Different ukulele types

I'm sure there has been a thread about this but I didn't have any luck searching for it. I'm just wondering what the benefits and drawbacks are of the different styles of ukes(concert,soprano etc). Would anyone be willing to enlighten me? Or point me to a thread where it was already discussed?

Thanks!

Hi Kvowens,
this is from my limited experience. I've had my uki for about 2 weeks, and loving every second.
Had the pleasure of playing each of the sizes you are asking yesterday.

Size (in order of smallest to largest): Soprano, Concert, Tenor

Went into a music store and played one each of the Kanile'a soprano, concert, and tenor.
The soprano is the "classic" size, with a really bright, punchy sound. Looks really cute, and is so miniature.
The concert is the inbetween size, and the kind I have at the moment. Great bright tone, but I was looking for a deeper tone.
The tenor is the largest of the 3 (not by that much) and the one I played had a deep resonating tone that I just fell in love with. In my opinion the larger you get the more you start to get that "guitar" sound and less like the classic ukulele (other factors like strings/wood besides).

All three I played were incredibly light and portable.

nuadre said:

Size (in order of smallest to largest): Soprano, Concert, Tenor

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soprano, concert, tenor, baritone

EDW said:

soprano, concert, tenor, baritone

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don't forget the "Sopranino" Ed!!!!!!! Even cuter and cuddlier than the little soprano!!!

g'day Kvowens89

nuadre pretty much sums it up for you. The traditional soprano has a brighter, crisp voice, less volume because of the smaller body cavity and less sustain. As you move up to the concert I guess you're looking for an instrument that retains some of the characteristics of the soprano but with a more rounded, fuller tone and greater volume and projection. Similar applies as you move up to the tenor, where you should have a uke with greater depth to its tonal qualities, louder and more sustained voice and a nice warm mid-low range. Then with the baritones you're getting an instrument that players love for its richness and sweetness as it begins to resemble the sounds you get from a nice acoustic guitar.

As you increase in scale the frets are wider so sopranos can be a squeeze for some players. If you want room to move and like to play right up the neck a lot, you're probably going to want to look at a longer scaled uke: concert, tenor or maybe even a baritone. If you're after a traditional sounding instrument, go with a soprano. They can be hard to keep stable, especially if you do a lot of stand-up playing, but there are heaps of straps and supports on the market to help overcome this problem. Member Lori has designed an awesome product called the "Uke Leash" which has been extremely popular and is versatile.

eugene ukulele said:

don't forget the "Sopranino" Ed!!!!!!! Even cuter and cuddlier than the little soprano!!!

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Yeah, I was considering the 4 basic members and did not want to exclude the baritone, which is sometimes forgotten. I suppose we would have to add the bass ukulele, the mezzo soprano http://glyphukulele.com/mezzo.html, other variations on these and probably other things that I have forgotten!

I use my soprano for general playing and the concert for soloing and picking. The longer neck allows more playing movement.

Awesome guys thanks so much. I wish there was somewhere I could go to try them all out. Maybe if I went into Vancouver they would have a more diverse music store. I will have to do a little research. I'm pretty comfortable with my concert though since I'm kind of a big dude so having a crammed neck might not be good with these hands. I can't wait until i can afford to own a few different ukes.

Thanks again!

Annnnd, just to muddy the waters further....

Longneck Soprano (aka Super Soprano) - Soprano with Concert neck (a few with Tenor necks even)
Super Concert - Concert with a Tenor neck.

Nickie said:

I saw a miniature ukulele the other day. It's called a pocket ukulele, and it's itty bitty.

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I want one so bad! lol It's considered Sopranissimo.

See

http://gotaukulele.blogspot.com/2010/04/ukulele-basics-sizes.html

and

http://gotaukulele.blogspot.com/2010/05/ukulele-shapes.html

basically, they get bigger in size. Soprano is the trad uke size, but concert is now allegedly the most popular. The bigger you go, not only does the sound change, but you get more frets and more space on the fingerboard. Many beginners say concerts are easier than sopranos, but I think it depends on the size of your hands and the uke (the soprano Flea ukulele has a very accommodating fingerboard)

Awesome guys I feel much more informed, and thanks to my new knowledge I decided I'm gonna go with a soprano. I want a nice light, happy sounding uke to go with my middle of the road concert. And those times I decide I want something a little deeper sounding I will just pull out my guitar

Kvowens89 said:

Awesome guys thanks so much. I wish there was somewhere I could go to try them all out. Maybe if I went into Vancouver they would have a more diverse music store. I will have to do a little research. I'm pretty comfortable with my concert though since I'm kind of a big dude so having a crammed neck might not be good with these hands. I can't wait until i can afford to own a few different ukes.

Thanks again!

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Hi. A new member here. Just wondering if you ended up doing some uke comparison shopping in Vancouver, and what your experiences were. I'm on the hunt right now, and am undecided about a concert vs. a tenor. I popped into Tom Lee, but there was very little selection there. I'm going to try Long & McQuade next, but I have two small kids and very little time to go do different music stores.

I'm a new member but I'll just add my experience. My wife and I got a baritone uke many years ago simply because we liked the size. Changed the strings to the traditional tuning, gcea and been playing it that way ever since. But, I've been eye'ing a tenor uke from Mainland lately.