any "SOPRANOS ONLY " people out there ?

Pukulele Pete

Pukulele Pete

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
2,145
Reaction score
28
Location
Proxima B
I play nothing but sopranos. I feel that anything larger is cheating. Sopranos should have friction tuners and never geared tuners. Anyone else out there feel the same........or am I alone ?
 
So far, I have three sopranos, (two traditional, and one Banjo Uke). My SK-35 has good friction tuners, but my throwdown Uke has geared. When I restored my vintage Banjo Uke, I replaced the old worn out vintage friction tuners, I did replace them with a nice set of geared tuners. I am a huge fan of nostalgia, and being a collector of antique anything really (especially machinery and technology), I do like to keep the "Charm" of vintage, and do so on static, or display type of antiques, and like to preserve the vintage technology, but for my antiques I actually use, and are functional, I will upgrade them, but try to keep as much original as possible, but see nothing wrong with making it better than it was. So, that also crossed over to my vintage instruments, and my 1930s Banjo Uke was upgraded to geared. However, that said, I also have a 1930's Gretsch tenor banjo that I was able to restore the original vintage friction tuners, and I play it with it's original friction. When the day comes those are no longer serviceable, it will probably get planitary gears (which does maintain the nostalgic look of friction).

I love the soprano Uke, and to date been solely soprano, but not totally loyal to the size, and want to someday get me a nice concert, or tenor. Not sold on the Baratone, before I went to those, I would simply return to a standard 6 string guitar.

Just my take..
 
love sopranos, too

and yes...friction tuners feel best to me...something about balance...both visually and in my hands.

I'm pretty much an amateur...but I I had a concert to begin with..as soon as I held a soprano, I just knew it was the size for me.
 
I believe the only "true" music is banging two stones against each other...
...anything else is cheating.
 
Having been through just about every size, I've settled on sopranos simply because I love their sound the best. My two sopranos have wider than average fretboards for comfort, and they do have geared tuners - just a personal preference. I figure the end result is the important thing, and in uking the end result is the sound - I love the sound my two sopranos make, so that's what matters to me.
 
Paul December said:
I believe the only "true" music is banging two stones against each other...
...anything else is cheating.
Click to expand...

Who need stones??? I just use hands and body parts.

As for the OP, I am not a Soprano Onlu guy. I would say I prefer Concerts. But I have recently really enjoyed playing my Soprano. It does have geared tuners but I really don't have that big of a preference, I have used both friction and geared. I do want to upgrade my soprano sometime soon though.

I will say I have not been able to get into a Tenor uke that I have owned. I have played some in shops I liked but never bought one I really liked. Both attempts were Kala, one online and I didn't know any better the other time.
 
jellybean said:
and yes...friction tuners feel best to me...something about balance...both visually and in my hands.
Click to expand...

I too like friction tuners but only for balancing the instrument - I'm not too concerned about looking traditional. The Ohana Vita, which is labeled in some places as a concert uke but from nut to bridge is a soprano, has such a large body that it needs geared tuners.

I've only ever played sopranos but that's literally just a coincidence. I don't have anything against other sizes.
 
Not soprano only but mostly. Do LOVE my sopranos! Not sure if I have a tuner preference. Friction tuners take some getting used to but I do like them now.
 
i started on a soprano like many people do. i appreciate the sound of the soprano, but i feel that the other sizes are not cheating. different sizes have different timbres (pronounced tamber--don't ask me why). i love the timbre of my soprano, but i love the timbre of my tenor. are they the same, no. they each have their benefit. it's like saying you can't play contrabassoon because it's not a true bassoon or say that you can't play a bassoon with high d and e keys because it's "cheating". eventually i know i will have several sopranos and one or two tenors and concerts in my home (got to have at least one soprano per kid, right?)
 
