Can You Pick Out Expensive Ukuleles By Sound Alone?

[@stevejones6139]

I got two of the three correct, strangely enough it was the concert ukuleles that I got wrong where the price difference is the greatest! Great video Matt and a fun quiz to play.

[@ning_cai]

Such a great idea to do a test like this, Matt! Please make more of such vids and maybe give us the answer at the end of each segment instead? Thanks!

[@WorldofUkes]

Good plan. I have one in the works for similar models with different tonewoods... So I can change the format then :)

[@UkuleleSolos]

Love this format - great fun! :) I got the first two right but struggled with the two tenors, which is worrying considering I own one of them!! Looking forward to the next video like this one Matt :)

[@joycefleming1422]

That was good fun and a really good perception test! Really quite tricky with the concerts & tenors. I got the first 2 correct but not the tenors. More please Matt! 👏💖

[@wylancslass]

Matt, loved this! It was fun! You should do more of these. I have purposely not read the comments below before I replied. Interested to see if our other Uke friends thought the same after. I actually got the Soprano's the wrong way round but the Concerts right. Have to confess on the Tenor's, I could see the headstock of the aNueNue so that was a bit of a cheat.

[@WorldofUkes]

Stop peeking ;)

[@wylancslass]

@@WorldofUkes Hahahahaha!!!

[@jimsatola4971]

Got all three right: Solid woods at 2-1-1 (Kawaii, Millar, and Anunue). On each, it was the sustain difference, as well as a certain “sweeter” tone, that informed the choices.

[@michaelpaderes2609]

Great idea for a video! I only got the concerts right. Would be good to discuss the differences in the tone quality at the end also.

[@lindasargent3723]

Surprisingly I got all 3 right. Tenor was the most difficult but I bought that one from you earlier this year so recognised it. A great exercise thanks

[@WorldofUkes]

Thanks Linda - I'm pleased you didn't hate the sound of the one you bought - that would have been awkward!

[@timoflynn8224]

Great idea Matt and good bit of fun! I got all 3 right but I had a real job with the concerts. A £1000 difference did not seem that pronounced to me!

[@WorldofUkes]

It's funny, I thought that was the most marked - perhaps not £1,000 but a lot, all the same!

[@godlikemonolith]

Yep. I’ve got that Snail model so was pretty certain on that one. That Kiwaya is so lovely sounding and I don’t usually like sopranos.

[@Tzuriah]

This was a fun video! I got them all right but I was guessing on the sopranos. My fave was the Millar concert. The concerts had the greatest difference while the sopranos were the closest.

[@bernardinelermite1133]

Cool test, thank you ! I was wrong with the concerts, lol. But I listened without headphones. I guess in person it would be more obvious. What helped me is that I have a solid mahogany Kiwaya (a concert though), and it has its own round voice I know well. Concerning the tenors, the aNueNue has this amazing "ultra high definition" with celestial sustain... But you have chosen good matches : these laminate ukes are some good ukes, for sure !!

[@karenbeaulieu6776]

Got all 3 right. I found the 2 tenors to be the most similar, but AnueNue has a unique sound.

[@mikek4708]

Hi Matt, really enjoyed this. I was wrong on the sopranos, I don’t play a soprano normally and strangely I preferred the anuenue on sound. Was correct on the concert and the tenor. Although the tenor snail was punchy and again I like it. Have a good weekend and thanks again.

[@claireyc]

I went with the ones I liked ...and the ones I liked were the more expensive ones. But I have an anue nue concert and I think I recognised it's lovely clear tone.

[@harveyd_5-11under]

I listened with my phone, and got them right, although I wasn't as sure for #3. The expensive ones seemed to have more even tone, especially the lower frequencies.

[@garyniblock8864]

Fun video. First two were pretty obvious. Tenors not as much but I got them all. Thanks!

[@ellens.8857]

That was fun. Got all three right but seriously doubted my choices. I found it easier to hear differences when you were fingerpicking.

[@julissimo1]

Hi Matt! What an interesting exercise. I only got one of them right though, the first one. ☺️ I’m so looking forward to the aNueNue UT200 Moon Bird Tenor that you are sending me!! 🥰

[@WorldofUkes]

Thanks Julia - FedEx came for it today so it's on the way :)

[@julissimo1]

@@WorldofUkes It came today, Matt, and I am thrilled. It is everything I had hoped for! You’ve been great to work with and it arrived from the UK to the US so quickly. Thanks for everything!

[@lesaostini993]

This was fun. I got the soprano and concerts correct but the tenors wrong. It tidied pay to listen before you buy.

