I have a tenor ukulele, but I am going to be doing some traveling on planes and was wondering if a concert or soprano would be significantly smaller such that it would be easier to transport? Otherwise I might as well stick with what I have.
Westcoast, my Flea is a "soprano" but the actual scale is 14", midway between a normal soprano and a concert. It has the wood fretboard. I guess I would get a concert size if this were stolen (for it is so rugged that it is not going to fall apart!!)
I don't like the soprano scale but my Flea is fine. I normally play tenors and baritones.
It is my travel uke. Small, handy, gig bag is OK, rugged, no worry uke.
I often travel with a parlor guitar. These fit in the overhead compartment fine. Any size uke should fit without a hitch. For my Australia / Tasmania vacation I'll probably take a concert size Oscar Schmidt. It's my least expensive uke (other than the grandkids Mahalo) and it has a sturdy case.
Cases are just as important as the uke itself. When putting a uke in an overhead compartment , remember that someone else may slam a lap top down on it like a ton of bricks.
In the video linked below, Tyler has another demo of soprano and then tenor size starting at 2:00 min. I love my Risa sop! Perfect for travel: indestructable (go ahead, step on it!), quiet for hotel or airport practice, stows easily in messenger bag/backpack, and want to hear it? Carry along a tiny 5 inch by 4 inch Fender, Hooneytone or other amp with a three foot cord in your suitcase. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBXok9-d1GY
I took a Risa stick on holiday with me recently. I took a Marshall micro amp to play it through but didn't really get chance to play it in the end. I was travelling by train and it all went in my suitcase no problems. I had my Samsung tablet along with all my songs in it.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Dropped by my local music shop but they were all out of their cheapest model (the all-laminated Gretsch soprano). They did have a nice Pono Soprano, but that kind of blows my budget out of the water, especially as this would be a 2nd uke for me. I'm more of a guitarist, so I already have a tenor.