Ukulele for girlfriend?

Hey guys, I made this account for the sole purpose of asking this question haha. My girlfriend recently mentioned that she wanted to start playing Ukulele so I want to surprise her with one. I don't know the first thing about Ukuleles. I started to look and saw that there are a few different sizes. What is the typical size? I play guitar myself and saw someone playing the soprano size and to me that seems like it would be so small and would cramp your hands trying to play chords. She's probably about 5"6' and has average sized hands. What do you think?

Guitar players tend to like the tenor size/scale. The bigger the uke, the more space between the fretboards. Some people find sopranos kind of cramped if they have large-ish hands, but on the other hand (pun intended) girls sometimes seem to like the cuteness of sopranos. Personally I think the concert scale is the best of both worlds. If she doesn't play any string instruments, she might find the tenor a bit of a stretch at least at first.

Ha ha, when I saw your title I was thinking that someone wanted to have a ukulele for a girlfriend, which I would not put past some people. Concert is the next size up, and it is my choice. I however am 6'1" with size eleven ring finger. So for what it is worth, soprano might be just right for her.

I thought it was a trade offer!!

Make sure you buy it from someone that knows what a ukulele is. Reputable dealers will weed out the stinkers and make sure the actions is set OK. Most will also give you a 48 hr return policy so you can check it out and just be out the shipping if you/she doesn't like it. Nothing turns someone off from playing like a lousy instrument.

Happy hunting and let us know how it goes

Thanks for the quick responses! She used to play a little bit of guitar so i'm thinking a concert size couldn't be too big for her. Any recommendations on brands or types of wood? I'm currently browsing musiciansfriend. Trying to stay under $250 but I don't want anything too junky.

If 'twas me, I'd take her to a music store on her birthday and let her try some out. You can steer her away from the expensive ones. Then you can take her to lunch.

Better safe than sorry. ld:

Where do you live?

For the US, here's 4 great dealers (in no particular order)
Mainland Uke (that's hoosierhiver from post #2, Indiana) http://www.mainlandukuleles.com/
Mim's Ukes (in Virginia) http://www.ebay.com/usr/mimsukes
Uke Republc (in Atlanta) http://www.ukerepublic.com/
Hawaii Music Supply (on Oahu) http://www.theukulelesite.com/

they all are great folks and will answer any questions you have and will set you up with a good instrument.

Northwest Indiana

In that price range you can't go wrong with Mainland. I love my mahogany concert.

jtrunick said:

i'm thinking a concert size couldn't be too big for her.

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I think this is a safe bet. I'm much smaller than 5'6" with kid-sized hands, and concert scale is my favorite. Tenor, on the other hand (pun also intended) is too big.

jtrunick said:

Northwest Indiana

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You are a guitar player so you can appreciate an all solid wood instrument with a good set up making a huge difference. For your budget you can get exactly that from Mainland ukes, owned and run by the guy who was first to answer your question, "hoosierhiver". Great instruments at very reasonable prices. Call them and you can talk directly to him, don't get better than that.

jtrunick said:

Northwest Indiana

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Since you are in Indiana, take her to Mainland and let her pick! I just went there and got a concert mahogany and am very happy with it.

Hi, I'm very new to ukulele and to playing an instrument - but thought I'd chime in because I am just 5'2 (but my hands are probably just as large as someone much taller, size 8.5 feet!) - and so far am loving tenors. I like the deeper tone and the loudness, but I like to play rock and popular songs I can sing along with, and have a lower voice too. I am not doing anything fancy, but have learned some jazz chords and am not having any problem with the size so far...maybe because my hands are pretty strong and flexible from years of manual therapy and yoga mudras if you can believe that! haha

If she can play guitar, she could play a tenor. But she may like having something smaller.

jtrunick said:

Hey guys, I made this account for the sole purpose of asking this question haha. My girlfriend recently mentioned that she wanted to start playing Ukulele so I want to surprise her with one. I don't know the first thing about Ukuleles. I started to look and saw that there are a few different sizes. What is the typical size? I play guitar myself and saw someone playing the soprano size and to me that seems like it would be so small and would cramp your hands trying to play chords. She's probably about 5"6' and has average sized hands. What do you think?

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Cant go wrong with a mainland.

Trying out ukes at HMS will have a big impact on your relationship. (just saying)

Hello and welcome to UU! You need to just bite the bullet and buy yourself one as well. It is a fun hobby for a couple. I can do a ninth on a piano comfortably and I love the concert size, though I can play soprano and tenor as well. You may want to let her try out the different sizes and see what she gravitates toward. I started with tenor, then went to concert, and got a little soprano to fill out the family.

I admit I chose for shallow reasons on my first proper ukulele. I wanted something pretty as well as a step up from an entry level. I got a solid spruce top concert Luna brand from HMS that was perfectly set up. They have several in your price range. I still smile when I take my Luna out of the case.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/luna.html?p=1

What about one of the Luna tattoo ukuleles? They have the benefit of being attractive plus sound good for the price (which is a lot lower than you stated budget). My first ukulele (ordered from Musician's Friend in January) was a Luna Honu Soprano and it sounds great, and I was really attracted to the turtle design laser-engraved on the front. Very cute. I know in purchasing from Musician's Friend I lost out in the service of a good setup that other companies like HMS evidently offer, which may be why intonation on this uke is not perfect.

It looks like the Flea ukulele (from The Magic Fluke Company) is within your budget. Those are attractive ukuleles, very cute, and come in many colors and soundboard designs. I just recently acquired a sister version called a Fluke, which has a larger body. Fleas and Flukes are in part made of plastic (the soundboard is a laminate wood), but definitely not cheap in appearance or feel. They are very quality instruments, and are very durable (especially compared to my relatively delicate Luna Honu Soprano). I did not know about the Flea before I bought my first ukulele but I wish I had because I think I would have gone for it instead. I still want a Flea even though I already have 3 ukuleles! Fleas come in either a soprano or concert length for the fretboard.

Regarding soprano vs. concert vs. tenor, only have played my sopranos and my tenor Fluke. I am female, 5'6", small hands but with longish fingers and can play either soprano or tenor fretboards just fine. I can't really say I have a preference yet! But I will say this: the soprano takes up less space when you travel with it!

Agreed, since you're in-state from Mainland Ukes, I assume Mike has a shop/store-front. I would absolutely love to go there and play them/try them out. That's what you really should do. Let her pick it out and get it in-state from Mike who is a great seller/owner of Mainland/ and a forum member here. I have had a mahogany tenor and would love any Mainland from his line. Great stuff/ great value.

DownUpDave said:

You are a guitar player so you can appreciate an all solid wood instrument with a good set up making a huge difference. For your budget you can get exactly that from Mainland ukes, owned and run by the guy who was first to answer your question, "hoosierhiver". Great instruments at very reasonable prices. Call them and you can talk directly to him, don't get better than that.

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