There Goes A Tenor

So I guess this is a NUD thread as I just took delivery of my first ever tenor uke - an Ohana TK35G.

First impressions...

Shiny! I wouldn't normally have gone for the gloss finish but this was being sold as a b-stock instrument at a very generous discount (due to a single small cosmetic imperfection). I kind of like it though, and the instrument's not too blingy overall.

Bigger! Moving up from concert size actually feels pretty good. It feels 'right' - I've been craving something more roomy for a while now and the extra fretting space is really nice. It's kind of weird how this works - like there comes a time when you're just ready for a Tenor. I'm still glad that I started out on smaller ukes - and I still think that it's probably best for most beginners to go for a soprano or concert.

Mellow! I bought some Worth brown strings for the uke, after reading a couple of online reviews (and knowing that I'm not overly fond of Aquilas). I'm not sure that I'm crazy about them and may well try something else sooner rather than later, but I'll wait for them to settle before I make my final judgement. I'm also tempted to try a low-g set. I would like a deeper, fuller sound - if that makes sense.

Anyway time to go and retune again...

What, no pictures?

jollyboy said:

It's kind of weird how this works - like there comes a time when you're just ready for a Tenor. I'm still glad that I started out on smaller ukes - and I still think that it's probably best for most beginners to go for a soprano or concert.

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Interestingly, I feel the opposite way! I experienced the tenor as easier, especially when starting out, and as I improved a little, the smaller sizes becane more intriguing and manageable. Probably depends on the person, though. I had trouble with the soprano when I had started the journey and mostly focused on tenors, Now, after some time, I find the soprano interesting to play (but it depends on the day, really - I'm not very consistent with my ukulele preferences).

In any event, congratulations to your new uke! The Ohanas look and sound awesome -- would love to see photos of yours!

Glad you got your new ukulele. Strings are pretty subjective topic, I do really like the worth strings for low G on my tenor though. At first I didn't but they grew on me so maybe they will for you

Mivo said:

Interestingly, I feel the opposite way! I experienced the tenor as easier, especially when starting out, and as I improved a little, the smaller sizes becane more intriguing and manageable. Probably depends on the person, though. I had trouble with the soprano when I had started the journey and mostly focused on tenors, Now, after some time, I find the soprano interesting to play (but it depends on the day, really - I'm not very consistent with my ukulele preferences).

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Are you a guitar person? I can completely imagine someone coming over to ukes from guitars having totally the opposite experience with regard to size progression. Anyway, I guess I was kind of generalizing about my own journey

I have changed the strings, having given up on the Worths. I was left with the impression that, whilst they sound great when individually picked, they come over as a little thin when strummed. And I'm mainly a strummer, so I guess a less than ideal choice on my part. I actually ended up putting some Aquila supers on the Ohana, despite my lack of enthusiasm for the Aquila regulars. However, my bit of online research suggested that the supers addressed the issues I had, including the 'feel' of nylgut strings, and that the tension wouldn't be so loose at Tenor scale. All of which has proven to be correct and I have to say I am really liking the new strings.

I have no experiences with any other stringed instruments! I think it's just preference, and really, mine is pretty inconsistent when it comes to the uke. Some days I'm really into the soprano sound, other days I dig the deeper, fuller tenor sound. It's almost mood-based. I love all things ukulele, I guess!

I think I agree with you on the strings. The Nylguts (I only have first hand experience with the regular ones) feel good to me for strumming, with a lot of harmonics/overtones (whichever the proper term is!), making for an impressive, rich sound. The Worth strings, in comparison, are less boom-y and have better note separation when picking, but are more washboard-like when strummed (okay, "washboard-like" is probably the wrong word!). I like how the Worth strings "feel" (I find them softer than Nylguts, but I have seen people having the opposite experience), though, and I have them on both of my tenors (brown and clear).

The KoAloha longneck pineapple I just irresponsibly bought will also come with Worth Clears -- curious to see what they sound like on the shorter scale (on my Stagg concert I have Nylguts, on my KPK-like soprano Martin M600s).

Mivo said:

I think I agree with you on the strings. The Nylguts (I only have first hand experience with the regular ones) feel good to me for strumming, with a lot of harmonics/overtones (whichever the proper term is!), making for an impressive, rich sound.

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Yep, agree.

Mivo said:

The Worth strings, in comparison, are less boom-y and have better note separation when picking, but are more washboard-like when strummed (okay, "washboard-like" is probably the wrong word!).

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The word I want to use is 'tinny' although that seems a little loaded, like I'm trying to be critical when I'm just trying to articulate what I'm hearing.

Mivo said:

I like how the Worth strings "feel" (I find them softer than Nylguts, but I have seen people having the opposite experience), though, and I have them on both of my tenors (brown and clear).

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I found the Worths to be at a higher tension than I was entirely comfortable with on the Ohana and I was glad that the Aquilas proved to be a bit looser.

Mivo said:

The KoAloha longneck pineapple I just irresponsibly bought will also come with Worth Clears -- curious to see what they sound like on the shorter scale (on my Stagg concert I have Nylguts, on my KPK-like soprano Martin M600s).

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I was looking at longneck sopranos the other day. Must... resist... uas...

I really like the Martin M600 strings. I got some for my Korala Explore as a cheap fluorocarbon option for a cheap uke. They sound great! I can't quite get my head around how good the Korala sounds considering the price point and the fact that it's made of plastic.