I don't get the long neck soprano/concert thing ...

bearbike137

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I understand why someone might want a long neck on a Tenor. But why buy a long neck concert instead of a tenor? And why buy a long neck soprano instead of a concert? After all, the bigger body size generally has more sustain, volume and low end.

Just wondering...
 
Most people want a certain tone and sound the comes with the soprano or concert, but need a longer scale length to accommodate their fingers.

There is something about that classic soprano ukulele tone and sound. And even the concert. But the soprano has my heart for some of the songs I play.

I find some of my songs I like on my Tenor, but some of them have their charm lost when not played on a soprano.

That being said, my weird short stubby fingers do well on everything from a Soprano to a Tenor. But as a dealer I find a lot of men particularly like the longer scale length.

Edited to Add: And yes, you get a little different tone with the long necks. I just find more customers call and say, "I have fat fingers but want to soprano tone... whatcha got in a long neck?" But the added frets and tone is a benefit as well!
 
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Putting a longer neck than standard on any size uke will change the tone and response...longer scale, more tension, more to drive the soundboard.
 
I'm a longneck soprano fan. With a longneck soprano, I get more sustain and volume from the longer string length (concert scale instead of soprano) - I'm no luthier or expert on tech stuff, but it's my understanding that body size is only part of the equation, string length plays a role as well.

The longnecks I play also have a join at the 14th fret, which is uncommon in sopranos or even concerts. I play high up the neck a lot and find this little extra bit of space to be useful in reaching those higher notes - I frequently go up to the 15th fret.

If my hands weren't too small to comfortably play tenor, well - I'd probably just play tenor, because all of those features are common in tenors. But I've tried and I can't, so for me, the longneck soprano is a good middle ground between the comfort of a soprano and the sound qualities of a larger uke.
 
I'm a super-concert fan. I'm just not that interested the size of a tenor body. But I sure like the extra frets.
 
Because they call them "SUPER" :p
 
You don't get it? Good, that's more for the rest of us! :p

I like long neck sopranos and I have a 16" concert that is a favorite as well.
 
I guess I don't understand how a longneck tenor makes sense but not longneck sopranos or concerts. Same principle, different scale.
 
I have big Ball Park Sausage fingers and arms longer than most people's legs.

Super makes extra room for my man hands.
 
...longer scale, more tension, more to drive the soundboard.

That's not strictly the case in all circumstances. If one retains the same string gauge (as a shorter comparative instrument in the same tuning) then yes, the tension has to go up, which risks potential damage to the instrument, but the sensible solution is to use appropriately thicker strings and retain the same tension ... simples ;)
 
This thread and a recent review of a Martin Banjokulele I read over on GotaUke got me wondering, are there any concert/tenors bodied ukes with a soprano neck? If so how do they sound?
 
I guess I don't understand how a longneck tenor makes sense but not longneck sopranos or concerts. Same principle, different scale.
Exactly. I want a 19" soprano. That makes sense, right? :p

This thread and a recent review of a Martin Banjokulele I read over on GotaUke got me wondering, are there any concert/tenors bodied ukes with a soprano neck? If so how do they sound?
I have seen "jumbo concert" and "jumbo tenor" but I don't recall ever seeing a "jumbo soprano".
 
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One of the most perfect ukuleles that I have ever owned (and probably the one I most regret selling) was my KoAloha Super-Concert with the crown bridge.

Fantastic KoAloha concert tone (their best voicing, IMO), but all the space you needed to move around with on the fretboard.
 
As an added point that I haven't seen mentioned yet is body size. Sometimes the smaller body is more comfortable for someone but they appreciate the added scale.
 
I had actually never considered a longneck soprano, because I also thought "why not just get the next bigger size?", but then I discovered and wanted a KoAloha soprano for the big, full, but traditional sound they have. However, their sopranos only have 12 frets, which was a bit of a deal breaker for me.

The folks here on the forum suggested a longneck soprano, which I wasn't really keen on. Seemed weird to me, a little Frankenstein-ish, not something I wanted. The consensus among the community, though, was that nothing sounds like a KoAloha soprano but a KoAloha soprano, and the closest I could get and have more frets was with a longneck model.

While still squirming, a local vendor here in Germany turned out to have a KoAloha longneck pineapple soprano in stock, which is pretty rare over here for anything from KoAloha. Normally, you have to go the import route and pay nearly a third of the original price for taxes and shipping. He, an accomplished player himself (Andreas David), was very enthusiastic about it, calling it "phenomenal", and so I figured I might as well try it. I could have returned it, so there was no real risk.

And wow, what a darling it turned out to be! It did have the sound I wanted, and it did have 17 frets! While it lives in a concert hardcase and doesn't fit in a soprano one (mostly because of the body shape), it feels very much like a soprano, but does give me the fretboard of a concert (just as narrow as a soprano neck, just a little longer, but we're not really talking about three foot here, you have to look for it to notice it).

I would probably have been just as happy with a concert model, but the longneck soprano was just closer to what I had envisioned and wanted. It came unexpected into my ukulele life, but I feel it was a fortunate event. You should try one! :)
 
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If you like the soprano size, but your fingers like the concert scale, it makes it the obvious choice. :)

(I also like my 'long neck' best for just messing around until I have got the feel of a tune when I'm learning a new one.)
 
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