Pros & Cons of the Guitalele?

drbekken

drbekken

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Ok.
I can't help noticing that several videos containing the Yamaha GL1 'guitalele' have been posted on youtube lately. The instrument also pops up in discussions and threads here on the UU forum.
What are your experiences with - or just general thoughts about - the guitalele?
What's good?
What's bad?
Should it be included in the 'ukulele family' of instruments - or not?
Personally, I find the sound intriguing, and wonder if I should go to my local music store and try one. They're not expensive up here.
 
drbekken said:
Ok.
I can't help noticing that several videos containing the Yamaha GL1 'guitalele' have been posted on youtube lately. The instrument also pops up in discussions and threads here on the UU forum.
What are your experiences with - or just general thoughts about - the guitalele?
What's good?
What's bad?
Should it be included in the 'ukulele family' of instruments - or not?
Personally, I find the sound intriguing, and wonder if I should go to my local music store and try one. They're not expensive up here.
Click to expand...

What's bad? Too many strings. That's all I got to say about that.
 
What's kept me from getting one for my husband, is that he prefers standard guitar tuning. I know of only one string set that might work, and if those strings suck? Welp...
 
The Yamaha GL1 specifically is an inexpensive laminate instrument. Laminate instruments are getting very good but its still a laminated instrument. Its got too many strings that are TOO close together. I really want to play a 6 string again and I just MIGHT as a slide instrument in open tuning but it depends on whether your up for the learning curve or whether you play 6 string instruments already.

Me? I'm quite good with 4 strings but I would have to learn all over again with 6 strings.

Anthony
 
I own several Ukuleles, but I really like my Yamaha Guitalele. Here's a short sound sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69ezdaYR8A

After getting used to the Ukulele my guitar feels way to big for me, but sometimes I just want to add more depth to my sound. :)

Strung with ADG d'Addario and CEA Martin Flourocarbon it sounds very balanced. The playability is good, and it makes a lot of fun. But the best thing on it, it is really really cheap. I played many more expensive Tenor Ukuleles which were worse in my opinion. So I recommend anyone who wants to try a Tenor sized Ukulele tuned Guitar to open your mind and give the Guitalele a chance. Compared to its price it's a really great instrument! :D

It makes too much fun to be ignored because of the two more strings. ;)

(Ok, I can say that, I also own a harp ukulele. :rolleyes: )
 
I've fallen in love with the Kanile'a GL6. I think it's going to be my next purchase. Well...my K1-T needs a baby sister.
 
Cordoba Guileles way better than the Yamaha. Ukulele sized guitars are not new. There are quite a few Latin American "guitars, guitarras, charangos, cuatros, etc. etc. that are uke-approximate in size that have been around for centuries. I see some gorgeous ones on ebay all the time. Perhaps some of the string sets for thm will work on an guilele.
 
I like my Yamaha Guitalele well enough, but at that size, I'd much rather play a uke. The string spacing on the Guitalele is way cramped. I think Guitaleles sound much better fingerpicked than strummed -- it's a lot like a mini-classical guitar than a uke.

I got mine for $69 from one of Musician's Friend's Stupid Deals of the Day, so I don't regret buying one. It was in a nice sunburst finish, to boot!

- Sean
 
I love mine, I received it yesterday and and I am already comfortable with string spacing, the neck also seems to fit my hand perfectly, I like to look at is as a tenor ukulele with two bass strings.
I am finding it increasingly fun to make random chord progressions and to just improvise anything, there is so much more depth to the sound with the bass strings, and the frets are suitably sized, I struggle hugely to play a regular guitar.
After a day of playing the strings no longer stretch and it is staying perfectly in tune, many people say to buy different strings, but I remain to see no problem with the stock ones, at least until I hear the difference between these and different ones.
A great thing about it is that any song you know on guitar, you can play exactly the same, it will just be in a different key, it gives it more of a ukulele feel, but still with good depth and volume.
I am still finding it rather surprising how much volume this thing actually projects, you can really shred it!
There are some great resources online to, I was surprised to even find a chord chart, but I have also found a whole site dedicated to classical music, the Guitalele and Johann Sebastian Bach just go together magically!
 
