Why no Uke body size between Concert and Tenor?

Warbulele

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I wonder why no one makes Ukes with bodies that are bigger than a Concert, but not as big as a Tenor?
It seems like a logical size niche to me, since many Concerts could just just a smidge more bass, but don't need to make the leap to Tenor size, which would change the sound more dramatically.

I know about Concerts with Tenor necks, but what I'm suggesting would have a neck size between Concert and Tenor, as well as a body that was physically between the two sizes as well.
 
I played an antique Gibson that was considered a tenor, but was actually sized between concert and tenor. It was an amazing instrument, and felt perfect in my hands. :drool:
 
I have seen reference to a "grand concert", which has a "dreadnought" style body with a large waist. Kamoa has one. Perhaps someone knows of others & more about them.
 
They already have 4 shapes so I don't know if there would be a large market to make a tweener..then there needs to be one between a sop & concert
 
1) T's ukulele mini tenor: body size and scale length are in between concert and tenor.
2) Boat Paddle concert ML style: concert scale, body size between concert and tenor
 
Thanks everyone for these examples, I've got some listening to do :) I did listen to a couple of recordings of the ohta-san, and it sounds like what I mean, like a bassier concert. Cool!

Noogdam - I think it's safe to assume that's probably why most companies don't do it, but I can't tell you how many times I was listening to ukuleles (when I was shopping for my uke) thinking "man this concert would be great, if it just had a little more bass" or "man this tenor has great bass, but it doesn't have enough oomph". Sure, some concerts have more bass, but not many. And very few tenors can project/boom like a concert.
I think it would be a really popular size if it had a good name, and got some exposure. It might be just a matter of the instrument being relatively young compared to guitar, which has more variation in size.
But I could be wrong, that's why I wanted to start this thread, to get people's input. I'll listen to recordings of the ones mentioned, if I can find em, and see if there's any reason the sound might not have caught on. I suspect it has nothing to do with the sound, that it's more like what Noongdam was saying about marketting/sales.
 
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make good better

What you are referring to is already in production in Spain, Portugal and Brazil. It is called Cavaco or Cavaquino. One of the best makers is Giannini of Brazil. There is a wide price range, but even the lower priced ones have a great sound.

Any size ukulele can be tonally improved by taking the tail anchor from being a tie to the bridge to a through the body anchor. Beads are not necessary on the end of the strings if the hole is the right size and a very simple knot is used. It is really an improvement even on the little Mahalo -Makala -Minnow soprano ukuleles.
 
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The Kamaka Ohta-San model kind of fits what you're describing - slightly longer scale length than concert but not as long as tenor, and slightly larger body than a concert uke. These definitely have more bass and sound fantastic for low G picking.


You always take the words right out of my mouth Janeray. Yes, the Kamaka Ohta San is a Super Concert size. I love It.
 
Same here. If I'd known you were going to lead a kanikapila, I would have brought my uke.
 
I obtained a number of "La Paz" cigar boxes which I converted to soprano CB ukes, but always thought the box was a bit large. So I cut down some boxes to what I judged to be a good "soprano" size. Then I decided to go the other way, and worked out the optimum scale length for the box. I decided on 15 3/4" (or 400mm), which is almost half way between concert and tenor. With a front of Western Red Cedar it sounded really good, and felt a good size to handle.
 
I have a Donaldson custom pineapple that is a longscale concert at a 16" scale and I requested a deeper body, and it truly is a really nice size and sounds lovely. Just that little bit easier reach for my old fingers than a tenor makes it a perfect size for me. To my ears though the tenor scale handles a linear tuning better than even a long scale concert. This uke really sings in standard tuning but I wasn't 100% happy with linear, which is true of all my concerts though. So yes it's a great scale and size.
 
Wow I hadn't considred this....now I want the Kamaka Ohta SAn!
 
Even the Kanile'a Concert is a 15 1/4" scale (as is the Islander). Many builders will make a scale to your desired length. (Dave Talsma does for sure). One person listed the Otah Sahn as a super concert. Not really. It's right between Concert and Tenor. A super concert is a concert body with a tenor fretboard/scale (usually).

Kamoa also makes a 16" scale semi-hollow body electric. Seems the in-between size you're asking about can be found anywhere.
 
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