A question for UAS sufferers

TheUsualSuspect

TheUsualSuspect

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Hi folks,

I bought a Lanikai Concert uke back in March to see if I would enjoy playing the ukulele. Of course, I did.

So now I am looking to upgrade, but I need to decide if I want to upgrade to a better quality concert or go ahead and look into a tenor. I'm not in a ukulele hotbed area, so playing a lot of ukes isn't an option.

My question for you UAS sufferers... ignoring for a moment brand and model and considering only size, what percentage of the time do you spend playing a tenor vs a concert vs a soprano? And why do you choose your favorite size? Tone, ease to carry, whatever the reason... for those of you who can simply reach over and pick up whatever size you want, I'm just trying to understand what you pick up most often and why. I'm thinking that might help me decide.

Thanks in advance for any input. I learn a lot from this board.

T.U.S.
 
well, the whole part about carrying them around, the difference in size between a soprano and a tenor is only a few inches, so for the most part they will all be able to fit in a backpack etc. I started on a concert and moved onto tenor because of space for my fingers and the amount of frets. If you play instrumentals, then the amount of frets is a very important variable. Most people who play instrumentals play them on tenors so then if you want to play a song that jake plays, you might need the same amount of frets as jake.
 
Tenor 100%. I have had concert and soprano and sold them all. I am simply more comfortable with a larger scale. Despite a terminal case of UAS, that preference has shrivelled my UAS when it comes to other scales.

However, the recent inroduction of the Ohana zebrawood has caused my UAS to twinge again, even though it's only available in soprano size.
 
In the past 24 hours, I've played a tenor, a soprano and just this morning a concert. I enjoy them all and I pick what size by what songs or type of music I want to play.
 
I have 2 tenors, a Bari, and concert and 2 sopranos. I almost always play the tenors. I like the sound better and they are easier for play. Someone once posted on here that it is inevitable that you'll will end up playing a tenor more often than the other sizes. This may not be true for everyone, but it turned out to be true for me.:shaka:
 
sex and ukes

I have two tenors, two baritones, a concert and a bass. I went from guitar to baritone and for a year or so swore by only baritones. Then at the Berkeley Uke Club one night I sold a baritone and had to borrow a uke for the meeting. Mike DaSilva lent me an Ohana Concert. I was pleasantly surprised that the scale wasn't too small for my fingers and I didn't have to transpose from uke to bari. Now I play my Ohana concert every day at lunch and have it strung retrant for learning some nice picking arrangements. It's bright and clear, a spruce top.

But I also have two tenors and I play them every evening. I've learned quite a few chord solo songs on them. The Lyle Ritz stretches are easier on a tenor than on a baritone but they're a little too crowded lower on the neck of the concert.

Sometimes I pick up my Bushman baritone, a collector's item now, and play what I've learned on the tenor or concert. It's all a pleasure.


Assuming you've had more than one girlfriend and that they came in different sizes and shapes, are you sorry that you had more than one?
 
I go with a tenor, because I love the sound. I have been looking at sopranos cuz i want to get back to that original hawaiian sound, but I will always hold a special place in my heart for tenors.
 
I decided early on that a Soprano wasnt for me even tho there wasnt much size difference between the Sopranos and Concert. I probably play 70% tenor and 30% Concert. As I mentioned from other Posts. I really love the way Tenors sound but find the Concert much easier to pick up and play. If you already have a Concert, I would say go with a tenor next
 
I have owned two sopraninos, two sopranos, a concert, three tenors, and a baritone.

I sold all but one soprano and one concert (both Kanile'a). I prefer the concert, but I like the portability of the soprano, so I take it places with me...I like the size, scale, and sound of the concert the best.
 
UKISOCIETY said:
I enjoy them all and I pick what size by what songs or type of music I want to play.
Click to expand...

This.

If you want a tenor to have that particular sound and size, get one. Buying a better quality instrument is the upgrade, not the scale. Chances are the instrument that you will reach for the most will be the one that sounds and plays the best in whatever size that is.

I personally stick with my concerts for the most part because they're what I use for the uke orchestra and because I like that they have a little louder fuller sound than the sopranos, but still maintain that essence that I think of as "ukey-ness".
Although I may end up playing a lot more soprano around the house again since the lovely wife has decided she prefers playing one of the other concerts and Kelii is available again for random use. (not that she wouldn't let me play it before, but it had gotten to be more "hers" since she played it all the time.)

I think you should rebel against the peer pressure and would be Tenor Hegemony and get yourself a soprano. Dare to be different.
 
