Does someone make a kiku/mini guitar thats tenor scale?

spookelele

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
1,258
Reaction score
17
The ones I seem to find are more bari scale. I'd like to find one that's tenor scale. Anyone seen one?
 
In tenor scale, I've seen them called either a guitalele or guilele. I have the Yamaha GL-1 'guitalele', which I paid $69 for new, on sale from Musicians Friend back in Dec 2012, and it's great for what it is, but I find the frets a little too close together for proper chording on the 17" scale compared to the 25.5" scale of a standard classical guitar.

I still play it once in a while, but am currently trying to save up for a Cordoba Mini, which is baritone scale, but I have not yet played one in person, which I hope to do before buying to confirm if the size is more comfortable for me. One HUGE issue is the 2" nut width, as smaller 'fractional' and 'student' size guitars typically have either a 1 7/8" or 1 11/16" nut width and this size is really too tight for me. I need to have the full 2" nut width like my full size classical guitars. YMMV.

What instrument do you play now?
 
I have a cordoba mini actually, but it's a longer scale, and also it got dropped. I had it prop'd on an ottoman. The dogs were running around and bumped the ottoman, and it ended up taking a tumble into the air register and cracking. So... yeah.. now I'm kinda seeing whats out there. The mini is a great little instrument, but I'd prefer not changing scale length from my tenors if I can.

I hadn't heard of the gretch. Thanks for the tip.

I have tried the yamaha.. and hated it :(. It felt cramped, and sounded plinky.

Apparently Koaloha makes a 17" scale d-vi model that seems like it would fit well, but thats more than I've got lying around right now.
 
Next to Gretsch and Yamaha, there is also the Kala Guitalele that has Tenor scale:

http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/kala-ka-gl-koa-spruce-koa-guitarlele

Ohana has a Tenor sized Guitalele called TKG-70, but I don't see them for sale often. Actually, they even made a Concert and Soprano sized model.

The KoAloha D-VI looks nice; would be great if they started making an Opio version.

In the custom segment, there is Pepe Romero's "Little Pepe" that shows what a Guilele can do: http://www.theukulelesite.com/pepe-romero-guilele-spruce-rosewood-case-oasis.html

All of the above have Tenor scale, while the "Kiku" by John Kinnard and Jay Lichty as well as the Kanilea GL6, the more affordable Islander GL6, and the Cordoba Mini are about Baritone scale.

One issue to me, too, is nut width. While most people seem to be comfortable with 2", that is too wide for me as the spreading hurts my hand, being used to the narrower necks of Western and Electric Guitars. But since you mentioned that the Yamaha felt cramped to you, I'd take this issue into consideration. As far as I know, the KoAloha, the Cordoba, the Kanilea, and the Islander all have nut width of 2" (50 mm), while the Kala is a little slimmer (48 mm).

Hope that helps!
 
Top Bottom