Why no Concert neck/ Tenor body ukes?

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annod

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I would think there will be small-hands ukers like me, who likes concert scale, but the fuller/ deeper/ more resonant sound of a tenor body.

Or do you think concert pineapples would be the closest thing to what I am looking for?

(I think it would be nice in the future, to have 3 ukes--soprano/concert/tenor body but all with concert neck, then I can get different sounds w/o having to adjust my fingering position/muscle memory.)
 
The German manufacturer Brüko builds concert scale ukes with tenor body. They are called jumbo. Here is a picture of a brüko jumbo compared to a koaloha concert:
fjgqhs.jpg
 
Michael,
Wow, thanks for the info. How does the Bruko jumbo sound compared to the Koaloha concert?
 
I'm guessing that pairing a body with the next scale-length down isn't done a lot because it would probably mean strange placement of the bridge. The instrument would most certainly need to be joined at the 12th fret (so no option of 14th fret join) and the bridge might still be a bit high on the soundboard. But I do see why one might desire a shorter scale tenor or concert.

The bridge placement on that Bruko does seem to be fine, but the body doesn't seem quite as big as a typical tenor body (I could be wrong).
 
annod said:
(I think it would be nice in the future, to have 3 ukes--soprano/concert/tenor body but all with concert neck, then I can get different sounds w/o having to adjust my fingering position/muscle memory.)
Click to expand...

I can understand that, but I do believe the brain is able to remember the fingering position/muscle memory for more than one size of ukes. did you try another size yet? usually one adapts in no time...
 
Why would you want a set-up like that? Wouldn't you rather have all the frets? I have a concert with soprano neck frets. Not a fav at all.
 
You might also contact Kanilea or Koaloha, they might do a special order that way.
 
yeah koaloha did a one off one that MGM sold... or go custom.... Or just choose a brand that has a really short concert scale length. i.e. Koaloha concert scale lengths are on the shorter side. Kanile'a concert scale lengths are on the longer side. Ohana/Mainland and that seem to be in the middle.
 
From a more technical perspective, there is a relationship between the sting tension and the size of the soundboard/body that may have some impact.

I don't know if the shorter scale and therefore lower tension limits the performance. Maybe a thinner sound board may offset that, I don't know. I'm sure there are more knowledgeable people/luthiers that can expand...

...then again it is probably just a lack of demand.

John
 
It's actually a good idea for all the people who like to play their tenors in a high re-entrant C tuning. That tuning is actually a bit high to be an ideal fit on a tenor body. The strings that give the best tension in C on a 17" scale are also on the thin side. This makes volume even more of a problem. Most sets go to thicker / higher tension strings to get back some volume, but then you lose response.

If you insist on this tuning on a body that's really too large for it, then it makes sense to have the shorter scale - you can use heavier strings and play at a tension that will give better response. You are giving up the upper frets and still playing in a higher than ideal key, but if I wanted to tune up a tenor body that way, no doubt the short scale would be the way to go.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the reply. I guess there is some trade-off in every way. maybe as my fingers stretch I would actually get used to the tenor fretboard.

southcoastuke, I am certainly learning a lot about string theory from your website. So thanks for writing the articles.
 
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