Size Observation

[firesgt911]

I’ve played guitar for the last 26 years. I’ve sort of shifted away from guitar and have been playing ukulele almost exclusively for the last year and a half to two years because I have rheumatoid arthritis and my hands are not cooperating with guitar anymore. Ukulele feels infinitely more comfortable, but I suspect as time goes on it will also become difficult.

I feel like I gravitate toward the tenor size because it feels and sounds closer to the sound I’m familiar with. I recently purchased a concert and soprano to experience different sizes. After a week or so I’m experiencing a shift in perspective. I have been reading the forum like a mad man trying to better express and understand how I’m feeling about the various sizes. I would like to describe my experience, despite being very limited.

Soprano - I purchased a Famous FS1 for really cheap. It sounds great and plays well. It’s a very fun uke that has a distinct chunk when strumming. I don’t finger pick well on it, but I don’t see that being a long term issue. Just needs more practice. However, I feel like there is a very distinct sound that is not my favorite of the sizes. I do like it a lot, but do not think I could choose this as my desert island ukulele.

Concert - I have a Martin 0XK that actually feels the most comfortable to me of all the sizes. It’s the easiest to play without a strap, it’s has plenty of room for my beefy hands and has a nice, thick sound. I also feel like it is softer fretting than the tenor which makes me think that it will be a more playable size in the long term. This might be the mama bear ukulele as it could be just right.

Tenor - I actually have two, a Pono Kelele in Mango in low g and a Cordoba 20tm-ce in standard. These feel great, sound great and I think just fit me the best, but I think a lot of that is from the headspace as a guitar player. I have noticed that my hands get tired easier playing these and the string tension is noticeably higher. This may be my current favorite, but I suspect it will not be in a few years as things progress.

Also, I am avoiding a baritone as I want to further immerse myself into ukulele and not backslide into guitar mentally, if that makes sense.

Anyways, I have really enjoyed this community and just wanted to share my current experience.

 

[ookooleilei]

I’ve played guitar for the last 26 years. I’ve sort of shifted away from guitar and have been playing ukulele almost exclusively for the last year and a half to two years because I have rheumatoid arthritis and my hands are not cooperating with guitar anymore. Ukulele feels infinitely more comfortable, but I suspect as time goes on it will also become difficult.

I feel like I gravitate toward the tenor size because it feels and sounds closer to the sound I’m familiar with. I recently purchased a concert and soprano to experience different sizes. After a week or so I’m experiencing a shift in perspective. I have been reading the forum like a mad man trying to better express and understand how I’m feeling about the various sizes. I would like to describe my experience, despite being very limited.

Soprano - I purchased a Famous FS1 for really cheap. It sounds great and plays well. It’s a very fun uke that has a distinct chunk when strumming. I don’t finger pick well on it, but I don’t see that being a long term issue. Just needs more practice. However, I feel like there is a very distinct sound that is not my favorite of the sizes. I do like it a lot, but do not think I could choose this as my desert island ukulele.

Concert - I have a Martin 0XK that actually feels the most comfortable to me of all the sizes. It’s the easiest to play without a strap, it’s has plenty of room for my beefy hands and has a nice, thick sound. I also feel like it is softer fretting than the tenor which makes me think that it will be a more playable size in the long term. This might be the mama bear ukulele as it could be just right.

Tenor - I actually have two, a Pono Kelele in Mango in low g and a Cordoba 20tm-ce in standard. These feel great, sound great and I think just fit me the best, but I think a lot of that is from the headspace as a guitar player. I have noticed that my hands get tired easier playing these and the string tension is noticeably higher. This may be my current favorite, but I suspect it will not be in a few years as things progress.

Also, I am avoiding a baritone as I want to further immerse myself into ukulele and not backslide into guitar mentally, if that makes sense.

Anyways, I have really enjoyed this community and just wanted to share my current experience.

This is a wise journey you're on -- gathering information, seeing what works best, what suits you best. I wish I'd embarked on it the way you are a bit sooner than I did...

