Does this exist on a plucked string instrument?

[Voran]

Is there an instrument that sounds low, but also thin, fine and glassy, 'insectile', the way the higher ukes do? (Without downtuning a baritone uke to the point that there's no tension left in the strings?)

I'm reasonably sure that such a thing is possible. Male opera singers can certainly finetune their voices into a thin edge when they want to sound emotive but not blast out a towering fortissimo.

 

[Voran]

Thanks. I'll try polishing up fretting technique. I am curious as to whether there's an instrument that just inherently sounds that way though.

Kinda seems to go against the physics of sound, but again, operatic baritones and basses can do it. I would show you a sample of what I mean, but Sergey said he absolutely hates that recording and never wants it shown to anyone, so I won't.

 

[Voran]

Here...that oilspill shimmer timbre Sergey (far left) uses on the opening verse, as opposed to later ones where he puts some firepower into it?

I want basically that but on an instrument I can pluck.

 

[Wiggy]

An Electro-Harmonix Nano POG Octaver.

Bear in mind, that this octaver will only recreate the bass strings as -1va. It will not create an octave below of any high strings. Forget re-entrant and expecting to create an octave below all of it. It won't.

Linear tuning (low G), it was 'OK' but I wanted the whole thing "octavated." Disappointment. Sold mine because it didn't drop everything 1 octave.

<edit> I would call it a sub-harmonic synthesizer that is good for 200 hz or below which is approximately a low G. (In this case it would divide by 2 to create 100 hz replica.) It struggled to create a sub from C4 (262 hz).

This would make bass strings of a guitar sound "bass-ey," yes. For ukulele? No.

<edit 2> "...an instrument that sounds low, but also thin, fine and glassy"
A Gold Tone Banjola has steel strings, an infinite sustain, a banjo 5th string, and a very "glassy" sound. Its only fault is that it is not very loud, but it is available with a pickup. Mine does not have a pickup and is tuned "mostly" gDGBE. The 5th string can be tuned for use with many different keys. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Voran]

An Electro-Harmonix Nano POG Octaver.

Bear in mind, that this octaver will only recreate the bass strings as -1va. It will not create an octave below of any high strings. Forget re-entrant and expecting to create an octave below all of it. It won't.

Linear tuning (low G), it was 'OK' but I wanted the whole thing "octavated." Disappointment. Sold mine because it didn't drop everything 1 octave.

<edit> I would call it a sub-harmonic synthesizer that is good for 200 hz or below which is approximately a low G. (In this case it would divide by 2 to create 100 hz replica.) It struggled to create a sub from C4 (262 hz).

This would make bass strings of a guitar sound "bass-ey," yes. For ukulele? No.

<edit 2> "...an instrument that sounds low, but also thin, fine and glassy"
A Gold Tone Banjola has steel strings, an infinite sustain, a banjo 5th string, and a very "glassy" sound. Its only fault is that it is not very loud, but it is available with a pickup. Mine does not have a pickup and is tuned "mostly" gDGBE. The 5th string can be tuned for use with many different keys. I'll leave it at that.

Aha! Thanks

 

[turf3]

A Rickenbacker bass with round-wound strings and the treble turned all the way up and the bass turned all the way down?

 

[ElvishParsley]

Playing right up against the bridge ("sul ponticello") is how bowed string instruments get a sound like that. Just tried it on my baritone, and it's certainly a thinner, weirder sound. A mite difficult to fingerpick like that, though.

 

[Dogbad]

How about something like a Tenor Guitar?