Concert or Tenor? I'm a guitar player

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m2jang

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Hello, Ukulele Underground!

I have just got introduced to this ukulele world. I have posted something about buying Kala. However, with the experienced I had with guitar, I decided to buy a ukulele that would last me. I want to play songs by Jake Shimabukuro and Fuchigami. So I thought I wanted to by a tenor Ukulele (Either Kamaka HF-3 or Koaloha KTM-00). However, I listened to some clips about Koaloha KCM, which looked great. I am hoping to eventually get a custom tenor down the road (like 2 years,,, once I have some money).

So i'm debating if I should get concert ukulele or tenor ukulele for my first instrument. Can people play Jake's and Fuchigami's song comfortably on Concert ukulele?
 
m2jang, I'm also coming to ukulele from a (classical) guitar background. I decided to get a concert size because I wanted the portability of a smaller instrument. I've only been playing it for a few days, but I suspect I will eventually end up playing tenor, and think that might have been a more comfortable transition. (I don't regret getting the concert to travel with though.) Another factor is that I do miss the lower resonances of the guitar. I think eventually I will want to go to a low G to reclaim some of those overtones and expand the range. I suspect that the tenor carries the low G better than the concert size, but maybe some folks could comment on that who have experienced it first hand already!

Jamie
 
Eventually you'll probably have one of each.

For me, coming from classical guitar, I would recommend a temor scale with a low g fluorocarbon non wound low g.

Even at a tenor size the instrument is small enough to fit in an airplane overhead compartment and to play just about anywhere.

And again coming from guitars you will find tenor scale quite comfortable.
 
After playing guitar for almost 50 years, I started playing ukulele about 5-6 months ago with a Maholo soprano, but I didn't know anything about sizes at the time. Within days I realized the frets on the Mahalo were too tight for me. In reading up on ukes, I felt tenor would be best for me, and succumbing to UAS, I now have eight exactly the same configuration but different woods (see my signature below).
 
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I started on guitar and when I started ukulele it was as a secondary instrument. For years a soprano was adequate for sing alongs and occasional finger-picking. When I started playing more melodies I got a tenor but for some reason tenors and I never bonded. The ukulele is fun as a contrast to the guitar and the small size is part of the fun for me. Over time I've gravitated to the concert size as offering a little more of a fretboard but still the small size, yet a bit more to hold.

In the beginning, as a guitar player low G seemed more natural, but after spending more time with the uke I much prefer the high G. The uke is technically a small guitar but it is a unique instrument. The small size and reentrant tuning are part of its uniqueness.
 
I play with a lot of musicians who played guitar before uke, and most (if not all) strongly prefer tenor over concert. Worth noting: the majority are guys, with typical guy-sized hands.

I'm not a guy and I've got little hands, and I play a couple of Jake songs on soprano. If you're comfortable with the size of a concert uke, there should be nothing stopping you from doing the same.
 
m2jang said:
Hello, Ukulele Underground!

I have just got introduced to this ukulele world. I have posted something about buying Kala. However, with the experienced I had with guitar, I decided to buy a ukulele that would last me. I want to play songs by Jake Shimabukuro and Fuchigami. So I thought I wanted to by a tenor Ukulele (Either Kamaka HF-3 or Koaloha KTM-00). However, I listened to some clips about Koaloha KCM, which looked great. I am hoping to eventually get a custom tenor down the road (like 2 years,,, once I have some money).

So i'm debating if I should get concert ukulele or tenor ukulele for my first instrument. Can people play Jake's and Fuchigami's song comfortably on Concert ukulele?
Click to expand...


I would start with baritone actually it's tuned like a guitar
and the chord shapes and the same just the names of guitar chords
so it will make transitioning easier
and you can string it up with special
sets to gcea and get two instruments in one.
 
I've been a guitar player for 55 years. For myself, I like a thin, radiused low action neck tenor with linear(low G) wound 3&4 Southcoast strings.

If you want to play songs like Jake, he uses a high g strung tenor.
 
itsme said:
But a lot of Jake's stuff uses more frets than a soprano has.
Click to expand...

I have a 19-fret soprano :) But you make a good point - if the OP goes with a concert uke, the number of frets may be a consideration.
 
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I was a long time guitar player who moved to ukulele as a second instrument; my first uke was a Pono PCS deluxe concert, but I quickly moved up to tenor scale.

I would recommend a high G strung (reentrant) tenor as it has, to me at least, the traditional ukulele "sound".

Having said that I have several Compass Rose tenor ukes strung low G (linear), that I absolutely LOVE, but they sound less like a traditional uke than the ukes strung with high G.
 
You want to play like Jake, get a tenor. If you want to play like Neal, get a soprano. Both are awesome inspirations.
 
You should be happy with either. There are both concert and tenor necked sopranos if you want the soprano sound. I personally like the concert best, but play all 3 sizes regularly. Google "ukulele for guitar players" for lots of perspective/
 
I came from the guitar, as well. I really like the Concert size, it feels like a ukulele (rather than a small guitar) but projects like a guitar (not exactly, of course, but they can get loud). That being said, you'll most likely end up with multiples. The one problem I've found is that there are a lot of choices in Soprano and Tenor in terms of wood and which company, but fewer in Concert. One thing I would recommend, though, is to pay attention to the finish. I prefer satin, not everyone does, but I got used to it with a guitar. I can't slide on a gloss neck, I know it's possible, I just can't do it. Satin will be harder to find among upper end instruments. In my experience, anyway.
 
Your experience may be different, but I'm sold on tenor ukes.

I started with a concert uke but simply found it too small for comfort.
 
Meljoe said:
My suggestion is go to the nearest music shop that sells different sizes of ukulele. Try all of them and you decide which one fits for you.. :)
Click to expand...

Best advice I've seen thus far. Try before you buy.
 
I played guitar for 35 years before ukuleles. I haven't picked up a guitar in two years. I tried all the ukulele sizes and they're all fun. Same with lots of different tunings. Right now my preference is tenors in reentrant C. I use the entire fretboard so the tenor is comfortable. The high G also allows me to play Campanella style music where the melody is played on different strings for each note. That makes the uke sound like a harp. Each of my tenors has a unique tone due to different build designs and tone woods used.

Peter Hurney of Pohaku makes a hybrid soprano/concert called a Concert 10. It's a big soprano. If I ever go small again it will be with one of those.
 
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geelinus said:
Your experience may be different, but I'm sold on tenor ukes.

I started with a concert uke but simply found it too small for comfort.
Click to expand...

me too, but I HAVE AT LEAST one of each size. another consideration is the neck width, a wider neck makes the soprano easier to play [for me] If you want a nice tenor, I have a new Koaloha for sale in the marketplace. you will have a hard time finding a nicer playing and sounding uke. [shameless self promotion]
 
I would buy a tenor one stringed with high g.
 
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