Is it worth it?

Some ukes I have seen have much longer necks and more frets as a consequence. Is it better to buy one of these even if they are a lot more expensive? I would like to buy a decent ukulele to practice with and improve.

Well best to start with one.....cause if yea have two they will start to multiply.......an empty bank account is usually a pretty good way to stop the multiplication from happening though.....

I've always struggled to play a soprano uke.....I like the sound just fine but my fingers have trouble......recently played a long neck soprano......with radiused fretboard.....my that was fun! The extra spacing on the frets was a help in playing that instrument.

Many people try several sizes until they find what they like, some play all sizes regularly.....

I play a concert and 2 different tenors weekly.........though I might not ever buy a soprano......but now.......I have put a long neck soprano on the list to think about buying....In not in a hurry......but I'll likely eventually buy one.......

I'm not likely to keep an instrument that I do not play.....

If you have the chance to try before you buy that is a good way to go......one can also get a very good used uke and if it works keep it.....if not pass it on and turn the funds into the next try out uke...

I've bought all my ukes online without handling them first hand.......although I did have opportunities to try other ukes.......Thats why I bought a concert first.....tried a friends soprano....a little hard...so go up a size........when went to look at some Kala Elites on sale locally....they had a Martin Tenor on the wall........played that........my I like the sound of that tenor......so I eventually bought a nice Tenor....and when going electric......I went tenor........so now back to that long neck soprano......it was a Kinnard.........WOW........maybe someday.....

Hi

Although some folks play all those frets, 90+ percent will play within the first five or seven frets. Which are known to some professional guitarists as the 'money frets'.

Many newer players visualize a uke as soprano size: 13" string length and 20" long overall.

But there are actually four standard sizes and most players will eventually prefer one of the sizes.

The longer fingerboard will have more space between frets for those who prefer it.

Instruments with smaller soundboxes will sound plinkier and those with larger soundboxes will sound more guitarish.

In addition to standard sizes, there are a few 'long neck' variants build with the next longer neck. Example: a 'long neck concert uke' will have concert size body and a 17" tenor size neck.

Standard sizes:

Soprano: 13" strings, 20" overall

Concert: 15" strings, 23" overall

Tenor: 17 strings, 27" overall

Baritone: 20" strings, 30" overall

* Note that baritone usually comes with a string set for guitar tuning, but it is easy to swap to a string set for ukulele tuning

* I started with with baritone uke and like it best

There are many very nice ukes in the $150-250 range that will keep a starter happy for years.

I started with a nice Kala CTG and am still happy after three years. There are other similarly nice brands. (I'm avoiding 'ukulele acquisition syndrome' by spending on guitars and banjos).

FYI:

Tenor guitar (4-string): 23" strings, 37" overall

Small guitar (6-string parlor): 23" strings, 36" overall

Standard 6-string guitar: 25" strings, 39" overall

Large 6-string guitar: 25" strings, 41" overall


Cheers.

Like people write here, the extra frets are only relevant of you plan on using them, which most people dont. And if you need them you will know.
If you don't t have particular plans to play songs that require them, then get the ukulele that sounds the best to to you when played on some of the first frets.
By the time you advance to needing more frets you will have saved enough to expand your ukulele collection. When you need them they are naturally worth the extra cost. But a Tenor ukulele is not necessarily much more expensive than a soprano. If the quality is the same, they might cost a little bit more.

I personally really like the bell like sound of the concert size ukulele. I also have tenors, but my favorite tenor is one that combines the bell like sound of a concert with a longer sustain due to it's smallish body.

Concert ukuleles usually have between 12-14 frets to the body, and some extend the fretboard over the body for a few more. But those frets above the 10th are so close and hard to fret that I rarely play them anyway.

Referring to a "long neck" ukulele can mean different things. You can have two ukuleles that have the same scale length (distance from the nut to the saddle) but one has the neck joining the body at the twelfth fret (traditional, still very common) and the other might join at the fourteenth fret. Same scale length, but one has a longer neck.

Then you can have two ukes that have the same size body, but one has a soprano scale length and the other a concert. Correctly speaking, a soprano body that uses a concert scale neck is not a "long neck soprano" - it is a small bodied concert. Ukes are classified by their scale length, not by the size of the body.

I hope this helps to clear up any confusion.

John Colter.