Odd man out here. I bought a soprano Flea, then a concert Flea and then a Bushman Tenor. The fleas went back immediately. After six months I decided that I really liked how easily the strings moved on a soprano when I ran across a soprano flea and had a $100 off coupon at Sam Ash. Bought a custom soprano and the Tenor hasn't been out of the case in months. I have adjusted to the smaller frets without trouble.

Another thing I noticed was that the soprano Flea sounded like it had a bigger body than the Tenor Bushman. The custom has more of an oval body with a big full sound. I was able to get the deeper body sound I wanted with a soprano length for easy strumming.
 
I'm a soprano man

I love playing my soprano... tried a tenor and a concert but they just don't have the special charm of a soprano. A solid wood high quality soprano can sound just as vibrant and full as most concerts.

I have observed that former guitar players go for tenors - they keep reporting that the fretboard of a soprano is just too small for them.

Ukulele is my first string instrument. Most of my time as a musician has actually been on wind instruments, so the fretboard of a tenor feels huge to me. (And a guitar feels totally alien!) My fingers are used to staying in one place, so all the dancing around for a tenor is just too much. Now with my soprano there is far less movement which feels very natural to me.
 
There's always the longnecked/super concert... That's actually gonna be my next uke purchase since I love the tenor scale, but want something that sounds a little more uke-y. I did own a concert at one time, and the fretboard isn't as cramped as that on the soprano, but once I got my tenor Kala, I was instantly sold on the larger scale. Well, now that I think about it, my next purchase will be either a super concert, or super soprano. I just can't see myself getting another soprano, considering I have three of them and their fretboards don't seem to like my fat fingers. :)
 
This thread is awesome for not going straight to "it's personal preference." I enjoyed reading everyone's reflections.

I have really fat fingers, and I can strum and sing along with no trouble on any size, but for picking/trickier stuff, I'm still deciding if I prefer my concert or my tenor. The tenor has more space high up the fretboard, and more frets period, and I'm starting to learn some Jake songs, so if I ever save up enough to get that nice K brand ukulele, it'll probably be a tenor.

I have a hard time doing big stretches with my sausage fingers, though, so I tend to pick my concert up more. My concert is a Flea, and my tenor is a Kala that I thought was really nice until I saw how well made my Flea is. Now I see that my Kala isn't that nice... so on top of having a fuller, louder sound, lower action, and the feel of a nicer instrument, the concert fits my hand a bit better.

I still play the tenor frequently, though, becuase I'm trying to train my hand to get those four and five fret stretches with greater ease.

I hope that helps.

It's all personal preference in the end, though. See what I did there?
 
I enjoy playing concerts and tenors the most because I like trying to play Jake Shimabukuro style instrumentals. Concert and longer scales tend to work better for those songs. I like sopranos too but I don't find myself reaching for them much only because they don't work as well on songs I usually play. Between concerts and tenors, I played tenors more because I feel that they are a little harder to play, therefore it makes me better equipped to handle the different scales. For me it's easier to get used to a tenor then switch to a shorter scale versus the other way around.

Another consideration is the quality of the instrument. The uke I've played by far the most over the past year is a William King 18" long scale tenor. Lately the uke I've played almost exclusively is a King 16" long scale concert (trying to break-in the spruce top). Regardless of size, I think you will usually end up playing your best instrument(s) the most.
 
I luv um all, from sopranino to tenor (until I can afford a MP baritone pineapple).
Life is too short to own just one size of 'ukulele. :nana:
 
Depends on the situation, song, my mood, etc. I play my soprano and my concert pretty much equally. The only real advantage to having the concert is the extra fret. The size differences between ukes doesn't bother me at all; I'm comfortable going from my soprano to my Jazz Bass! So my biggest excuse for UAS is wanting a couple extra frets, which is why a super-concert or a tenor is next in line once I recover from the cost of just getting into NY Uke Fest. ;)
 
I preferred my soprano for portability (and habit- for 14 years I played nothing else), but my new Pono concert has a slim sexy road case that's really not that much bigger than my soprano's case.

I do like the small frets on the soprano- despite having Kermit the Frog type fingers I have a hard time with wider frets- some chords are quite a struggle on the baritone!
 
My primary player at the moment is my Kamaka Concert Deluxe. A few months ago my primary player was my MP Soprano and prior that it was my G-String Tenor. Once I get my Kanile'a Tenor it will likely switch to that.

I play concert/tenor mostly, but I spend a lot of time with my soprano as well. It depends on what I am looking for at the time.
 
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