Tenor, baritone or both

Darylmesa

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As the title says I am in the dilemma of which to choose. I currently have a wiki soprano and kala ka-c concert. I recently returned an ik media avoustic stage because of too much feedback from amplifier even with feedback kill button.
I am looking for more volume when I play outdoors with my class. This is why I am looking into electro acoustic. I was originally sold on going for a tenor just to have something different than I already have. While searching i came across baritone. Just to try I decided to remove the two low strings from my acoustic guitar to see what a baritone was like. After this experiment I realized I really like the sound. I didn’t like the high pitch as the strings are metal which is why I would like to try baritone.

So my dilemma comes in do I pick up the kala ka be which would be
195€ or makala version tenor mk te (electro) and mk b (acoustic only baritone). The total of these two would be 159€. That would definitely be a better deal but don’t really feel like owning 4 ukuleles plus 3 guitars...apartment getting two small. I need more sound but still want a baritone.

What to do what to do?
Thanks
Daryl
 
As you already play guitar, I think the Kala KA-B would suit your purpose well, it will be lighter than guitar, & have more volume than a tenor, without the need to amplify. :)
 
If your fingers are comfortable with a 20” baritone scale, get the baritone. You can always string it like a tenor in g tuning. Usually trying to get a tenor strung as a baritone doesn’t work as well ( for me).
 
Since you already have two ukuleles tuned GCEA, I’d get the Baritone. You can get strings to tune a Tenor high D, GBE. I have done that and it works well. But the linear tuned Baritone has that sweet sound that I love.
 
To further Doc J’s comments which I agree with, baritones can also be tuned in between GCEA and DGBE. I play both baritones and tenors and love both, high and low fourth strings. Sometimes I tune up or down depending on what suits my vocals or the resonance of the particular uke. Tuning the baritone up two steps is often pleasing to my ear,
EAC#F#. And, I don’t have any real problems with my strings slipping when I go from one tuning to another. I tend to use Southcoast strings that work at a variety of tensions. It does seem to be true that it sounds better to tune up on a baritone than down on a tenor. But two or three steps down isn’t bad on a tenor.
 
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try the fremont black line bari tuning High D for TENOR size ukuleles.
They sound great on a tenor and you fret like bari.
My friend never usues his baritones any more...he plays his tenor with these strings. Going to sell my Mainland baritone soon and do the same thing.
get them on ebay.

going in reverse...

ohana now making a Baritone size body with a tenor neck , in essance a jumbo a tenor.
great stuff out there now....
 
try the fremont black line bari tuning High D for TENOR size ukuleles.
They sound great on a tenor and you fret like bari.
My friend never usues his baritones any more...he plays his tenor with these strings. Going to sell my Mainland baritone soon and do the same thing.
get them on ebay.

going in reverse...

ohana now making a Baritone size body with a tenor neck , in essance a jumbo a tenor.
great stuff out there now....

Thanks,
This was another option I was looking at. Getting the electro acoustic tenor makala mk te and stringing it with the freemonts dgbe
 
As you already play guitar, I think the Kala KA-B would suit your purpose well, it will be lighter than guitar, & have more volume than a tenor, without the need to amplify. :)

Thanks,
Firstly I don’t play guitar ....well not like a guitar...I just can’t deal with the 6 strings comfortably. So i play it like a baritone, hence removing the E A strings completely. This is what has lead me to looking into a real bari.

This was another question I had, would I actually need an amp? When I played my Christmas show with my classroom (group of 1st graders) on my concert uke, no body could hear past the first row or two. This has brought me to the need of more volume.
Thanks
 
Get a baritone with a pick up and you are all set. As others have pointed out it can be strung standard DGBE reentrant dGBE or with the right strings GCEA like your other uke
 
Check out Caramel Baritones on Amazon, the CB-103 is a joy to play, has a pickup and cost less that $100. They now have a stress bar or what ever. I tune my Tenors dGBE and like them that way. The Fremont dGBE strings are very nice or use the D'Addario EJ99's for tenors as dGBE.

Check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNS55uyHfvw&t=1826s I tested four Ukes and eight strings sets as dGBE.
Or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV6_2x9dEjs I test the Blacklines.

I also thru in my Baritone for comparison.
 
Check out Caramel Baritones on Amazon, the CB-103 is a joy to play, has a pickup and cost less that $100. They now have a stress bar or what ever. I tune my Tenors dGBE and like them that way. The Fremont dGBE strings are very nice or use the D'Addario EJ99's for tenors as dGBE.

Check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNS55uyHfvw&t=1826s I tested four Ukes and eight strings sets as dGBE.
Or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV6_2x9dEjs I test the Blacklines.

I also thru in my Baritone for comparison.

I was actually considering the caramel but read that they have a high action. Plus I read that the cb500 has a better sound. I do prefer the look of the 103 zebra. I live in France though...
 
If feedback from amplification is your problem, you might want to look at an all solid body instrument such as the Pono TE (Tenor) or BE (Baritone). There are other makers as well, such as Teton, Eleuke, Risa, Godin, Lanikai Makapu'u, or something like the "Jack & Danny Electric Solid Body Ukulele" which is more of an entry level price. This type of body is supposed to reduce feedback issues.
 
If you want an electric uke, there are some cheaper options like the Clearwater or Vorson steel string electric tenor, but it will likely need to be played with a pick. Another option that I have tried is a Mahalo electric nylon strung Concert scale uke. Both of which will incur the cost of an amplifier.

However, I now prefer to use an acoustic uke with a microphone when I record for The Seasons challenge thread on this very forum, so maybe consider this an option too.
 
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