It can be a real challenge to get the right strings and the right Guitarlele together. Because of the size of the instrument, the lower notes really can't compare well against a Classical Guitar. With the strings I have on mine (a KoAloha DVI) the bottom is OK, but the top is too mellow. I have it strung with strings for EADGBE, and have tuned it sharp by a couple of steps to make it sound brighter. Standard Guitarlele tuning would be ADGCEA, but another option would be to tune those extra strings like a harp ukulele, giving you extra open base notes. I find my all-koa instrument muddy when strummed with my current set up, but it sounds fine for fingerpicking, and would be a nice addition for group playing. It is a lot easier to play than my classical guitar.

–Lori
 
Lori said:
It can be a real challenge to get the right strings and the right Guitarlele together. Because of the size of the instrument, the lower notes really can't compare well against a Classical Guitar. With the strings I have on mine (a KoAloha DVI) the bottom is OK, but the top is too mellow. I have it strung with strings for EADGBE, and have tuned it sharp by a couple of steps to make it sound brighter. Standard Guitarlele tuning would be ADGCEA, but another option would be to tune those extra strings like a harp ukulele, giving you extra open base notes. I find my all-koa instrument muddy when strummed with my current set up, but it sounds fine for fingerpicking, and would be a nice addition for group playing. It is a lot easier to play than my classical guitar.

–Lori
Click to expand...

I picked up a Yamaha GL-1 for cheap, but have never played guitar before. How would you suggest those bass strings be tuned?

I'm finding the fretboard cramped to learn guitar chords on, for sure, but if I were just playing 4 string chords and allowing those bass strings to ring I fretted, it might be nice.
 
I'd keep the GL Tuning as it comes. That's what makes it sound like a member of the Uke family. Tuned EADGBE it'd surely just sound like a kid's guitar.

Although I'm playing Uke more and more, and my MIAS has fast become UAS, I still like the familiarity of the 6 strings and the lack of a re-entrant string on the GL for some things. Plus, as I said above, the tuning is reminiscent enough of a Uke, but the extra bass strings add possibilities - even if they are not deep down bass sounds.

Basically, I love all instruments I can get my hands on - and at €57 this was one of the best value for money instruments I've got ;) It's certainly an improvement on the 3/4 size Steel Strung Guitar Yamaha produced some time back (which I bought to try and teach my daughter to play on when she was younger. Sadly, she didn't take to it. However, the good news is I showed her three basic chords on a Dolphin Uke recently and she has started picking it up when she thinks I'm not listening ;).
 
I bought my Yamaha Guitalele because I like the convenient size of the uke, but missed playing guitar. I thought a baritone might be similar enough to make me happy, but I really missed the bottom two strings of a guitar. I figured with the guitalele, I could practice my guitar pieces just as easily as I do with uke during the day. My biggest issue with them is the small nut and narrow string spacing. I chose the Yamaha over the Cordoba because the nut is 2mm wider, but I'd still like it to be a tad wider.

With all the great things I've been hearing about the Gretsch ukes lately, I'm really curious to hear what people will think of their new "Guitar Ukulele" and can't wait to start seeing reviews on them.
 
mattydee said:
I picked up a Yamaha GL-1 for cheap, but have never played guitar before. How would you suggest those bass strings be tuned?

I'm finding the fretboard cramped to learn guitar chords on, for sure, but if I were just playing 4 string chords and allowing those bass strings to ring I fretted, it might be nice.
Click to expand...

Check out this Daniel Ho demo of the KoAloha DVI and it's tuning.

–Lori
 
re: the strings

Aquila has a special guitalele set--they work really well on mine.
 
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