[@MrEricgal]

Great idea, thanks…. I got the first one wrong, but the other two right. I particularly liked the sound of the Miller Concert…. Which is strange as I’ve never played a concert … I have a couple of tenors…. Hmmmm……

[@evanssm1]

3 out of 3 sir - I'm like one of those annoying pupils who clearly isn't paying attention but somehow flukes a good mark in the exam - but I did write my answers down so that I couldn't be accused of cheating: With the sopranos, I thought that the first uke you played sounded "slightly boxed in" - I think you said that the aNueNue was an all laminate - I've often noticed that some of less well made laminates tend to swallow up their own sound. Although that's not the case with this example, the Kiwaya had more distinction and separation between notes I described the Kiwaya as "more open". (i didn't get up to dissertation standards as all of my "answers" were 6 words or fewer). Another characteristic of laminates over solids is that laminates can sometimes sound a bit on the "thin" side. Clearly, once again, the Millar had a bit of depth (although I felt it was "boomy"). In comparison, the Kai sounded "too thin". The third example was a replay of the second - again, I though that the aNueNue had a depth that the Snail lacked. This was an easy exam to pass because it was multiple choice, every question was 50/50 and, in each case, we knew the two possibilities before each test - If you picked up a random uke, played it, and asked us to value it without comparison to anything else, that would be a lot harder. Or, if you played 6 ukes in no particular order and told us to put them in order of price, or told us to identify which 3 were the least expensive ones then that also would have been more difficult. interestingly, if you'd played the Millar against the Kiwaya or the aNueNue tenor, I don't know whether I could have put them in order and, even if I was able to do that, I almost certainly would have preferred the two "cheaper" ukes over the Millar. Is it at this point that you come back and say "actually, when I gave the answers, I 'accidentally' got them the wrong way round." :-)

[@WorldofUkes]

Haha, I was paranoid about getting the answers the wrong way around and had a big piece of paper with the correct order stuck to the camera tripod to make sure! Some good ideas there for further tests too.

[@tjbissues5889]

Great test Matt. I got the first 2 pairs correct but, was fooled by the last pair. Interesting... Cheers. Trevor

[@WorldofUkes]

Thanks Trev

[@lizzylaskowski2992]

same here! last one scuppered me!! really interesting, thanks :-)

[@bertilak6580]

This was such fun! I always find it harder to choose models (or to tell them apart) when they’re strummed, because to my ears at least, strumming erases some of the subtleties of sound. Having said that, I got them all right - I thought the biggest difference was between the concerts, and the smallest between the tenors (which, iirc, also reflects the price differences between the pairs)

[@WorldofUkes]

Interesting, yes, I though that too with the concerts, yet others chose the cheaper concert... music is in the ear of the beholder! (does that saying work!?)

[@SongOfItself]

Yay, I got them all!! But it was hard. I was only confident of my answer with the sopranos, since the cheaper laminate model has a bit of that laminate-y character coming through. The concerts were the toughest for me. With the tenors, I knew the more expensive one pretty well from youtube demos, since it's on my wishlist of awesome ukes to buy one day, and I could recognize a certain distinction in its sound. Without it, it'd just be a guess. I want to say though that it's very cool when cheaper ukes sound so good and so close to the really pricey ones. Anyone who can afford a 100 pound/euro/dollar instrument will be getting a very decent, sweet sounding ukulele they can enjoy.

[@WorldofUkes]

You're definitely right - if you know where to look, there are cheaper ukes that can sound really good. As your experience shows, perhaps not as good as the top models, but not as far off as you might think!

[@wschield608]

The first two were pretty easy but I was fooled on the last one. That is until the headstock popped up and gave it away. Unfortunately by then I had already made up my mind. Wrong! I enjoyed this, thanks!

[@ProfT100]

Thank you - I got all 3 the right way round but there is a 1/8 chance of doing that anyway. Mostly the more expensive they were the better the low end harmonics and string clarity. The Kai concert certainly sounded a lot better than it's price point.

[@WorldofUkes]

Thanks Paul, and yes I agree on the Kai!

[@paul_mitchener_ukulele]

Interesting…the first and third were obvious to me. The second was the one that threw me…I’m going to blame KZbin compression and listening on a tablet while cooking rather than think that I lack the sensitivity to appreciate nice things. Though it’s tempting to buy the Kai and think to myself that I’m playing a uke that sounds like it’s over £1,000, if only to me.

[@bernardinelermite1133]

I could have said the exact same thing, lol.

[@eileenlander1380]

Thanks for this. I got them all right, but nearly wavered over the last one, almost changed my mind….interesting.

