The Tenor Uke and the "Professional Player"

luvdat

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Almost routinely, I see the tenor uke connected with the "professional player." Could someone please put this into a better context for me beyond the association with Jake Shimakaburo, James Hill etc...and yes, Zach Condon?

Is this notion primarily but not exclusively allied with instrumentalist vs. uke player/vocalist?
 
I think that it is a marketing ploy. Many people that don't know anything about ukuleles that get into the uke from watching "professionals" play at lu'aus or Jake or Aldrine and they just know that they want a ukulele that "said professional" played. Since many professionals that people see play the tenor, companies make that connection. I could be completely wrong and I could just be typing bull crap but i think my assessment of this "professional" situation might be close to the truth.
 
Many play Tenor because of the more fret space and more resonant sound. For instrumental play of many styles, the tenor gives the most versatility for range and tone.

That being said, there is no "best" or "professional" uke.
 
I don't think the tenor is necessarily the professional uke. But it does have some benefits like more frets, so you can play all the way in the upper registers. Also, I bet it has something to do with there being more space on the inside of tenors for installing active pickups which can be rather bulky.
 
Many play Tenor because of the more fret space and more resonant sound. For instrumental play of many styles, the tenor gives the most versatility for range and tone.

That being said, there is no "best" or "professional" uke.

I disagree Jumpingflea...The best ukulele is any ukulele:) They are all the best:) but then that means that they are all equal which means one can not be the best so I stand corrected...You are correct.
 
It does seem that the super-fast, flashy players are using tenor ukes most of the time. I do think it has more to do with extended range (longer necks), higher string tension, and more room between the frets.

There are lots of professional players that use other sizes and it is true that many of those are vocalists, but, over all, it seems that the reasons I mentioned here are discussed the most.

As for pickups, I have some really great concert-bodied ukes with pickups that were factory installed and I have tenors, too. I do think that live performance is much easier with a pickup installed, but, Craig Robertson is a great example of an excellent performer that never uses one. Craig uses a directional mic.
 
I thought it was just a size thing.. y'know... bigger is better.


Though I guess that's kinda contradictory with the uke

Yeah, I'm designing a uke with a Gibson SG neck, lol...
 
It does seem that the super-fast, flashy players are using tenor ukes most of the time. I do think it has more to do with extended range (longer necks), higher string tension, and more room between the frets.

There are lots of professional players that use other sizes and it is true that many of those are vocalists, but, over all, it seems that the reasons I mentioned here are discussed the most.

As for pickups, I have some really great concert-bodied ukes with pickups that were factory installed and I have tenors, too. I do think that live performance is much easier with a pickup installed, but, Craig Robertson is a great example of an excellent performer that never uses one. Craig uses a directional mic.

There is NOTHING better than a mic. A pickup is mostly for convenience with performing and moving around...

I have to come clean with what finally motivated this thread. An otherwise great guy demo'ing (mostly commenting about) the sizes of Pono ukes on YouTube. He connected the Concert to "women and children." And yeah, I get the soprano connection to the "pig with an apple in its mouth." He did honestly admit his bias for the tenor.
 
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I have to come clean with what finally motivated this thread. An otherwise great guy demo'ing (mostly commenting about) the sizes of Pono ukes on YouTube. He connected the Concert to "women and children."

Owch!
Aw man, I don't want to be playing a girls uke.
I do favor concert and soprano because I find they're what's easier for my feminine fingers to handle. And yet I'm pretty insulted by that statement.

Meanwhile, the tenor suits my guitar-playing husband well. I got him a long-neck soprano for Christmas and he loves that too. But there's no denying the projection of sound that comes acoustically from the tenor. More resonant.
 
Many play Tenor because of the more fret space and more resonant sound. For instrumental play of many styles, the tenor gives the most versatility for range and tone.

That being said, there is no "best" or "professional" uke.
Ditto that. Especially true if the pro has come from a guitar background or had classical guitar training. The larger size of the tenor is easier to adapt to.
 
There is NOTHING better than a mic. A pickup is mostly for convenience with performing and moving around...

I have to come clean with what finally motivated this thread. An otherwise great guy demo'ing (mostly commenting about) the sizes of Pono ukes on YouTube. He connected the Concert to "women and children." And yeah, I get the soprano connection to the "pig with an apple in its mouth." He did honestly admit his bias for the tenor.

I'm glad you get it....I don't. :eek:
 
I prefer the tenor for the fret spacing. The "professional" preference idea is found in the Kamaka description of there tenor: "Fine tonal quality and full-bodied sound. Generally preferred by professional entertainers. The comfortable size and scale length of the tenor 4-string make it one of Kamaka's most popular models."
 
Ditto that. Especially true if the pro has come from a guitar background or had classical guitar training. The larger size of the tenor is easier to adapt to.

I think that has alot to do with it. Guitar players prefer tenors.
 
I own 2 tenors but not a real fan of tenors preferring sopranos (the original 'ukulele and sound) as well as concerts the tenor just feels too bulkly but I have no real guitar background. I do like the tenor neck so my last 'ukulele is a tenor neck concert (super concert) and I'm seriously considering a tenor neck soprano (pineapple of course) for my next 'ukulele sometime in the distant future.
 
Guitar players prefer tenors.
This may be true in some cases, but as a recovering guitarist, I gravitated toward the concert with an MiSi pickup as my weapon of choice. I don't miss an extra fret or two (eighteen frets on a Mainland concert is plenty) and I have relatively small fingers, so the spacing is fine. And since I do get paid to play (usually...), I guess that makes me a "professional entertainer" of sorts. Not that I won't someday get a tenor (and soprano), because that would be yet another tool in the box, but right now that's a luxury for me. Wait - that gives me an idea. "Honey? It says here I'm playing the wrong uke! I'm going to have to get a tenor if I'm to play this gig for money! I'll keep the concert though, just in case they're wrong..." Hey, that might just work!:rolleyes:
 
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Depends on which professionals you're watching. Janet Klein http://www.janetklein.com/ always plays a soprano Martin. So did most of the early ('20s-'40s) players.

I've found that the [generally] higher tone of a concert or soprano over a tenor better suits some songs. Try playing five-foot-two on a soprano, concert, then tenor. I think it sounds lighter, more "correct" on the smaller instrument.

If you are playing a set, why not bring along a tenor and a concert? Switch over for a song or two. Partly for sound, partly for show, party because then you have the excuse you need to get that nice concert ukulele into your collection.

That said, I notice that switching from one size to another isn't impossible, but it can be a little tricky.
 
The preference for tenors is what psychologists call "compensating". It's a bit like middle-aged men driving sports cars, wearing pony tails and dating teenage girls. It's a sign of a personal crisis.

;)
 
I think that has alot to do with it. Guitar players prefer tenors.

I have almost 40 years of guitar background and prefer the soprano.

Just placed an order for a Kala Solid Acacia Soprano.

Had a chance to play a Pono tenor yesterday, a beauty with a cedar top. The first thing my wife said before I played it, "That looks good with you." And then after I started playing, "That sounds like a guitar."

Hey, I like what Jake Shimakaburo does, but I have to admit that while frequently listening (and do it with your eyes closed), it sounds like an amazing guitarist playing, in certain moments, in certain passages, a not very good quality classical guitar. He himself of course is luminous.
 
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