sopranos or concerts with a 14-fret join?

janeray1940 · Feb 9, 2015

Outside of my Kamaka Ohta-san, I didn't know such a thing existed - I've usually seen the 14-fret join on tenors. Then this came up in the marketplace and if I'm not mistaken, there it is - a 14-fret join on a soprano!

So this got me to thinking... what other factory ukes are there that have this feature in a soprano or concert size? Concert preferably, but I'm just at the information-gathering stage right now so I'm open to any and all suggestions - no customs, though, only ukes that I can try in a store before I buy.

I'm sure the collective wisdom of those with far greater UAS than I can come up with something that will make me want to drain my bank account...

ETA: I'm already aware of Mya-Moe and Kanile'a. MM isn't in the running because they're not off-the-shelf ukes, and Kanile'a... well... I just don't care for them. Picky, picky!

jjdejd · Feb 9, 2015

My Sailor Brand concert is joined at the 14th fret. I'm sure we all know who makes them, so it's no surprise.

wayfarer75 · Feb 9, 2015

My Kelii concert has a 14-fret join; there are a lot of concerts that have it, I think. I know Mya-Moe gives you the option of a 12 or 14 fret join. Less common are the sopranos, unless they are super sopranos. LoPrinzi sopranos come with a 14 fret join, regardless of whether it's a soprano or concert scale (likewise the Sailor sopranos). I had one in my possession two years ago and I wish I could have kept it. I keep thinking about a LoPrinzi tenor...

drbekken · Feb 9, 2015

That is one beautiful ukulele, for sure.

actadh · Feb 9, 2015

My concert Luna is a 14 fret join.

deschutestrout · Feb 9, 2015

My Kala is 14 ... as is my longneck soprano pineapple (Mainland), and my son's Lanakai concert is too.

mattydee · Feb 9, 2015

My Pono M-C Joined at the 14th. I think mainland concerts/long neck sopranos do as well, but I can't remember for sure. Mya-Mor has an option on concerts and super sopranos to join at 12 or 14.

janeray1940 · Feb 9, 2015

Thanks for the responses so far. I knew about Mya-Moe but as far as I know they're not a factory uke - I can't just go to a store and try one out, so that rules them out for me. Although keeping an eye out for a used one sold locally is a possibility.

Interesting to note that so far, not much mention of Hawaiian makers, which are what I'm most familiar with. Explains why I was so surprised to see that such a thing existed at all!

katysax · Feb 9, 2015

If you want to try my Mya Moe Concert you are welcome to.

Kanilea joins at 14th fret. If you want to try mine you are welcome to. I think some of their sopranos, if not all, also join at the 14th fret.

Koaloha joins at end of 13th fret, beginning of 14th.

I can't PM you - I tried. PM me. I'll be in Culver City tomorrow. I can bring some ukes down.

janeray1940 · Feb 9, 2015

katysax said:
If you want to try my Mya Moe Concert you are welcome to.

Kanilea joins at 14th fret. If you want to try mine you are welcome to. I think some of their sopranos, if not all, also join at the 14th fret.

Koaloha joins at end of 13th fret, beginning of 14th.

I can't PM you - I tried. PM me. I'll be in Culver City tomorrow. I can bring some ukes down.

Hey thanks! I'm going to keep that in mind for the future, I'd love to try your MM sometime but things are a bit crazy now (which is why I have PM turned off) - maybe if that meetup ever happens? I've tried a number of Kanile'as and their necks just don't work for me, they feel too chunky or something.

I didn't know that about Koaloha - I had one long ago, but it was only a 12-fret uke.

stevejfc · Feb 9, 2015

Kanilea concerts

katysax · Feb 9, 2015

The Kanilea nut is wider by about 1/16th of an inch. You might feel differently about it now that you have been playing the Ohta-san. The standard concert neck might feel crowded.

I just checked the Ko'oloha and the join is at the 12th fret

janeray1940 · Feb 9, 2015

katysax said:
The Kanilea nut is wider by about 1/16th of an inch. You might feel differently about it now that you have been playing the Ohta-san. The standard concert neck might feel crowded.

With my puny hands, I don't think the concert neck will ever feel crowded! I still have some songs I can't play on my Ohta-San since my reach is too short - not many, but a few. Concert scale is pretty perfect for me. For that matter, so is soprano; I just don't care for the plinky sound that results from playing higher up the neck. On a few pieces I play that go high up the neck, the sustain is way better on the Ohta-San than either my concert or soprano ukes - of course, this could be the nature of the uke itself and no so much where the join occurs.

I suppose there's always the obvious solution of "buy another Ohta-San"...

Dan Uke · Feb 9, 2015

janeray1940 said:
I suppose there's always the obvious solution of "buy another Ohta-San"...

There you go!!

janeray1940 · Feb 9, 2015

nongdam said:
There you go!!

Don't encourage me

janeray1940 · Feb 9, 2015

Adding to my list: Kiwaya KTC-2.

equina · Feb 10, 2015

You can try Imua soprano. They have 14-frets to the body and 18 frets in total.
http://www.imua-ukulele.com/products.html#soprano

The sopranos are available at Mimsukes.

stevepetergal · Feb 10, 2015

The Loprinzi you show is a super-soprano. It's probably nearly impossible to join it at 12 with a soprano body and concert scale. 14 fret concerts, although not the most common, are not that unusual anymore.

stevepetergal · Feb 10, 2015

Koaloha Concerts are joined at 13.
It's all about balance.

janeray1940 · Feb 10, 2015

equina said:
You can try Imua soprano. They have 14-frets to the body and 18 frets in total.
http://www.imua-ukulele.com/products.html#soprano

The sopranos are available at Mimsukes.

Thanks, will keep an eye out for one locally. This is a brand I've never actually seen.

stevepetergal said:
The Loprinzi you show is a super-soprano. It's probably nearly impossible to join it at 12 with a soprano body and concert scale. 14 fret concerts, although not the most common, are not that unusual anymore.

I'd actually prefer a concert, but a super soprano might work. I tried a Koaloha concert-neck soprano tonight (it had a 14 fret join) - I think that's a super soprano? - and while it was nice, it still seemed more on the soprano-plinky side the further up the neck I went.

stevepetergal said:
Koaloha Concerts are joined at 13.
It's all about balance.

I think I've encountered Koalohas joined at 12, 13, and 14, just over the course of this evening. I had been under the impression they all joined at 12, so I learned something new.

sopranos or concerts with a 14-fret join?

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