[@chriss.i.7854]

Got all right, don´t know why I can to this, may be just out of the belly. Thanks for this lil "experiment"!

[@chuckprocner8410]

This was interesting. I’ve done this myself in a store and think it was easier to differentiate than hearing play back from my tablet. Having said that I got 2 of 3 correct having missed the concert. They were all mostly very close to my ear with the tenors most different. I thought the concerts sounded the best group. The idea of revealing after each group is a good idea too. You didn’t mention anything about the strings on each. Were they the same all around?

[@WorldofUkes]

I didn't mention strings, no. They all had the strings on that they come with from the factory, so in that way, it's a comparison of what they would sound like if you bought them. I thought, having played them, it was much more obvious that most people have thought - so the feel of them must have a big impact.

[@chuckprocner8410]

@@WorldofUkes I understand your rationale but very few people fail to make changes to their instruments once they have them. Often one of the first and common things recommended to someone complaining about the sound of their ukulele is to change the strings. Since this was a test of the sound as opposed to feel, in order to do a uniform comparison eliminating any variables that could make a difference seems reasonable.

[@WorldofUkes]

I agree, and have videos saying the same - if you don't like the sound of the instrument, try some different strings, which could turn an unloved instrument into a favourite and save you buying a new one! But I'm not sure it works for the purposes of this. I like aNueNue clear water, for example, but I don't think they sound good on an aNueNue moon bird. Different strings suit different instruments. If I equalised the strings I could be making something worse, as well as something better. For me, a Ukulele store, I think it's best to show people what it would sound like if they bought it. There are exceptions, where I disagree with the factory string choice so much I restring them here and don't even give people the option to have the originals. But one person's favourite strings are another person's least favourite, so how do you choose. Totally agree about finding strings to suit you - but in this case 'you' are the many different people watching the video, with their many different tastes.

[@celinefowler3956]

Got them all right. Surprised myself!

[@TheKebap31]

I also had only the tenors right. Pff, that saves a lot of money! Nice assignment!

[@WorldofUkes]

It's interesting that for me - in the room and able to pick up a more complete sound, and with the benefit of the feel of them in my hands, I thought the distinction would be much easier to spot.

[@lesleyriseam1282]

Blast , I got them all right . This is because of a mispent lockdown , fantasising about a new Uke . Only to find that most of the ones I like I cant afford . I know know what my next Ukulele is The future is Millar , Anue nue And a juggle for Mango or cedar . So cant wait for the tonewoods one . xox. Would you have to be a geek to want a strings one

[@JannikLindquist]

Good fun, Matt. I got the tenors wrong.

[@lambda_miner_edwin]

That was a fun test. I got them all but probably more by luck than judgement, to be honest. I’m not sure I could hear much difference but maybe it’s clearer in person than on a tablet.

[@440robin1]

I was surprised I got all 3 correct the last one was the hardest but I listened for the thinnest sound which I thought was 2 and then made my decision for 1

[@audreygiamlayhoon]

I got the Soprano and Concert correct, and the Tenor wrong.

[@hawaiianshirtracer]

The soprano and concert were easy. But both the tenors sounded great. I said "good" to the Snail, and "very good" to the aNueNue , so 3/3. But that Snail was a close run!

[@richardsharp7180]

I picked the most expensive soprano but chose the cheaper concert and tenor so maybe the difference in sound is not that great to my ears. I suspect it would be easier to tell the difference if the person guessing could have the instrument in their hands - I believe you would feel the difference in quality.

[@WorldofUkes]

Yes, I felt the difference much more I think - having played them, I did wonder if I'd made it too easy / obvious, but the results have been inconclusive by ear alone!

[@jasonlamb4815]

Few.... Glad to say I guess all three correctly.... Thanks for that little bit of fun :)

[@julierolle6538]

Well I did get them right but I nearly changed my mind on the Tenors as the Snail really rang out at the end and seemed better then when strummed. What a fun game. Loved it!! Just dont dont include the tenor I bought from you in any of the tests!!

[@WorldofUkes]

Yes, could be awkward if you chose the cheap one in that scenario!

[@trismalie4181]

I choose all the cheapest ukulele, lol I can't differentiate the timbre of expensive to the cheap ukulele. Haha I Felt the expensive uku is pulling the tone or round while the cheaper has a bright tone, if it has a same top wood it is hard to differentiate.

[@narfeggio]

Well that was fun. I got the first two and missed the third :)

[@ellenmiras3717]

Chose all the right ones.

[@fionaknight9335]

surprisingly I guessed correctly

[@ronalddobson3130]

In short - No I can’t

[@karlstine2065]

Gottem all wrong.