Getting Pulled In

I was drawn to the Uke for its tone, size, comfort and portability over a guitar. I played guitar on and off for about 7 yrs and NEVER made what I consider very good progress. No joke, I am ten times better on Uke in 3 months. A lot because of the awkwardness of the acoustic guitar size for me personally. I’m 6’2 with large hands. I have unusual inflexibility. I’m 37 and finally working on that. Still terrible. So to hold a guitar on my lap level was very uncomfortable with bar chords. There’s also the fact I was not looking to hold a guitar neck up classically with the bottom sitting in my lap. Reaching around under the neck in the standard position and applying a good amount of pressure was no fun. So, I proceeded to try as my practice sesh times dwindled. Till around year 5 my guitar playing got really sparse.

I still had this passion for a stringed instrument laying dormant till I walked in on my wife playing a Uke one day. I laughed at first. Side note: It seems like a lot of people rarely have experienced a tuned Uke which adds to the “Toy” perspective. Up until that day, my experience had been grabbing someone’s “wall art” Uke, strumming, laughing and quickly putting it back and thinking “damn guitars are better”. Back to my point. So I chuckled and went about my day unwinding from work. However, as I sat in the kitchen the little Uke called to my subconscious as she strummed and picked about. As mentioned in a previous NUD, I picked up a cheap Uke the next day and the rest is history. Life changed. Passion reignited. After that I read and inhaled YouTube videos on all things Ukes. I had decided on the concert size, because I needed a little more room, but I wanted small as possible. I had no interest in tenors because that in my mind was getting too close to the guitar and too far from the Uke sound that pulled me in. I also thought “smaller the better for comfort and portability. I can do everything I’ll ever want playing style wise on a concert. Best of all worlds. I can play in so many different places and positions and it’s even cooler to do it on a smaller instrument.”

Well, I just ordered a cheap ass tenor off amazon to explore the size. Kinda bummed it’s drawing me in when I was so content in my concert size. For a lot of reasons I WANT that size to work the best. I am realizing now with my new obsession growing I want to be able to utilize the lower frets as much as possible. I can’t for the life of me find a video of a pro, ripping the styles I prefer on a concert. Tenors for me, unfortunately look like they are gonna be mandatory for true range. I’m also aware of Super concert models. That’s a whole other can of worms. Not sure I like the balance going on there.

I’m sure people will laugh to themselves, thinking UAS strikes again. It’s really not an excuse to get more Ukes as I’m in no denial about acquiring any Uke I desire within monetary reach. I just look at the guitar and think how ridiculous their size is now. Some tenors look cool to me... about 10%. We’ll see, probably a lot more annoying tenor posts coming

P.s. Why not be happy with both sizes, right? I’m worried I will stop playing concerts much and go with a size I don’t prefer that’s much more capable of playing the deeper intrumental and percussive styles I now want to play. Then I will have no justification for my concerts price tags. I’m not the type to keep Ukes that are not in heavy rotation.

Thanks for taking the time to read my pleasurable dilemma.

There are so many uke-related rabbit holes you can go down including scale size, tunings, strings, tone woods and don't forget banjolele's, 6 strings, 8 strings...

I've got one tenor, one concert and two sopranos and I find that it is simply down to the mood that I'm in. Sometimes I'm convinced I should sell my tenor because I just love the concert size. The next week the concert just suits a song that I'm learning better. A soprano is always good fun and a great travel companion and just suits some music styles better. I find some ukes come into their own once you get used to their idiosyncratic ways.

I say just enjoy the journey and don't be too quick to make a choice about whether one particular size is right for you.

I think it's normal to own several different sized ukes, regardless of their price tags. They will each have their own character, as well as their own strengths and weaknesses. If I want to sing and strum, I reach for my concert. My low G tenor is primarily for fingerpicking. And when no worries and ultimate portability are called for, my inexpensive soprano gets called into duty. They each offer me something unique, and I enjoy having the different options. I might focus on one of them exclusively for a period of time, depending on what kind of music I'm into at the time. But my interests are always changing, so the other ukes are never ignored for very long. You can enjoy what your new tenor ukulele has to offer, without giving up the pleasure your concert uke brings you. Live large!
Jan D

I can really dig both of these replies.

