Help!

Woodstocksp3 · Apr 21, 2008

Hey y'all! I know there are a million threads about this but I am looking at buying a ukulele(!) I am not sure if whether I should get a soprano, concert or tenor. Right now I am leaning towards getting a soprano because of the way it looks but I don't know very much about ukes in general... I also don't know what kind of wood/material it should be made of. I am from San Antonio, Texas but currently I am at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. My price range is up to a $100 so I probably can't be asking for a whole lot but anything y'all could do to help me would be great!

On another note; I am very excited about getting a ukulele! I've always loved the way they sound and I am also excited about getting to learn how to play a new instrument! I've been looking into buying a ukulele for the past couple of days and this website has been very helpful, thanks a ton.

tad · Apr 21, 2008

This is what you want.

deach · Apr 21, 2008

Is there any place local you can test out a few to see what size/sound you like?

Phil Major · Apr 21, 2008

I've had a soprano for a while now, and since I figured out a little bit of what's what with ukes, I've wanted a tenor. Tenors are pretty much the most played by people around here. I'd say if you really dont want to go that big (still pretty small) go with a concert. tad's link above is good too.. but I would get the equivilent uke in a tenor or maybe concert size. His suggestion is so good because those kala's are supposed to be excellent starter instruments for quality and sound, and buying from musicguymic on ebay seems to be one of the best options.

I hope that helps some.

Plainsong · Apr 21, 2008

I prefer the size of a concert, but I have no plans to part with my lovely Pono tenor. All it does is justify that I do need to get another uke.

Seriously though, for me, with my small stubby fingers, I found the neck of my Koaloha soprano a bit cramped and I recognized that it was a good bright sound, it wasn't the sound I was after.

YMMV, so if you do have a chance to test out even the most toyish of toy ukes, it's worth doing.

Woodstocksp3 · Apr 21, 2008

tad said:
This is what you want.

That one is awesome! I'm thinking about either buying that one or going a bit cheaper with this ukulele. I think I'll most likely get the one that you sent me though because of all the stuff it comes with and I'm sure it's higher quality.

Woodstocksp3 · Apr 21, 2008

Phil Major said:
I've had a soprano for a while now, and since I figured out a little bit of what's what with ukes, I've wanted a tenor. Tenors are pretty much the most played by people around here. I'd say if you really dont want to go that big (still pretty small) go with a concert. tad's link above is good too.. but I would get the equivilent uke in a tenor or maybe concert size. His suggestion is so good because those kala's are supposed to be excellent starter instruments for quality and sound, and buying from musicguymic on ebay seems to be one of the best options.

I hope that helps some.

It helps a ton! Thanks man. I'm still really not sure what I should get. I'll probably check out some local places before I buy one online.

UkuLeLesReggAe · Apr 21, 2008

tad said:
This is what you want.

im thinking of buying this because i dont have a good soprano and i want a nice one and this looks pretty nice

anybody seen a vid on youtube where this ukulele is played??

tad · Apr 21, 2008

Woodstocksp3 said:
That one is awesome! I'm thinking about either buying that one or going a bit cheaper with this ukulele. I think I'll most likely get the one that you sent me though because of all the stuff it comes with and I'm sure it's higher quality.

I really like my Kala-- it's got pretty amazing sound quality for a laminate. And the stuff it comes with is nice, obviously-- the tuner's pretty decent, the bag's a fifty dollar value right there...

But the thing that really makes this the best starter deal around is the setup. Mike makes sure that every ukulele that goes out from him has been checked out, works well, has upgraded strings...

From the day it comes out of the box, it'll sound shiney. Which is something that I've not found dealing with other dealers-- there's always something you want to change, upgrade, some irritating little thing... Mike takes all that hassle away. He's awesome.

UkuLeLesReggAe said:
im thinking of buying this because i dont have a good soprano and i want a nice one and this looks pretty nice

anybody seen a vid on youtube where this ukulele is played??

I haven't, but I have one.

It sounds pretty great. I'm not very good, but I'm happy with the sound. I could probably put a video up of me playing something really poorly, if you're just trying to get a sense of the sound.

Any particular questions I may be able to answer?

Woodstocksp3 · Apr 23, 2008

tad said:
This is what you want.

I just bought it last night and I can't wait! Mike already sent it out so I'm hoping on getting it sometime next week! Thanks for the find, I greatly appreciate it.

Bourbon Boy · Apr 24, 2008

reply to help

I say get something that may be easy to play on. When I first picked up a soprano i could barely hold it or play a cord. I was not used to the size being so small. So i got a tenor first. Its a bit bigger and easier to play. more room for my big hands. Now that i have learned so much I hope to have at least one of each. Tenor, concert , soprano and Baratone....I WANT IT ALL

Snow · Apr 24, 2008

tad said:
This is what you want.

