Exclusively one size?

Griffis

Griffis

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It's great there are so many options for uke sizes/scales. From nanos and sopraninos all the way to large baritones and uke basses.

I know from looking at the instruments in people's sigs and other discussions that many here play a range of uke sizes...some seem to like them all, some favor just one or two scales.

It's all good!

But I wondered who here may play exclusively one size uke.

If so, why?

I'd like to hear why you gravitate towards one particular size of uke.

Also, did you just start playing a certain size and stuck with it, or did you have to go through a bunch of ukes before realizing one specific size suited you best and settling on that?

Thanks.
 
Anything larger than a soprano is cheating .
 
Pukulele Pete said:
Anything larger than a soprano is cheating .
Click to expand...
Oh boy, there's always one. :rolleyes:
Popcorn is in the microwave:p

I've gravitated towards 16-19" scales - really don't care for the shorter scales.
 
80% of my playing is on a concert...yet I build tenors. Hmm. I think I like a bigger sound, but like the concert size. A koaloha gives you both :).
 
Pukulele Pete said:
Anything larger than a soprano is cheating .
Click to expand...

Ha, I actually understand that philosophy. I don't really believe in hard-fast rules (about much of anything) and would never call out anyone for playing any size..,everyone has their reasons for their preferences and who am I to say anything?

Also, I enjoy (and own) two sopranos, a concert and a baritone (gifted to me).

But I have to admit, part of me, when playing or listening to a soprano, automatically thinks "Okay, THIS is a ukulele."

Still, I don't judge and I certainly don't think there's a "right or wrong" to any of this. People should play what brings them the most joy.

My grandpa--classic song and dance man--played a baritone and come to think of it, that is probably the first string instrument I ever touched (my dad played jazz horns, trombone mostly.)

Cliff Edwards, an idol of mine, moved from soprano into larger ukes.

You just find the right tool that feels and sounds best to you, that brings you the most joy and conveys the music you want to put into the universe.

If I could only play one, it would be soprano. I have chronic pain which has worsened in my hands to the point I had to give up guitar and bass.

I would think that soprano scale, being somewhat cramped (I have big Homer Simpson hands) would be harder, but concert and baritone scale seem to cause more problems. For some reason I've never gotten on much with tenors.
 
I play only concerts.
Started with sopranos, tried a tenor.
I'm happy with the compromise size.
 
I started out with a concert, moved to a tenor, then tried a soprano before trying a baritone....I was hooked! Hardly ever went back to the smaller ukes. Coming from bluegrass bass and guitar, the baritone suited my needs. I play the baritone EVERYDAY!
 
I play super concerts. They just work best...for ME.
 
When I decided to start playing the ukulele I researched it on the internet and became confused. So using my own logic I decided that the Baritone was more like a four string guitar and that I wasn't interested in playing a small four string guitar, so I decided that if I got the middle sized one. So that is what I started with, and that is what I play. I did have a soprano that I won, but I gave it away. Then I won another soprano. I'm going to give it away too. If you ask my why, I will say that I don't like it. If you ask my why I don't like it, I'll tell you that I don't know.
 
I'm leaning in that direction and am strongly considering selling my Pono tenor. That would leave me with two concerts. Call it "Goldilocks choice". I've played a soprano and my fingers were just too squished to make a consistent clean sound. It's too small. I've played a tenor and some of the chord shapes are an uncomfortable stretch. It's verging on too big. The baritone is bigger still so I never even considered one.The concert seems just right. It's very comfortable for my left hand. To my ear, the sound of a concert is just right too. It's not too high and plinky and it's not too low to where it's getting away from a ukulele sound verging into a guitar sound. (That would be more the case with a baritone than it would be with a tenor.)

The current plan I've been mulling over is possibly trying to sell my Pono tenor then I would be left with two concerts. I would either just stick with the two or replace it with a concert for a total of three.
 
Wooville said:
I started out with a concert, moved to a tenor, then tried a soprano before trying a baritone....I was hooked! Hardly ever went back to the smaller ukes. Coming from bluegrass bass and guitar, the baritone suited my needs. I play the baritone EVERYDAY!
Click to expand...

That's cool. I do love the range of the baritone. Over the years I have thought several times about dedicating myself primarily to the baritone. It's just a bit of a stretch for my hands. Also, I travel a lot (live on the move really) and storage and other space is often an issue, so I like the compact sopranos for those reasons.

Though they have a shorter history, I do like the history of the baritone uke. Again, my grandpa played one, as did my uncle. I am a big fan of 50s novelty songster Nervous Norvus who played bari a lot.

I find myself looking up more baritone uke players on Youtube also. There's a guy on there who plays clawhammer baritone and he's great.
 
mikelz777 said:
I'm leaning in that direction and am strongly considering selling my Pono tenor. That would leave me with two concerts. Call it "Goldilocks choice". I've played a soprano and my fingers were just too squished to make a consistent clean sound. It's too small. I've played a tenor and some of the chord shapes are an uncomfortable stretch. It's verging on too big. The baritone is bigger still so I never even considered one.The concert seems just right. It's very comfortable for my left hand. To my ear, the sound of a concert is just right too..
Click to expand...

My first decent ukes were concerts. I played them exclusively for a time before branching out and trying others.