I played guitar for almost fifty years, since I was fifteen, and was reasonably good, then about five years ago I picked up a ukulele. Without knowing about sizes, I found it to be uncomfortable, turns out it was a soprano. The general consensus was switching from guitar, a tenor would be more comfortable, so I went to my local Sam Ash and after trying a concert and tenor, realized tenor is for me, and cutaway as well.

In my first year I went through sixteen, then culled them to the four best, and in the last four years have moved up to nine good ones. I knew I would never touch my guitars again, so I gave my nephew my Fender Telecaster and Ibanez AF-85 archtop (he's a very accomplished guitar player and is now composing movie trailer scores), and I'm contemplating selling my Ibanez exotic wood six string and Ovation Applause twelve string.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

kohanmike said:

I played guitar for almost fifty years, since I was fifteen, and was reasonably good, then about five years ago I picked up a ukulele. Without knowing about sizes, I found it to be uncomfortable, turns out it was a soprano. The general consensus was switching from guitar, a tenor would be more comfortable, so I went to my local Sam Ash and after trying a concert and tenor, realized tenor is for me, and cutaway as well.

In my first year I went through sixteen, then culled them to the four best, and in the last four years have moved up to nine good ones. I knew I would never touch my guitars again, so I gave my nephew my Fender Telecaster and Ibanez AF-85 archtop (he's a very accomplished guitar player and is now composing movie trailer scores), and I'm contemplating selling my Ibanez exotic wood six string and Ovation Applause twelve string.

---

This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

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Wow, so after 50 years the Uke stole you away from the guitar? That’s interesting. Pretty cool you gave that Fender to your Nephew.

Tenors for me, unfortunately look like they are gonna be mandatory for true range. I’m also aware of Super concert models. That’s a whole other can of worms. Not sure I like the balance going on there.

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I acquired quite a few ukes before finding my ideal size - tenor scale/concert body - started out with tenor, tried soprano, then concert, then I found & became a great fan of the long necks, spent most of my learning period on a long neck soprano. When I came across the long neck concert, I just knew, feels like a perfect fit, for me - & my UAS stopped. :music:

(Of course, if you like the low tones, there is always the baritone.......... :rofl: )

Kibes37 said:

Why not be happy with both sizes, right?

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Exactly! I play all three sizes interchangeably. It takes just am moment to adjust to the different size.

For me it depends on what style you play on a ukulele. I played guitar for many years, and some bass. But chords are meant to accompany vocals and as the years went by, I would sing less and play less. When I first got a ukulele a dozen years ago I couldn’t sing along with it at all, not sure why. Silent vocals are not much fun. Then I discovered that it was pretty easy to pick out melodies with chords and then I discovered Jake.

Strumming chords at the nut is pretty easily for me on a tenor or concert. But melodies sometimes require some stretches while maintaining a chord shape, or semi-chord shape. A killer for me is an occasional G chord shape and picking up the E note on the 7th fret, especially on a tenor. Something I wouldn’t even consider on a guitar. For me that is the beauty in the instrument.

How you play the ukulele is up to you, my first uke was a soprano, but when I started fingerstyle melodies I moved on to a tenor. Even though it is a little tough at times, I like the varied nuances of attack of that size.

John

Just to open your can of worms even more:
You might like a 16" scale ukulele, which is in between concert and tenor. Probably the best known is Kamaka's Ohta San, but there are others, like from Ono.

I'm a 15" concert fan overall, for the comfort for my fingers, but love the sound of the 16" ukuleles, too.

Part of the ukulele journey, if you get serious about it, (as you have), is finding out what works best for you, and that can change as you spend time with the ukulele.
The UU Marketplace gives us a chance to both buy and sell as we try out various ukuleles, and hone in on what will be our "ideal" ukulele. And, of course, there are lots of other places to buy and sell as well.

Enjoy your journey!

Same experience for me as described by Kohanmike. I've played guitar since I was 12, and discovered ukulele when I was in my 50's, when I saw my little nephew playing one. Got a tenor, then more recently a baritone (this past year), and I rarely touch my guitars any more. The smaller-scale instruments (ukes and four-string tenor guitars) are much more comfortable, easier to carry around, and are a joy to play. They're also easier on my fingers and wrists, since the frets are closer together and don't require uncomfortable stretches.