Guitalele players

Hey all. I've been searching, but not finding the answers I'm looking for, so I thought I'd ask all you ukulele folks that also have played, or are playing a guitalele.

Background... I've been missing from this forum lately because I've been playing a lot more guitar lately. I still play the uke, but only once a week during the meetup group I go to. I am now teaching guitar, and have had more of a need to play guitar (and other instruments) instead of the uke. And, to be completely honest, I've become a little bored with the ukulele. I've not given up on it, but on the rare occasion I have time, I play one of my other types of stringed instruments. Also, since I am teaching guitar, I am needing to concentrate more on that particular instrument.

So... I just purchased a Cordoba Guilele cheap, due to a rough repair, to play at the meetups instead of the uke, for now. I've not received it yet, but I was wondering how it will be, playing the uke and the guitar. I mean, have you all gotten confused by this, especially guitar players? I know it's like having a guitar capo'd at the 5th fret, but I already get confused when I've been playing guitar all week, and then at the meetup, I play guitar fingerings on a soprano uke. I do have a baritone uke which I've been using, but then, I eventually want to play the same soprano chords on the baritone.

When I go between my guitar, banjo and mandolin, I have no problems transitioning between them, but between the guitar and the uke, my brain just doesn't want to adjust.

So, if I could read of your experiences, I would thoroughly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Dan

There is a low G available for the soprano size. It may help with your mental gymnastics. I know it helped me with the tenor size and the guitar and the baritone uke switching every other week end.

baritone ukulele is great because if you play guitar you don't have to do to much mental straining or transposing of chords that may help you.

my experience trying guitarlele is that it's just like playing a capoed guitar so all your guitar chord shapes will be the same just that the chord name changes. so playing will be fine but it may take a while to transpose I really think baritone is a good choice especially if you do reentrant d u will get a nice uke sound but deep but all the chord shapes are guitar chord shapes minus the e and a strings.

You can also try LaBella's fractional strings.
The guitarlele can be tuned EADGBE.
I have used them and suggested them to friends.
They are a little loose, but very playable. Some folks don't like the lower tension.

SailingUke said:

You can also try LaBella's fractional strings.
The guitarlele can be tuned EADGBE.
I have used them and suggested them to friends.
They are a little loose, but very playable. Some folks don't like the lower tension.

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I have also tuned my Guitarlele (Mahalo USG30/GN fixerupper) to EADGBE. As I have written in another thread today I used D'Addario folk nylon with the code EJ33. They are clear trebles with 80/20 bronze basses. Good luck in your quest for the best.

I sold my guitarlele. I thought I would really enjoy it. To me I never could identify a void it filled. I bought it for Xmas and was thrilled when it arrived but not as thrilled as when I sold it.

I never could find a style that it worked well in. I would play guitar, Bari or re-entrant uke instead on some of the songs I was exploring on the guitarlele and I thought they sounded better. Oh well, I had such high hopes for it. Never even have a pang of regret over selling it.

Kanilea and Mele make a baritone scale length guilele, and I believe both are tuned that way as well (Like a gee-tar)

Personally I prefer the tenor scale length and that's why I got a Gretsch, Cordoba, and also my second D-VI on the way (sold the first one, sadness)

Note that the spacing IS smaller on a tenor than if you capo a guitar 5th fret. I don't play a lot of guitar anymore (not that I was ever great) but I don't feel too much issue when I switch between them, it just feels like I get more room on the guitar and don't need to be as accurate.

As for going from guitar or guilele to ukulele, it is a bit more of a hassle, because the strings are spaced so far apart on the ukulele, it's strange at first until your memory brings it back.

Having to re-realize chords when going between them will be a hassle, that's also why I prefer tenor scale guilele, because I am primarily a ukulele player, so I am used to that tuning.

Ukuleleblues said:

I sold my guitarlele. I thought I would really enjoy it. To me I never could identify a void it filled. I bought it for Xmas and was thrilled when it arrived but not as thrilled as when I sold it.

I never could find a style that it worked well in. I would play guitar, Bari or re-entrant uke instead on some of the songs I was exploring on the guitarlele and I thought they sounded better. Oh well, I had such high hopes for it. Never even have a pang of regret over selling it.

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As I have a somewhat sadistic nature at times, I thought I'd try to see if I could give you a pang or two .

We're putting the final touches on our "Eddie Freeman Special Guilele" set and should release it next week. When we do, we'll send out a String Tips letter with the details. For now, I'll just say that the tuning will be e a d' g b e'. This set-up makes the Guilele a viable acoustic instrument, and the stringing makes it much more responsive and enjoyable to play.