Hey.......everyone calm down. I'm just trying to be funny when I say "anything larger is cheating". I was looking for a humorous way to say that I prefer sopranos. I hope most people recognized the humor and didnt take it literally.
 
yeah, no worries! i didn't take it literally. i don't care about anyone's personal preference to size. and i think "cheating" is just fine lol. i think all the sizes have their benefits and i'm sad that i only have 2 sizes personally. i'd love a concert and a baritone. i think i'll end up buying another soprano and a tenor before i get a concert. baritone will be my absolute last uke. i'm going to try to talk my wife into letting me buy a makala dolphin for my son for his 5th birthday coming up. he hates it when i have to remind him that the soprano he playes is mine.
 
I'm a soprano guy. I also own a concert and tenor, but they don't get played much. I keep the concert tuned down half a tone from gcea, and the tenor down a whole tone. They sound better that way, to my ears. I'm not too bothered by the type of tuners, but some geared tuners affect the balance and feel of a soprano.

John Colter.
 
A couple of days ago I ordered a Kala KA-S from MGM to find out just this very thing. :)

My first uke was a Mahalo U-30 soprano. It has pretty bad intonation, so I can't count it as a fair go on a soprano. Both my other ukes are concerts (a Flea and a Mainland).

So, I wanted a decent soprano that would play in tune, to see if a soprano is "my size".

So far, I haven't been considering a tenor. They just don't seem quite uke-like to me. Maybe some day, but for now, they're too large, too expensive, too high-tension (I hear), and are too close to a guitar for my taste.

As for tuners, I think that geared tuners look silly on a soprano, and still a little silly on a concert. I think they look OK on the Flea/Fluke because of the headstock design. I've never had a problem using friction tuners either. I was a little disappointed that the low-end ukes (like the KA-S) all seem to have geared tuners. Is it really cheaper to make a geared tuner than a decent friction?

Anyway, maybe I'll know after a few weeks of playing the KA-S whether I'm a soprano only guy. I think I'll have a hard time giving up my Mainland concert though.

Jason
 
I am a soprano guy. I really prefer to play soprano, and for the life of me, I just don't understand the angst people have with friction tuners. My Kumalae has true wood peg friction tuners and they are a breeze to use. I have had cheap old tuners that simply don't work, but easily replaced them with good friction tuners. Well, to each his own.

Sometimes I have to play my concert when I play with friends who all play concert ukes simply because the volume seems so much louder from their concerts. Then again, perhaps it is just the ukes these guys play (Ohana). Anyway....I digress.....I prefer Soprano, it makes my heart sing (as my voice is pretty dicey). Any way you slice it....they're all ukes!
 
bbycrts said:
My two sopranos have wider than average fretboards for comfort, and they do have geared tuners - just a personal preference.
Click to expand...
Hello bbycrts,

I am looking for what you seem to have! Can you tell me the makers of your 'wider than average fretboards', so that I may overcome the limitations of my pork sausage fingers.

Thanks!

:)
 
i love love love sopranos too! my koaloha and my flea are soprano...i do have a mainland concert that i love too but that is as big as ill go. just got a concert eleuke that im still trying to get used to...taking a little while

i also like friction tuners better! i dont think theyre difficult to use and i think they look cooler too =)
 
I go back and forth on this a lot... I don't know if I have a preference. I used to have a tenor... stopped playing it and gave it to my mother so she could learn how to play. I typically either play my Flea (a concert) or my sopranino (which for months was just taken to work in my backpack for music therapy class... not a regular player until recently). And I pretty much only drool over sopranos. I like the feel of them better, and I've noticed when I'm holding a soprano I'm more likely to play original / improvised / stuff that requires singing (which I'm really working on), and when I pick up the concert or the tenor I'm a lot more likely to just play Jake covers (which is fun, but man cannot live by bread alone).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Your better and wilfully retained mass manufactured Sopranos
Replies
5
Views
144
keenonuke
K
J
Martin Vintage 1960s Sopranos
Replies
10
Views
397
Quad57
Q
TBB
Strings What are your current favourite low G strings for sopranos?
Replies
18
Views
573
Mustdote
Mustdote
B
Wanted Looking for low cost concerts and sopranos
Replies
17
Views
883
man0a
M
M
Not Many High-End Sopranos?
2 3
Replies
47
Views
3K
ploverwing
ploverwing
Top Bottom