you the tone you expect to hear. This is all my humble opinion, of course. There are those who disagree. They sell people all kinds of ukuleles with all sorts of wood combinations.
    Don

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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    Mango looks pretty but I've never played one whose sound I like. All were muddy and dull.

    I'm sure there are good ones, but I suspect mainly at the top end of the market.

    My experience as a hobby uke maker suggests to me that wood species is much less important than the maker. However, spruce and cedar always give more sustain than hardwoods, and that doesn't work well for ukulele strumming (but is therefore preferred for those playing mainly melodically on tenors).

    Mahogany and koa are good all round, to my ear koa is a little brighter and sweeter (but that's very subjective - Hawaiian music is played on koa, 20s/30s songs on mahogany, but that's a complete generalisation and not a rule).

    From individual makers, cherry and walnut work well too.

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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    I bought a Pono tenor uke that is cedar topped mahogany. I'd definitely describe it as "warm and mellow", attributes I was looking for as well. I tune it CGDA like a mandola. I got it used (but just barely) from someone on the Ukulele Underground site. If you keep an eye on their Marketplace, you'll see that oftentimes people sell instruments they just recently bought, in order to finance something they hope they'll like better. UAS seems just as rampant as MAS, if not more so!

    I agree with the advice to listen to recordings at The Ukulele Site to give you an idea how they all sound. Personally, I tended to prefer the mahogany sound over acacia or koa.

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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    All solid Acacia Pono Tenor Uke owner here. I use low G tuning, and I really like it. But, I don’t know that I’d call it “warm.” It can go from sweet and mellow to loud/cutting (but still with nice Uke tone, not obnoxious or brash) depending on how I strum or finger pick it. I really like it, and like that it has an adjustable truss rod. Got it for around 400 dollars from the ukulele site. The vids on the ukulele site mentioned above are well done, and better examples than I could give you with a sound clip and my meager skills...
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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    The Uke equivalent to the Mandolin Cafe Forums is the Ukulele Underground Forums. You might get some uke-specific expertise there. I have a few serious old Martin ukes (all sopranos) but ended up buying a nice pair of matching concert and tenor Kala ukes, cedar solid tops but laminated acacia back and sides and they sound pretty good for the money.

    Ukes are structurally much different from mandolins: nylon-like strings and fixed bridge and flattops so one wood on a mandolin would not necessarily sound at all the same as on a uke.

    The solid Pono's are a good bet if you want to spend more money but it is surprising what a small amount can buy you in the uke world. Much different from the mandolin world.
    Jim

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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandobart View Post
    Still on the search for the right tenor 'uke. There are no decent ‘ukes in my area to try. I’m not sure what tonewood to choose. I’ve played some ‘hog guitars, but I have no idea about mango or acacia. I really like the warm mellow sound of redwood and western red cedar on my mandolins, mandola, mandocello and hardanger fiddle. I prefer a warm woody tone over a loud cutting sound. Any generalizations about tonewood? Is the acacia they mention in some ads similar to koa? What wood would you recommend to someone desiring a warm woody tone? Thanks!
    I believe that I can appreciate what you’re going through.

    I had a similar dilemma as yours. First, here’s a little background so you’ll know where I’m coming from. I have about 55 years of playing acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin. My primary gigging instruments are a ’43 Martin 000-18, ’67 Martin D-28, 2005 Ome Custom Deluxe Juniper open-back banjo (with muted fiberskyn head), and 2008 Weber Custom Vintage A mandolin; occasionally I’ll use other guitars/banjos/mandolins based on the venue but these are my go-to guys. If it makes any sense, they “blend” well together even though they aren’t played at the same time. To me they have that aged, warm tone.

    A while ago, I decided that I’d like to include a ukulele. I had played a few ‘40s – ‘50s Martin mahogany tenor ukes in years past and decided that was what I wanted because its sound/tone paralleled and complimented my other instruments. I don’t buy until I try, so I was dependent on one showing up locally. Unfortunately, the only one that did was way overpriced. After waiting unsuccessfully for another to show up, I decided to settle and purchased a Martin 2K Tenor (Note: I did audition the all-mahogany 1T “Iz” as well. It, too, was very nice. Admittedly, it didn’t have the “aged dry woody tone” of a vintage Martin mahogany, but I’m sure it would eventually get there. I didn’t get it because it was spoken for and I just didn’t want to wait anymore.) While the Koa on the 2K adds a really pleasing “chime,” it wasn’t the tone that I specifically wanted. So I helped it along by getting rid of the fluorocarbon strings and started using D’addario Nyltech strings (or La Bella pro series if I can’t find the D’addario). That made quite a bit of difference – made it less “modern” sounding.

    Yes, I admit that I continue to keep my eyes open for a vintage Martin mahogany tenor, because I believe that it’s got the sound that will best work with my go-to instruments. But you know, the 2KT has really grown on me. So much so, that I haven’t been looking as hard as for the mahogany tenor as I did a year ago. So “settling” for something else hasn’t been all that terrible. In fact, it’s really been good because I now have a ukulele that’s part of my instrument rotation.

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    Default Re: NMC - 'Ukulele Tone Wood

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    The solid Pono's are a good bet if you want to spend more money but it is surprising what a small amount can buy you in the uke world. Much different from the mandolin world.
    Tell me about it, each day I think: would I rather own a Kentucky and live in an actual house? Or would I rather buy everything on my musical wishlist and and live on the streets? It is a very tough decision

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