How did you settle on your favorite uke size?

E

elisdad

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
341
Reaction score
1
Location
Kernersville, nc
It seems most folks have a "go to" uke size. I am only six months into this journey and I find myself liking the concert size best. I really like my tenor Mainland that I bought a few weeks ago, but it seems a bit more difficult for me to play than my concert EleUke. I think a concert size would have been a better choice, but you don't know that till you have tried it I suppose. My kids both have sopranos and I find them the most difficult size for me to play. Without trying different sizes, I suppose it would be hard to know this. Maybe as my talent grows, I'll use different sizes for different songs.

I know some folks choose a size and stick with it. Others like to play different sizes based on mood or song. How did you choose your favorite size?
 
I didn't really consciously choose, I tried all three common sizes, and the concert neck just "felt" right.

And since I prefer the sound of sopranos, my favorite size ends up being long-neck sopranos.
 
It's a scale and a string tension question:

I prefer my soprano for strumming,
my tenor scale (superconcert) for solos,
and my concert for picking....

In this way, I use all the sizes!

If I have to choose just one, I prefer the "hibrid" concert.
 
Great topic! I hope to read lots of replies...

My first ukulele, a soprano, was a Christmas gift. I loved both its size (for playing and portability) and its sound (it was a really deep old Camp Uke). Unfortunately, the light cracks in the uke opened up beyond repair after a couple falls. (I overestimated its portability.)

While looking for a new uke, it quickly became apparent that concerts and tenors aren't for me. The 13" (or so) scale just feels right to me, any longer and it seems I should reach for my guitar rather than my uke. When I go to a music store, I always play every soprano available (welp, not every $40 soprano available). Lately, I've been trying to expand my ukulele horizons by strumming a concert or a tenor for a few minutes as well. But it's always the best-sounding soprano in the shop that occupies my attention. Speaking of which, there's a Martin O at my local shop I should visit before I get to work...
 
Last edited:
For me, it's baritones all the way. Partially because of the size of my hands but also because I feel like I have the most control with jazz and swing chords which is what we perform.
 
I first bought a soprano and loved the sound. got a concert and really fell in love. Bought a tenor and really do not care for the size. Kind of find myself leaning back to the soprano because I mainly strum from first and second position chords. anything past the eighth fret for me is fluff right now. I hope to get better and actually use the whole neck someday but until then we'll see. Just ordered a "SAILOR" soprano with 14 frets to the body. May possibly have the perfect uke for me soon!
 
Hands are too big to play an e chord on a soprano or concert and a baritone isn't a real uke imo.
 
At first I thought I would like sopranos because I'm a small person with little hands. But the minute I played my first concert size uke, I knew I had found my favorite - the scale is very comfortable and I really like the string tension. I also like how concert ukes sound fuller than sopranos do when played higher up the neck.
 
The sopranos softer string tension makes it easier for me as a beginner. My tenor is a little more work to play. But I am sure that will change as my fingers get stronger.
 
Owned a soprano for nearly 60 yrs before I got serious. First bought a concert, then received a tenor for a gift. At first I thought I liked the concert best, then, the more time I spent on my Martin soprano, the more I liked it. Concert is my second favorite, then tenor, but I enjoy them all and find a little practice enables me to tranition between the sizes. I just bought two used ukes. a Mele soprano and a Pono Concert. If I ever get a super high-end uke, it will probably be an amazing sounding long neck soprano..... at least until I change my mind. good luck and have fun. Play lots of ukes. Now you know how we develop UAS.
 
Last edited:
I started out on a concert because I felt a soprano would be pretty cramped for my hands (not the most limber fingers in the world any more). Then, I got my granddaughter a soprano and discovered that I was right, it was a little cramped for playing anything but first position open chords. But, I also discovered I really liked the sound of a soprano better for strumming even though her soprano was a cheap lanikai and my concert was a KoAloha. So, I bought a Kiwaya longneck soprano figuring that a concert neck on a soprano body would be my ideal strumming uke. That turned out to be correct.

I also picked up a couple of tenors along the way, but my longneck soprano is my "go to."

John
 
Like you said, best is to go in a music store and try all them side to side for comparison on playability, comfort and sound..good luck Happy Strummimgs..in the long run I am sure you
will learn to play all of them too.. 6 months is nothing man..ha ha...I say practice, patience, and perserverence...=passion....
 
Last edited:
My first uke was a tenor I won in a drawing so I didn't really have a choice in size. But coming from a background as a classical guitarist, I didn't feel a need to go smaller. I'm up to five tenors (well, once #5 finally arrives) and have yet to play a smaller size. Guess I'll be a tenor player for life. :p
 
I started out with a cheap lanakai tenor (you all know the model). Not a bad uke but seeing all those sopranos online I thought that's what I should have. As it happens friends at work got me Lanakai soprano (the inexpensive kind, but a nice gift all the same). Intonation was off a bit and it did have a small fretboard. I ended up buying a Martin SO that was hanging in a store for a long time. Liked the wider fingerboard. Then I realized it really was hard to play up the neck cleanly. So, I thought a Concert would be the ticket. Bought one, but the neck was a bit narrow, then bought another with a wider neck. Felt I had my go to uke. Then started playing live, standing up and found it was a bit hard to negotiate some chords. Ended up back at square one with a new Tenor (I had sold the Lani Tenor long ago), and realized that this is what I've really liked all along...It's now a main one and a keeper....(I think...)

However, I do like to play all the sizes at various times, the variety is nice.
 
I have decided to take the easy route and just buy one in every size.
 
savagehenry said:
I have decided to take the easy route and just buy one in every size.
Click to expand...
That's sort of what I ended up doing. I have one in every size although I prefer my Tenor. Mainly because I've played guitar for so many years and having more space between the frets feels more natural.
 
Soprano all the way. I keep trying the Concert but always go back to the Soprano
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Accidentally tuned low G string an octave higher - did I damage my new uke?
Replies
4
Views
203
merlin666
M
bazmaz
Fun Interview I did with the team at Anarchy in the Ukulele
Replies
0
Views
104
bazmaz
bazmaz
Mike $
Did you know...? Not a discussion, just the facts ma'am.
2 3
Replies
40
Views
929
Mike $
Mike $
W
  • Suggestion
Price Drop did not get a Bump
Replies
3
Views
210
ploverwing
ploverwing
Mark Suszko
I "fixed" McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime"... or did I?
Replies
6
Views
293
Bill Sheehan
Bill Sheehan
Top Bottom