I played uke very seriously for several years starting in 2000, then crept back to bass and guitar for 3-4 years until I just couldn't play them anymore.

Since early last year, uke has become my sole instrument (though I am forever threatening to learn my way around harmonica.)

I only owned a beat up, damaged El Cheapo soprano from about 2012 until last year (it has since been restored and is playable again) but after selling off my remaining guitar and bass gear, when I went last year to buy a new, decent-ish ukulele, I first came home with a Gretsch concert. Very nice instrument IMO, but a week in I took it back and traded it for a Gretsch soprano. The concert seemed too big to me!

Since then a friend has given me a baritone which I enjoy and I did score a concert uke on the cheap. My goal for the concert was to string it low G and play more fingerpicked, classical sorts of things on it.

There is something to love about each size.
 
Like many (most?) I started with a soprano and moved upwards in size, to try them out as much as anything.

As a "general purpose instrument" for strumming, claw-hammering, finger-picking and various melody playing I've settled on a tenor, simply because I never get cramped for space on the fret-board yet I can still play the various ukulele tabs and transcriptions "as written".

My concert is strung "low-G" for those generously supplied tabs that require the extra range.

My baritone is tuned in 5th's and acts as a surrogate tenor banjo for those late evening sessions when one has to consider the neighbours, similarly my pineapple soprano in 5th's substitutes for my mandolin.

My banjolele is as loud and brash as it ever was ... in fact the only ukulele that doesn't get used very much is my original soprano ... it served it's purpose, maybe it's time to find it a new home :(
 
kypfer said:
Like many (most?) I started with a soprano...
Click to expand...

I wonder if this is still the case. I expect it's true of people who took up the uke a decade or two back (and earlier) and it does seem there are more entry level, budget priced sopranos than other sizes, but it seems like some people in recent years have come to uke through Iz or Jake S. and may start out on tenors (?)

Also it seems that many of the YT vids I see of really incredible, acrobatic players are playing on tenors.

Again, nothing at all wrong with that!

I just wonder if the popularity of the soprano has been superseded by larger sizes...
 
I play concert and soprano scale. I began my ukulele journey with a concert-scale instrument. Before I bought that instrument, it seemed that the soprano, which I tried to play in the stores, was too hard to hold and cramped on the fingerboard. I was also of the opinion that anything much larger than the soprano was verging on "non-ukulele status". So I chose the concert-scale and have played it since my humble uke beginnings.

However, a couple of weeks ago we picked up a Flea soprano. We wanted to get something for my wife to try out to see if she might enjoy playing. (She does! And we have ordered her a concert Flea.) One of the reasons I settled on the Flea was due to it's slightly longer soprano scale and it's wider fret board. I really like playing it! So, will I ever settle on one size? I doubt it. I have been eyeing tenors.

And oh, Griffis, you mentioned a guy playing baritone on Youtube. Would that be Scott Rogers? If so, yes. He makes me want a baritone.

Regards,

Rumplestiltskin is not my name
 
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By baritones are my go-to instruments. I play poor guitar but decent Bari and it suits the music I mainly play, which would be blues, country, rock, and some older folk music. I play soprano mostly for some old-times stuff, pop tunes, Hawaiian music, or when I want to be super-portable.
 
I play only tenor ukes. My first instrument was a soprano, but almost every ukulele I have bought since has been a tenor - including the three I own (and the one in the mail now), I did have a super concert once but that was because it was that particular ukulele (Pineapple Sunday), not because of its particular size. I find I play low g exclusively as I cannot sing to save my life and also just find the body most comfortable for me.
 
only been playing tenors the past 10 years or so. Been thinking about getting a concert size either the kala travel or something with a side sound port that I can take around and not worry about it getting banged up.
 
I started with a concert and moved to a soprano within a year. Still have all sizes, but my GoTo size is soprano.
 
bunnyf said:
By baritones are my go-to instruments. I play poor guitar but decent Bari and it suits the music I mainly play, which would be blues, country, rock, and some older folk music. I play soprano mostly for some old-times stuff, pop tunes, Hawaiian music, or when I want to be super-portable.
Click to expand...

This makes good sense to me. Sort of my experience to a degree.

Most of what I enjoy playing, commit to memory and want in my repertoire are old pop songs--back to Vaudeville / British Music Hall songs up through jazz standards and crooner stuff popular right up to the WW2 era. For this knd of music, soprano is IT for me. I also find that some simple folk songs and early stringband country sorts of material work well with soprano, especially low G.

But I have very diverse musical tastes. When I want more fingerpicking or classical pieces I tend to grab my concert.

For more modern or rockish things, baritone grabs me.

As I say, to me it's a matter of the right tool for the right work, or whatever best gets across the music you are making.

Of course the main thing is what is most comfortable to you that brings the most joy. That could be different for everyone. Some people love banjo ukes; others can't stand them. For some, a baritone is the thing while others think of it as closer to guitar than ukulele.

I do sometimes think of really knuckling down with soprano only, and focus mainly on the old jazzy tunes I love playing so much.

Even the soprano is very versatile. I mean, listen to John King play Bach transcriptions on one.

Sounds like I am just trying to convince myself, but I do really like hearing about the experience of others, their opinions, goals, personal preferences...
 
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