Long necks are so called because that is what they look like, they have the scale length of the next size of uke, usually, (but I also have a soprano bodied, tenor scaled uke, commonly known as a giraffe neck). They have a certain appeal to me, because they are different, but they are nice to own.
I mainly pick tunes, so the extra frets make a difference.

As a beginner, I always suggest starting out with a concert scaled uke, this will let you decide how you feel about ukes, I feel, as it's an in between size, with good sound quality, & space for your fingers, which will also let you try out low G, as you have more resonance than a soprano, & longer string length, which helps improve sustain.

In the original post it is not clarified whether the intended playing style is strumming or fingerpicking.
I assume that the current ukulele is a cheap soprano and it is the Ukulele size for an upgrade that is in question.

In spite of what I wrote in my previous post, if you want to learn more finger picking, it will be easier on a longer scale. So there is an argument for going bigger.
But the quality is not entirely in the size.

I would recommend trying out different sizes on a shop.
If you don't have that option, the concert scale is a nice in between size that will not be too big a change in string tension and sound compared to the tenor, while giving a bit more space between frets.
However, more melody playing is possible on a Tenor.
So trying what you like the best is the best thing.

I suppose it depends on what type of uke music you like to play. If you're a fast strummer then a standard soprano or concert would be fine providing you have normal sized fingers. But if you're a finger picker then you'd probably want a tenor or baritone. Bearing in mind the longer the neck the higher the tension.

It doesn't matter to me - soprano, concert, tenor. I just form the chords and strum. If I were a great player - playing far up the neck - I guess having a longer neck would give me more variety of sounds.

UkingViking said:

Like people write here, the extra frets are only relevant of you plan on using them, which most people dont

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As many instructors say, "You paid for the whole neck, so you might as well use it."

ukantor said:

Referring to a "long neck" ukulele can mean different things. You can have two ukuleles that have the same scale length (distance from the nut to the saddle) but one has the neck joining the body at the twelfth fret (traditional, still very common) and the other might join at the fourteenth fret. Same scale length, but one has a longer neck.

Then you can have two ukes that have the same size body, but one has a soprano scale length and the other a concert. Correctly speaking, a soprano body that uses a concert scale neck is not a "long neck soprano" - it is a small bodied concert. Ukes are classified by their scale length, not by the size of the body.

I hope this helps to clear up any confusion.

John Colter.

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There is an aspect here that might have some merit. At what point does the string tension impact the tone of the instrument? At what point is the body volume too small for the scale?

Typically a soprano is built to resonate with a particular tension on the soundboard. As the scale lengthens that tension typically increases. Lighter strings might mitigate some of this, but I would think that in reality the ukulele build might be heavier, especially for a tenor scale on a soprano body.

I imagine a competent luthier might be able to work the bracing to accommodate the longer scale, and give the light airy sound of a well built soprano without too much compromise.

Hopefully those who have both in a quality soprano might be able to add to this. I don’t really play soprano, but occasionally I find one that has perfect balance of tone and playability. I’m not sure that can be replicated with a longer scale.

John

70sSanO said:

Hopefully those who have both in a quality soprano might be able to add to this. I don’t really play soprano, but occasionally I find one that has perfect balance of tone and playability. I’m not sure that can be replicated with a longer scale.

John

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Someone would have to own both soprano and super soprano of the same brand to do a reasonable comparison. I have both sizes, but from different builders, so I couldn't make a good comparison. Comparing one soprano to another gives me a considerable difference in sound.

Mine are Ohana solid mahogany, concert & tenor scale sopranos, the tenor has a little bit extra to its tone, both use concert scale Living Water low G strings, (I find the tension very acceptable).

I'd like my baritone uke to have a slightly larger scale in every direction except body depth.

Slightly longer scale. Say 21 inch.
Slightly wider nut. Around 40mm.
Maybe a very slightly longer and wider body depending on wood type.
And some strap buttons. And possibly electronics.

I won't spend a fortune to get it. But might convert a very small guitar if I found one of my dimensions along with high quality construction and materials.

Longer string means more mass and higher tension. More mass means more force and louder sound.
All other aspects being equal. Same thickness strings. Same size body. Longer neck means a longer lever and the balance will change and it will add some weight.

I think it also makes the instrument a little deeper in sound. But I don't have two equal versions to compare head to head.