A question for all you ukeholics...

I look in awe at the long lists of ukes y'all own.
I played around with a borrowed Lelani soprano uke for about 5 days before I had to give it back.
It hooked me.
So I bought an Ibanez quilted maple concert uke from Guitar Center (on line) for myself.
I kinda like the tone and feel of the little one better.
We go to Hawaii in a few weeks and I am pondering leaving my concert at home and shopping for a new soprano while in Maui and/or Oahu.
I'm thinking of going to low g on the concert back home and strumming on the islands with a new soprano.
My question is this:
Is it easy to switch from a soprano to a concert and back again?
Or am I going to make the learning process more complicated?
I am also expecting that the store level expertise in Hawaii is way better than the local rocker dude at the Guitar Center store.
Which store on Maui should I visit?
Should I ask for anyone in particular?
Thanks in advance for any insight you can give a NotsoGoodyet ukulele addict.

Switching from soprano to concert shouldn't be much of a problem. I switch from soprano to concert to tenor all the time. Sure, this might impede any progress on any three of the sizes, it's just that I enjoy each size for different sounds, songs, etc. I figure if I work my fingers out on all the sizes maybe my dexterity will improve overall. I had thumb surgery a few years ago and I try to make my left hand workout when I play because I have a lot less flexibility there. My wife helped justify my reasoning for playing the uke because of my "franken-thumb" and when I play my old acoustic guitar, I have a harder time stretching.

It is really easy to switch- I play three of four sizes every night (Soprano by the computer and my banjo uke, Tenor is my dream girl, Bari to stretch the envelope and learn more about theory)-have not found a concert I loved yet.
Having played a lot more than I own, I can say I hate Low G concerts- just does not sound right to me. Want a Low G- get a tenor (sounds great in tenor scale/tension) and add that to the stable. As for buying a Uke in Hawa'ii..I have fallen in love with more than one Ko'Aloha, and when I can afford one, it will be mine.
As for the local rocker dude at Guitar Center- well, he is an American Icon, and totally useless.

TCK is right on about low g on concerts, doesn't quite work if you have a sensitive ear. A tenor is the solid choice for a low 4th or linear tuned uke. Also that KoAloha is well worth checking out for any size of uke. They make an awesome soprano. Whatever you do, handle a lot of different ukes to see what feels comfortable to you, and if you aren't comfortable playing one you like yourself, have someone in the shop play it for you. That way you can stand in front and hear the full sound and see which voice you like the best.

If you come home with a uke you love, inside a year you could be changing your user name to PrettyDangGoodNow.

When you're on Oahu I have the feeling the Uke shops around Waikiki were quite expensive - There are probably some back streets selling stuff at good pricing but otherwise some tourist pricing going on.
There were a few good vendors actually selling quality gear at the market at Honalulu stadium. So do some research. To be honest I'm from England and we pay a lot more here anyway. It is almost dollar for pound pricing.

Just want to say I like low g on my concert uke. As a matter of fact my Moore Bettah came that way, just how Chuck set it up. I didn't ask for it, but it sounds good to me. just because some don't like it should not discourage someone from playing low g on a scale other then tenor.

Maui has a Mele shop and I think Bounty music. There is a shop list some where on the forum with a pretty good list of shops all over the world.

I got my Kanile'a at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, because all the music stores are closed on Sunday, and that was my only day in Oahu. I didn't get any bargain pricing – paid retail or near it, but I did get to try out about 5 or 6 nice Kanile'a at one place. If you are an out-of-state visitor, you don't have to pay Hawaiian sales tax, so that can help a lot on big ticket items. If you can find a nice ukulele that you love in person, it is worth the extra money to buy it, and it becomes a nice remembrance of your trip.

–Lori

claudios said:

It is almost dollar for pound pricing.

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Hey, I'd love to pay a dollar per pound of ukulele - my KoAloha concert would have been ninety-four cents! :biglaugh:

(Just fooling around, I know what you really meant.)

John

I'll give you a buck eighty eight for it John!
It's not every day that you can double your money!

NotsoGoodyet said:

I'll give you a buck eighty eight for it John!
It's not every day that you can double your money!

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Heh, heh. I guess that's one way of looking at it.