 

[MikeZito]

Funny - my experience was almost the opposite of FireSgt. I started off with cheap soprano and concert ukes because I did NOT want to feel like I was just playing a 'little guitar'. Within about 3 weeks of picking up my first uke I quickly purchased 3 Martins - a soprano, a concert and a tenor. For my money, the concert is the most comfortable to play, while the tenor easily has the best balance and intonation - but when push-comes-to-shove, I always find myself going back to the soprano for pure fun . . . for me, it just fits my foolish pre-conceived notion of what a ukulele should look and sound like.

 

[firesgt911]

Oddly, I am close to pulling the trigger on another tenor. I’ve also thought long and hard about an old Martin style 0, but haven’t found one I absolutely had to have yet. It’s funny how I gravitate toward sizes other than concert. I’ve got a long journey ahead.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Welcome, firesgt911!
My background is 5-string bluegrass banjo and I've been sick of lugging the 20-lb heft of my Fender Leo Deluxe for many years.
Largely because the transition to strumming and chord-melody has been a tough row to hoe, I've focused solely on a DIY soprano (Yowling Tom, whose headstock in my avatar) since completing its assembly in January 2022. At some point (no rush), I intend to buy a pineapple body concert, ideally a secondhand Talsma, and will then "holler calf-roped" on my meager two-uke collection.

 

[firesgt911]

The thought of building my own uke appeals to me too. It is on my to do list.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

The thought of building my own uke appeals to me too. It is on my to do list.

“Build” is giving me far too much credit. I just assembled and have since upgraded nut, saddle, strings and tuners. Oh, and cut a player port, but that’s a whole nuther story.

 

[firesgt911]

“Build” is giving me far too much credit. I just assembled and have since upgraded nut, saddle, strings and tuners. Oh, and cut a player port, but that’s a whole nuther story.

Oh, that is exactly how I would describe a build too. A kit with clear instructions is beyond my current skill level, but worth a shot.

 

[Shaw]

I can sympathize with your experience. I played guitar for 15-20 years before buying an affordable Makala ukulele. My motivation initially was to have an instrument that was easy to travel with because my job was taking me all over the world. I quickly bonded with the simplicity and fun of the instrument. It captured all the joy I got from the guitar is a much more lighthearted way that really resonated with me.

Shortly after getting the soprano, I added a cheap concert to the mix, then a decent tenor. I've played that tenor almost exclusively for about 3 years now and I think it's because it's the most guitar like and felt the most familiar to me. String tension is the biggest trade off, which you've nailed. I've been struggling with hand pain lately and I ended up playing that cheap soprano a few weeks ago and realized how much more relaxed my fretting hand was.

Now, I think I may be on a journey back toward smaller sized ukuleles. This time I think I'll be able to appreciate more of the unique qualities of the instrument rather than just looking for a "mini guitar" because I'll appreciate the differences more. As a person with large hands, I'll also be more aware of the role that string gauge, tension, nut width, action, and overall quality of construction contribute to playability instead of just chasing the longest scale. Spoiler alert that I'll have a NUD coming in the next few days, and it's one of the smallest ukuleles you can buy. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[KohanMike]

I played guitar for almost 50 years, then in mid 2013 I bought an inexpensive uke that looked like my Fender Telecaster guitar, just as a wall hanger next to it. Shortly after I received a postcard from the Los Angeles Music Center announcing their summer play-along series. I had done it a couple times before for guitar, but this time it was for ukulele. Hey, I have one, so I signed up. It required learning three chords, got online and practiced, but found that my fingers were very cramped. Found out mine was a soprano.

Popped over to Sam Ash and tried another soprano, too tight, concert, also a little cramped, then tenor, just right. I only play tenor, always with a strap, and gave my guitars to my nephew and a friend. I recently found that I'm also most comfortable with thinline. All are tuned reentrant and when asked about low g, I say, if I wanted to play linear, I would go back to guitar.