Why do you prefer a Concert Size

brUKEman

brUKEman

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For those of you that prefer a Concert over a Tenor. What is your reason? Is it the "Sound", "the smaller size body" or the smaller size fret board which makes it easier to play.

Also I know they make Concerts with Tenor Necks, but do they make Tenors with Concert Necks.

What is the difference in widths on the frets?

I'm hoping to be able to spring for custom Uke soon so I am just trying to figure out exactly what I want.
Hope everyone has a "Wonderful Holiday"
 
Very good questions...wish I knew the answers. I have never heard of a tenor with a concert neck...but you never know. If it is out there someone on the forum will have heard of it. :D
 
I have never got to play a tenor!

I have a soprano and a Baritone and compared to those the concert was a blast. More room for finger and short neck for easy reach.

I am debating on tenor or concert myself, so can't wait to hear the responses.
 
Right now a soprano is my only uke, but after a bit of hands on testing of each size I fiind I prefer a tenor over a concert.

To me the concert neck is an in between size that doesn't quite work as well as I expected. The spacings of the frets are still tight enough that it is easy for me to mis-fret if I play quickly, but it isn't wide enough to be able to spread the fingers out.

I thought that I would find fret spacing on a tenor to be too wide, but that was not the case. I found I could do chord changes much more quickly, messed up less, and found that barre chords were easy to do.

I also found I liked the sound of the tenor. It matches my singing voice better than the soprano. I also find I prefer a tenor with low g tuning.

I also like the soprano sound and size.
 
My first ukulele was a concert. I recently added a Kala tenor. I wasn't sure that would really like the tenor, and nervous that the two sizes would hamper my learning curve.

If anything I find that switching between them is helping make my chording more smooth. I was surprised by the differences in the sound. For me there are songs that never sounded quite right to me on the concert, that I am making great progress on with the tenor. At the same time, there are some that just don't sound as good to me on the tenor.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that they really have very individual voices and I am happy to be fortunate enough to be able to choose which to play.

I still very much love the sound of my concert. The tenor has a very serious sound. I feel lucky that my first experience with a ukulele was with the concert. It was the fact that it didn't sound overly serious-that it didn't have the overinflated sense of seriousness that comes with an acoustic guitar. The tenor manages to retain some of that, but with a bit more intensity. Now that I have been playing for a bit, I feel like I can control it. I am not so sure that, for me, the tenor would have held my imagination through the first stages.

Also, though the difference isn't huge, I do love the smaller size of the concert. (I am of course eyeing a soprano to round out the set.)
 
For me it is the size. My concerts gives me plenty of room on the fretboard, without the struggle I have when I play my husband's tenors.

I have a Risa solid soprano, which I love for practicing quietly, but I frequently run out of frets on it!

And as a bonus, I can fit two concerts on my shelf of our uke cupboard, while Rich can only fit one tenor on his shelf. :D
 
I prefer the Concert size due to a few things...
- Easier to reach farther up the fretboard and more notes in my hands reach.
- Sounds a little more "ukey" to me typically with the smaller body.
- Best of both worlds (Finger picking and strumming).

But I still enjoy playing all my ukes for their originality. I just happen to have more Concerts than other sizes.
Cheers,
Skottoman
 
Details matter more than size

The concert is probably the "best" fit for me. But I do enjoy playing soprano and tenor ukes. Each has a different build and quality that I like playing for different songs and at different times.

The details in a uke seem to effect the playability as much as the size (fret width, fret height, neck thickness, neck shape, fingerboard width, action [both the nut and saddle heights], strings, ...).

A while ago I thought I couldn't play a soprano uke, when I had one that wasn't set up very well. I avoided them. Recently I played one with a better setup and really enjoyed it.
 
My first uke was a concert, followed by a tenor, followed by a soprano. They all have their appeal, but I find that if I'm sitting down working out a song, I tend to pick up the tenor. The concert and the soprano are the ones I walk around the house with while strumming. I have a route that takes me through the kitchen and down a narrow hallway and the smaller ukes are less likely to bang on things:)
 
Concert size is a happy medium, I think. You still get the classic ukey sound, but with more frets for a little more versatility. Still won't be mistaken for a guitar. Neck size doesn't bother me in the slightest; I've been known to jump between a soprano uke and a Fender Jazz Bass so anything in between feels about right to me. ;) My concert Flea (actually a super-soprano) is one of my favorite instruments to play. I like having a tenor because of all the frets, but it does approach the guitar in terms of tone, so sometimes I can't help but wonder if I should've gotten a super-concert.
 
