Played a Tenor tonight for the first time

Hi all,

I played a tenor uke tonight for the first time.

My own uke is a Makala MK-SN which has sweet tone and is so soft and playable. When I picked up the tenor, a Kala arch-top arch-back, I had trouble getting any volume out of it (playing it acoustically, it has a pick-up but we are playing unplugged) and the tone didn't sound too flash. I persevered because the guy who owns it gets beautiful sound from it. It seems to want to be played pretty hard. He tried mine and said I need new strings and thought the strings were dead.

Hmmmm. I suspect it has a lot to do with what you are used to playing, because after about 15 minutes on his uke I started to get pretty reasonable tone from it. Truthfully though, I prefer the tone from my Makala. It has pretty new Aquila strings on it and I can get a much nicer, fuller tone on my uke than I can on the tenor.

So what's the deal with tenor ukes? I assumed they would be strung at different pitch to a soprano, but it's just the same. So you get a longer neck and more finger space on the frets. I assume the longer strings and bigger body give better sound in the hands of an experienced player, but am I missing something here? Is there more to it than that?

Well, I'm a beginner so maybe I'm missing the point, or maybe when I can play better I'll pick up a tenor and it will sing rings around my Makala.

Bruce in Adelaide

Hi Bruce

Like you, I played only soprano ukes for a long time after I first picked up a uke, and I agree, it's natural to be attracted to the uke you are most familiar with...a bit like a well worn beanie or pair of slippers I guess.

A few years on and with a couple of tenors now, I think it's more that you start to use different sized ukes for specific purposes. I now love to play a tenor uke, (and concerts too) but still stick mostly with my sopranos. Sopranos fit my idea of what a ukulele really is, if that makes sense...

No expert, but to me tenors generally are louder (because of the bigger body), warmer in tone with a more pronounced low end sound and have greater projection and sustain. The sopranos have a brighter,lighter sound, more treble (high end) and less sustain, and tend to sound more like the traditional hawaiian playing. Concerts somewhere in between. I think all types of ukes can sound great in the right hands.

If it helps, I tend to use the tenors with jazzier and bluesy stuff, also more for picking and / or soloing, instrumental pieces, and the sopranos for everything else!

Stick with your Makala. It was over 4 years of playing before I even thought about buying a tenor. Also, I know what you mean re ukes with pick ups sounding too quiet and gutless when not plugged in...this has been my experience also...maybe we just need to hear a better quality uke?

Cheers mate!

I tried the Kala Archtop as well, it sounded really quiet when not plugged in. Possibly cuz the soundhole is..alot smaller?

Aloha Bruce,
It all has to do with string tension.....as for the soprano's have less tension because it's a shorter scale....
when you get into a tenor the tension increases...or it could be the type of strings on both ukuleles too..
there are different guages(string thickness) that create totally different sounds and playability and comfort...
As you said, you gotta get used to the different tension to get comfortable with it... I longer neck
will give youmore fretboard space and range ...and a larger body give you mre volume and a fuller sound...
I hope it helps....good luck MM Stan..

I own a Kala archtop. It was actually the first uke I bought. Because of the F holes instead of a center sound hole it does have a lower volume that other tenors with a normal (?) sound hole. I bought it because I play mostly plugged in and I like the sound of it plugged in. I have it strung with a low G for soloing. Since then I bought a pineapple soprano and a couple other tenors. I find I hardly ever play the soprano. The other tenors are louder unplugged and are strung with a high G for the more "traditional" uke sound. The volume of a uke is not based on only one thing rather size, type of wood, solid or laminate, type of strings, tension and playing style. Since we all have varying tastes and hearing abilities you could debate this and other issues on this forum forever....ah....like we do.....constantly giving our own MHOs (my humble opinions)....which is still good to hear other opinions when we don't have one of our own on a particular topic.

Here us my IMHO...
The Kala archtop f-hole tenor is a special case. It is designed to excel plugged in and for finger picking. It has a lots of attack and very little sustain. Reducing the sustain helps to keep individual notes distinct from each other and prevents one note from bleeding into the next note.

I know a few people who own these and I really like playing them because they have such a unique sound. It is the complete opposite of my Mainland mahogany, which is very bright and has loads of sustain. It sounds almost like two ukes playing in unison when strummed.

As the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks".

Thanks for all the replies, my knowledge and understanding has been raised another notch.

I'll see if I can get to play the tenor plugged in. That should be another eye-opener for me.

I'm so loving ukes. Why oh why did I not discover this joy 50 years ago??

Bruce in Adelaide