Ukuleles for the Tall & Long Armed?

In a separate thread, a forum member said a radiused fret board helped remove the stress of barring from his wrists. He related this to the fact that he was tall with long arms. I'm curious:

- Is wrist stress more prevalent in taller players?
- Do radius fret boards really help?
- Do taller players end up gravitating to tenors and baritones?
- And are there other features of ukuleles that make them easier for long armed players?

I'm 6'3" with 37" sleeves and found that there are times my tenor feels cramped so I pick up my baritone. For jazz and blues I prefer the baritone; for anything Hawaiian the tenor sounds better. I enjoy the sound of a concert, though a friend said I look like a praying mantis devouring prey when I play small format ukes.

i think th radiusing slightly compensates for narrower string spacing...or a radiused board the string spacing feels a touch wider or something like that.

As for stress, etc it all depends on you playing position, I'm happy playing soprano. A 20+" bari is very uncomfortable (I'm only 6'2") i'll have to double check but I may have 38" sleeves. i always buy tall shirts but still roll the sleeves up.

I definitely have my eye on an oscar schmitt ou6w. at some point that will be my next ukulele purchase.

I'm 6'4", but don't know my sleeve length; I'm more of a tshirt guy. I find that uke size is something I grow accustomed to. I have sopranos, concerts and tenors, but no baritones. At first I thought I'd never be able to manage a soprano, and it's still not my favorite, but I got used to it with practice. For me, it's not so much a matter of arm length as it is hand size. The tenors seemed quite large when I first got them, but now I switch pretty easily between the three sizes. I think it's a matter of exposure and playing time....

mailman said:

I'm 6'4", but don't know my sleeve length; I'm more of a tshirt guy. I find that uke size is something I grow accustomed to. I have sopranos, concerts and tenors, but no baritones. At first I thought I'd never be able to manage a soprano, and it's still not my favorite, but I got used to it with practice. For me, it's not so much a matter of arm length as it is hand size. The tenors seemed quite large when I first got them, but now I switch pretty easily between the three sizes. I think it's a matter of exposure and playing time....

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Pretty much my sentiments. I'm 6'1, so not overly tall, but I have big fingers. I started on a concert because I thought that it might give me more space. I don't know if it does or not. I've played a few sopranos since I started, and even one of those mini sopranos, and I can play them without too much trouble.

Scale length only gives you space between the fret wires, not between the strings.
I suppose like with anything you can learn to compensate and play fine.
Radius.. can help with barres. Fingers aren't really straight. At least mine aren't. There's a little gap under each of my knuckles. With radius the gap is less because it's pushing the string into my finger a little. But.. then again on non-radius, I just move where I lay my finger to avoid the knuckle being directly over the string.



Anyway... you can compensate for just about anything.

I'm a shrimp compared to you tall people, but I have found that the more pressure I have to exert on the strings/frets to get the chords to sound clean, the more fatigued my fingers, wrist and arm will get.

For instance, the concert size is what I feel to be my best "fit", but if I play a well set-up tenor, it will feel much better than a poorly set-up concert. I need buttery smooth movement up and down the neck, with low action so I can barely press to get what I want.

I agree with Jenny, low action helps me play longer without much fatigue. I only play tenor, which for me is most comfortable. As a matter of fact, I only play 21-23" sub-short scale basses just to make it easier on my hands.

6'1". Uke size is more about sound and tension to me. I play mostly concert and short scale baritone, then soprano, with tenor dead last. Tenors often have higher string tension, which can makes them more uncomfortable to barre. Radiused fretboard might make a difference but it's not a common feature except on certain brands, limiting your choices. Look for differing fretboard widths, and neck shapes/thicknesses - those can have just as great an impact on comfort and you'll have an easier job finding a variety to test.

6'2", 35 inch sleeves but smallish hands and fingers. I stick mainly with sopranos and concerts and I do prefer low action. I've never tried a radiused fretboard but want to!

It's also possible that you might benefit from using a strap if you don't already.

JonThysell said:

6'1". Uke size is more about sound and tension to me. I play mostly concert and short scale baritone, then soprano, with tenor dead last. Tenors often have higher string tension, which can makes them more uncomfortable to barre. Radiused fretboard might make a difference but it's not a common feature except on certain brands, limiting your choices. Look for differing fretboard widths, and neck shapes/thicknesses - those can have just as great an impact on comfort and you'll have an easier job finding a variety to test.

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jon

may i ask what short scale baritones you play. i play concert and baritone, and am looking for a short scale one.

I am 6' 1" with 35 inch sleeves and large hands. To this point I have mainly played sopranos and concerts. I just purchased a baritone and am having some difficulties adjusting. I cannot play near as long as I can with the others before my hands get tired. I am attributing it to the fact that it is new and my body needs time to adjust and have not given up on it. As for a radiused fretboard, my Cocobolo concert has one (as does my tenor, but it is currently in transit) and I find it slightly easier to play. I tend to reach for it when I am learning a new song that has barred chords. Otherwise my KoAloha has a wonderful neck and I don't miss the radius at all. I personally would not buy/not buy a uke based it having a radisued fretboard or not. I think, as with most things, both uke size and radius fretboard comes down to personal preference.