My first uke was a concert so I think that has something to do with my current preference. Over the weekend I was playing each of my ukes for a little while. I just can't seem to get comfortable playing my tenor uke. I have played some nice high end tenors that I liked better. I rediscovered my soprano and had lots of fun with it.

Some more reasons I like. Sounds more traditional, smaller fretboard makes streching easier. I play concerts with 14 frets to the body so the range is similar to a Tenor. It is smaller so a little easier to transport (then tenors).
 
My first buy was a Kanilea tenor and the frets are spaced perfect for my skinny fingers. I can position my fingers for the chords without too much problem except for stretching out my pinky finger. What's important is getting clean sounds when pressing your fingers on the strings. And I do that well with my tenor without any buzzing.

I own Kamaka concert that has a beautiful sound, and I'll play that around the house. But I do have problems holding the chords that are up tight in the first and second frets. And if you can't hold the chords right, it won't sound clean. Just holding my index finger on the E string playing the F chord will buzz on me, I have to remind myself to add a little more pressure.
 
I started with a concert, settled down seriously with a soprano, but have had opportunities to mess around with my friend's tenor. I prefer the concert to the tenor because of MY size, not the uke's. I'm 5'3", fairly small boned, with fairly small hands, and a tenor felt like it was trying to kill me. It was so BIG and HEAVY compared to my concert (compared to my soprano it really is a beast!)
 
rogue_wave said:
My first ukulele was a concert. I recently added a Kala tenor. I wasn't sure that would really like the tenor, and nervous that the two sizes would hamper my learning curve.

If anything I find that switching between them is helping make my chording more smooth. I was surprised by the differences in the sound. For me there are songs that never sounded quite right to me on the concert, that I am making great progress on with the tenor. At the same time, there are some that just don't sound as good to me on the tenor.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that they really have very individual voices and I am happy to be fortunate enough to be able to choose which to play.

I still very much love the sound of my concert. The tenor has a very serious sound. I feel lucky that my first experience with a ukulele was with the concert. It was the fact that it didn't sound overly serious-that it didn't have the overinflated sense of seriousness that comes with an acoustic guitar. The tenor manages to retain some of that, but with a bit more intensity. Now that I have been playing for a bit, I feel like I can control it. I am not so sure that, for me, the tenor would have held my imagination through the first stages.

Also, though the difference isn't huge, I do love the smaller size of the concert. (I am of course eyeing a soprano to round out the set.)
Click to expand...

"Over-inflated sense of seriousness that comes with an acoustic guitar"??? Well, perceptions of sound are all subjective, but c'mon. I play both tenor ukulele and acoustic guitar. I love the uke, but when I pick up the guitar, I totally adore the richness of the sound. If you're playing something with a light feeling, the instrument will happily accommodate that.
 
I prefer concert size because I do.

I went to a uke store (after owning a soprano sized uke for about 2 months) sure that I was going to walk out with a tenor.

After all, I'm a guitar convert, and guitar players are suppose to like tenors better.

But the concert size seemed made for me. It just seemed to fit better than the tenor (which was just awkward to hold.)

But- that's just me.

My advice: who cares, really, what size others think is best/ best for you. Any uke is better than no uke at all. And in the end- it's all personal preference.
 
I have a beater concert and the kala acacia tenor--I like the tenor because it's louder and has a better sound to my ear, but I use the concert to figure songs out on, because then I don't have to stretch my fingers so far. when i figure it out, then I move up to the tenor from there. very handy to have both around!
 
After reading these posts, I guess it's clear that when I get around exploring beyond soprano, I'll have no clue which I'll end up liking best!

Certainly I won't be spending large chunks of money on a custom uke in a size I haven't first tried out for a while on a quality mass produced instrument.
 
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