UGH! I wish i saw that before i got my friggin k-wave. i started on the wrong uke!

tad · Apr 24, 2008

Snow said:
UGH! I wish i saw that before i got my friggin k-wave. i started on the wrong uke!

Not to sound completely motivated by self-interest, but I've been wondering how the k-wave sounds... keep us posted and/or write a review...

Howlin Hobbit · Apr 24, 2008

Do not buy an Oscar Schmidt (remember, the "m" is silent). Talk to Musicguymic. The cat is pure aloha and simply will not steer you wrong.

And I've already posted one rant tonight, so I'll just say that the "I have small, stubby fingers" thing is pure tosh when it comes to playing the uke. I have very small hands with fat, stubby fingers and I'm all over a soprano.

Pick the size that pleases you, of course. Plenty of beautiful music coming out of the tenor crowd. But don't get thrown by that sort of talk.

(Sorry for any offense. But I've been reading uke forums for years now and I get kind of weary of the same ol' same ol' all the time.)

tad · Apr 24, 2008

Howlin Hobbit said:
Do not buy an Oscar Schmidt (remember, the "m" is silent). Talk to Musicguymic. The cat is pure aloha and simply will not steer you wrong.

And I've already posted one rant tonight, so I'll just say that the "I have small, stubby fingers" thing is pure tosh when it comes to playing the uke. I have very small hands with fat, stubby fingers and I'm all over a soprano.

Pick the size that pleases you, of course. Plenty of beautiful music coming out of the tenor crowd. But don't get thrown by that sort of talk.

(Sorry for any offense. But I've been reading uke forums for years now and I get kind of weary of the same ol' same ol' all the time.)

I just get confused, 'cause my small, stubby fingers are the REASON I decided to go for a soprano... I just don't understand the argument that small fingers reward a bigger neck. Makes no sense to me.

Also, I get irritated at the argument that tenors are the only instrument for SERIOUS ukesters, given that the soprano is the ORIGINAL, Classic size. If the tenor is the only size of worth, you're rejecting the roots & origins of the instrument.

Howlin Hobbit · Apr 24, 2008

You rock, tad. Damn shame we're on opposite sides of the continent.

Ukulele_Junkie · Apr 24, 2008

tad said:
Not to sound completely motivated by self-interest, but I've been wondering how the k-wave sounds... keep us posted and/or write a review...

yo Tad,
I actually purchased the 1st gen k-wave uke a few months ago, but returned it. The sound is so full being that its solid mahogany, also has a piezo passive undersaddle. So sound wise its awesome, but the aesthetics of it not so great.

My main complaint of it tho was the difficulty of changing the strings because the tuners were hard to work with. and the cutaway was practically useless cuz my hand couldnt fit in it to reach the upper frets anywayz. But yeah the authentic tele tuning pegs are not good for nylon strings, they jus slip out.

****
By the way sopranos are awesome, i started on one and i still love to play it. I always hear guitarist go, "man i wanna play uke but my hands are too big for it". And bruddah Iz was a small guy?
those people are just scared to play a more cooler instrument like the uke

haha
****

Woodstocksp3 · Apr 24, 2008

Howlin Hobbit said:
Do not buy an Oscar Schmidt (remember, the "m" is silent). Talk to Musicguymic. The cat is pure aloha and simply will not steer you wrong.

And I've already posted one rant tonight, so I'll just say that the "I have small, stubby fingers" thing is pure tosh when it comes to playing the uke. I have very small hands with fat, stubby fingers and I'm all over a soprano.

Pick the size that pleases you, of course. Plenty of beautiful music coming out of the tenor crowd. But don't get thrown by that sort of talk.

(Sorry for any offense. But I've been reading uke forums for years now and I get kind of weary of the same ol' same ol' all the time.)

Yeah, I've got pretty small fingers so I think the Soprano was the best pick for me. Not to mention I really like the sound of it so hopefully everything works out well

tad · Apr 24, 2008

Howlin Hobbit said:
You rock, tad. Damn shame we're on opposite sides of the continent.

Dude. I'm an academic. I'm required to crisscross the country for conferences. When one of them takes me to Seattle-- I'm sure it'll happen one of these days-- I'm totally gonna look you up. You're an amazing musician, and I bet you're fun to party with.

Ukulele_Junkie said:
****
By the way sopranos are awesome, i started on one and i still love to play it. I always hear guitarist go, "man i wanna play uke but my hands are too big for it". And bruddah Iz was a small guy?
those people are just scared to play a more cooler instrument like the uke haha
****

Thanks for the K-Wave feedback, you brought up some points I hadn't thought of.

Bruddah Iz wasn't a small guy, but he had a small soul... Everything beautiful is small, after all...

Plainsong · Apr 24, 2008

I think my next uke might be a soprano Risa Uke'Ellie. Gotta sell my concert uke-solid stick first though. And I have get over the cold before I do that because I don't want to give some nice person my cooties.

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