Just some thoughts on the wonderful soprano..

Just some thoughts and some myths set right..

http://www.gotaukulele.com/2017/05/a-word-of-support-for-humble-soprano.html

That's the article that I wish I'd read a couple of years back.

What made Sopranos a struggle for me turned out to be the spacing between strings rather than between frets. Eventually I discovered that nut width and string spacing varied and that my fat fingers work better with 10mm between string centres. Unfortunately the mass produced models available almost exclusively have narrow nuts, they work fine for those with small or thin fingers (ladies and children) and if you're a bloke then 'obviously' you want a Tenor - guess that's the way many shops see it.

I play a Concert Scale Uke now, but will return to a Soprano (one with wide string spacing) at some point - probably a laminate Islander or, if I can get the cash together, a (marvellous and English) Timms. Sopranos sing out slightly differently and are so portable, I wonder too whether the fret spacing might be more ergonomic too and allow me to stretch for (fancier and rare) chords/inversions easier.

People have commented on the blog about professionals playing Tenor Scale instruments. I don't know what the logic to that might be but without amplification the bigger ukes do have more volume (wasn't that one reason why the Concert size and Vita were developed) and that might be helpful for some performers and teachers.

I can squeeze my fingers onto a concert or tenor scale easier than soprano, (both long necks), but that doesn't preclude the regular, though I don't play one much these days, just my personal preference,

(I had been tempted to try a sopranino, but I'm not sure I could get my fingers to work on that scale.)

Uke1950 - seriously - I have sopranos here with more space than concerts and many tenors - it's not so level as playing field as people make out!!

Graham Greenbag said:

People have commented on the blog about professionals playing Tenor Scale instruments. I don't know what the logic to that might be but without amplification the bigger ukes do have more volume (wasn't that one reason why the Concert size and Vita were developed) and that might be helpful for some performers and teachers.

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I don't get that either. At all. in fact I am friends with soprano players like Rachel Manke, Phil Doleman, George Hinchcliffe, Samantha Muir and many others who mainly play soprano and found that comment amusingly wrong! There are lots of people who stick to the Sop!

bazmaz said:

I have sopranos here with more space than concerts and many tenors - it's not so level as playing field as people make out!!

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Your blog and site have helped a lot of people, certainly learnt a lot from it myself.

What would be a help to many people, and the Soprano size too, would be to name the particular instruments with more room (more inter string space) on their fretboards. In the lower price range (sub £80) they seem particularly hard to find - typically details aren't available from on-line sources and telephoning shops hasn't been much helped either - the entry laminate Aria's being all that I came up with.

I'm afraid Graham you hit the nail on the head. Wider fingerboards 'tend' to be the preserve of the higher end, Hawaiian and USA instruments. The Flea is relatively wide as I recall.

The soprano is often maligned unfairly. There are a lot of myths as you point out. I agree that it is probably the case that many players have not played a decent soprano. It has a really special sound with lots of depth and color. I think it is probably much harder to make a good soprano. A concert or tenor may have a little more room for error.

EDW said:

A concert or tenor may have a little more room for error.

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Having discussed that exact topic with a couple of luthiers, they would absolutely agree. Tolerances are much tighter.

bazmaz said:

Wider fingerboards 'tend' to be the preserve of the higher end, Hawaiian and USA instruments.

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My suspicion is that high end buyers are nearly always adult and male, that particular group of buyers typically have hands and fingers of a size that 'demand' a wider string spacing and (even if not) can accommodate a slightly wider nut.

Those in the USA with thicker fingers and seeking an affordable Soprano might like to check out the Kanile'a laminate Soprano Islanders - don't believe that they're available in the UK now. Edit. If you can find an old ('vintage') Martin or Harmony Soprano instead then I believe they will be 1 7/16" (36.5 mm) across the nut and 1 3/16" (30.1 mm) across the strings (within the nut).

I dusted off my Soprano to practice on tonight (35mm nut, 27mm over the strings) and enjoyed it despite fighting it a bit. It was (coupled with lack of skill) the slightly narrower inter-string spacing (9 instead of 10mm, made a surprising difference) rather than fret spacing that gave my podgy digits the majority of the problems. My conclusion: Sopranos are a joy to play when they fit your particular hand - and before arthritis, etc., sets in.

Edit. Searching on the web for older Ukes of the Dias and Nunes build and Machetes of that period I (by scaling from photographs using fret distance as a guide) see that instruments for the working man of that day had fretboards of 1 7/16 " to 1 1/2" (possibly more) and string spacing 1 1/8" to 1 3/16". The 1916 Martin that followed them used (from photos again) the narrower of the two sizes, I guess that Martin's target market was more gentrified and not focused on labourers and workmen.

I agree very much with Barry on this. The soprano just may not be taken as 'seriously' as the tenor by many players. It does seem that many pro players today tend to favour the tenor. My personal (and very subjective, indeed) opinion is that the string tension on the GCEA tenor is quite often so high that the sound too gets somewhat strained, whereas the lower tension and lesser resonance of the smaller soprano give a very different sound and tone, even if the pitch is the same. As for size matters...musicians like Roy Smeck and John King could manage. It's a matter of hard work, relentless practice routines, and endless repetition. You need that almost-autistic drive and dedication. Then you can pretty much play any instrument. That said; the most important thing is enjoyment. No matter what ukulele you prefer.
I have two sopranoes that I really cherish. One is my Martin S-1, the other is from the ultra low end...a Rogue which was so bad when I unpacked it that I almost threw it straight in the trash. I didn't though, and after a bit of work, it's an excellent beater.

Seems like most inexpensive ukes have narrow nuts and I think this is what makes people think they need something bigger. Maybe all they need is a soprano with a wider nut.

bazmaz said:

I'm afraid Graham you hit the nail on the head. Wider fingerboards 'tend' to be the preserve of the higher end, Hawaiian and USA instruments. The Flea is relatively wide as I recall.

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Kiwaya/Famous have a wider fretboard than "standard" and the laminate Famous are about $200. they play and sound very good too.

drbekken said:

I agree very much with Barry on this. The soprano just may not be taken as 'seriously' as the tenor by many players. It does seem that many pro players today tend to favour the tenor.

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I have come full circle , starting with a KKeiki I picked up at a pawn shop for $30 many moons ago, going through concerts, tenors, baris and now I'm back to really loving my new "back stamped" Martin 0. It is a little cannon with a bark that none of my other ukes possess, and it fits neatly into my BMW K75s motorcycle's side case. I used to have to strap my tenors on the back rack, always worrying about getting them wet, or them flying off.

I'm obviously by no means an expert, but I love sopranos. Haven't really tried many high end instruments of any size, but whenever I pick up a concert it doesn't seem to 'fit'. Haven't really tried many tenors but kind of assumed if concerts feel too big for me there isn't much point I'm always a bit sad how many of the models don't seem to exist in soprano size ... esp the new stuff coming out.