Sound of concert neck soprano?

Prompted by the long neck concert thread...

I'm a recent fanatic - a few months. Started with a soprano because I have short fingers and thought it might be easier to play, but felt cramped. With the bug firmly in place I soon acquired a concert. I thought I liked it better but after playing it for a while, then playing the soprano, I found it somewhat easier on the fret board now that I had a little experience - and I like the sound better.

But I I think I like the the concert size neck better, and in the long run as I hopefully improve, I'll nail it. But I think I still like the sound from the soprano.

So I'm wondering... is the sound of a long neck soprano closer to the standard soprano (I would think) or the concert. Or entirely different?

String length and tension have to make a difference. Don't they?

I want to play old standards and jazz type stuff. And everything else.

Thanks!

Really thinking about the Kala SLNG.

I will repeat what I said on the other thread. If you are playing in the key of C (instead of the earlier popular key of D), a long neck Soprano will actually give better sound.

The longer scale means you will either use a higher tension, or lighter gauges, either of which will alleviate the tendency toward third string "booom".

The bonus is that you have the room of the longer scale. We like it so well that it is the only Soprano we make.

Besides the length of the scale/string I'm sure the volume/size of the sound box/body will contribute to the 'soprano-like' sound of a long neck (concert-scale) soprano.

I initially got a long neck Leolani soprano when I first got to the Islands this summer, but found the 'travel' concert sound and size more to my liking. (size meaning thinner body than thicker soprano, but I like the shorter overall length of the long-neck soprano).

That being said, I'm ready to confess that I, a soprano guy, am becoming a long-neck soprano fan.

keep uke'in',

I have a Kala super soprano (sitka top/ spalted flame maple) and it is definitely more soprano-like in sound. The longer neck might give you a bit more volume because of the higher string tension, and more finger room, but it still has the soprano sound.

–Lori

Lori said:

I have a Kala super soprano (sitka top/ spalted flame maple) and it is definitely more soprano-like in sound. The longer neck might give you a bit more volume because of the higher string tension, and more finger room, but it still has the soprano sound.

–Lori

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I agree with Lori. I have played a few aNueNue long necks and I really like them.
They have a soprano voice, but a tad louder. The longer string vibrates more and along with the higher tension gives a boost to the volume.

My super concert sounds like a concert but plays as loud as most tenors.

My custom is a longneck pineapple. It definitely lacks the low-mid presence of a concert (also due to wood choice), but isn't quite as "washy" as a soprano when strummed. The string tension is VERY different. It's sort of what you would expect, a bit between. Mine is definitely a finger-picking ukulele. Strumming is nice, but note separation is really very good.

I've been on holiday for 3 weeks, and have my Kala with me, so I'm really curious to see what I think of my MP when I get home. It will probably be my most honest appraisal of its sound since I got it.

As I've been learning, "it depends" is the answer to almost any ukulele sound question.

The longneck soprano is what God meant the uke to be...

OldePhart said:

The longneck soprano is what God meant the uke to be...

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hang on thar John, Daddy sang Bass didn't he? I always thought that God played the Bass.... (queue bass player jokes....)

I have the ohana and it has a tenor neck on a soprano body and sounds very nice. It looks weird though. http://www.ukeladymusic.com/store/catalog.php?item=15

Thank you all for your input

You've confirmed my thoughts and uke #3 will be on order soon!