Feel any twinges Bluesboy?

southcoastukes said:

As I have a somewhat sadistic nature at times, I thought I'd try to see if I could give you a pang or two .

We're putting the final touches on our "Eddie Freeman Special Guilele" set and should release it next week. When we do, we'll send out a String Tips letter with the details. For now, I'll just say that the tuning will be e a d' g b e'. This set-up makes the Guilele a viable acoustic instrument, and the stringing makes it much more responsive and enjoyable to play.

Feel any twinges Bluesboy?

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With that string tuning isn't that a guitar? I guess I don't understand what makes a guitarlele. Anyway good luck on your release I hope you sell a lot and it is a big success for you. Post a pic/vid when you get a chance. Best wishes!

Ukuleleblues said:

With that string tuning isn't that a guitar?...

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I wrote that out in standard notation. Eddie Freeman tuning is what might be called "mid-reentrant". In this case the 4,5 & 6 are an octave above the guitar octave, & then the other notes drop down to the same octave as a standard 6-string.

I have a Yamaha Guitalele. I have played classical guitar and mandolin as well as four sizes of uke.

I find the guitalele neck to be cramped to my fretting hand.

I picked up a Gretsch a couple months back. It has been great fun - although I have yet to play it in an ensemble setting.

I now force myself to learn tunes on the ukulele, guitalele and guitar simultaneously. I work on each version in the original key rather than take the easy way out and transpose up/down a fourth.

southcoastukes said:

As I have a somewhat sadistic nature at times, I thought I'd try to see if I could give you a pang or two .

We're putting the final touches on our "Eddie Freeman Special Guilele" set and should release it next week. When we do, we'll send out a String Tips letter with the details. For now, I'll just say that the tuning will be e a d' g b e'. This set-up makes the Guilele a viable acoustic instrument, and the stringing makes it much more responsive and enjoyable to play.

Feel any twinges Bluesboy?

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OOoh, I would be interested in trying those out. It would make going from guitar to guilele a no-brainer. Heck, I could, wait for it..., put the ukes away for a spell and play nothing but guitar, even at the weekly meetups. I, for one, will be keeping my eyes open for those strings. Thanks for the heads up on that.

Dan

dhoenisch said:

OOoh, I would be interested in trying those out. It would make going from guitar to guilele a no-brainer. Heck, I could, wait for it..., put the ukes away for a spell and play nothing but guitar, even at the weekly meetups. I, for one, will be keeping my eyes open for those strings. Thanks for the heads up on that.

Dan

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Yes Yes. Me too. I really like the octave higher idea .....Dirk Wormhoudt wrote ""Eddie Freeman tuning is what might be called "mid-reentrant"" Regards
Jim

If you tune a guitarlele EADGBE, you lose the lele. Just buy a guitar.

I love my Islander GL6, but there are still tunes which I've been playing on guitar for years that just don't translate. Tears in the Rain, by Joe Satriani, for example. It just sounds totally wrong played 5 frets up. Guitar pieces that rely on a strong, resonant bass as part of the piece don't translate well at all.

It's a lovely, valid instrument in its own right. But it isn't a ukulele, and if you're not expecting a ukulele, you won't be disappointed.

The Big Kahuna said:

It's a lovely, valid instrument in its own right. But it isn't a ukulele, and if you're not expecting a ukulele, you won't be disappointed.

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I feel like it's an ukulele, albeit a hybrid one. The whole feel, look, and tone, it speaks to me like an ukulele does. But maybe that's because I only play ADGCEA guilele.

***Update***

I received my Guilele on Saturday and did a set-up on the instrument, so it plays well. In fact, it's a pretty fun little instrument.

However...

Last night, I played it at the ukulele meetup. After 45 minutes, I put the guilele down, walked out to my car and grabbed my Outdoor Uke. I was so confused with the guilele. I kept wanting to play guitar chords on it. When I had to play a C chord, I ended up playing an F since the fingerings for a C chord on a guitar is an F on the ukulele and guielele, and so on. I'd be playing the song just fine, and as soon as I got comfortable with it and got into the song, my fingers immediately started making guitar chords. I just can't seem to get it. Throughout the night, I did switch to the guilele to play some of the simpler songs to get myself used to it, but even then, I'd wander into the realm of the guitar after getting into the song.

So, I need to get my hands on the standard guitar tuning guilele strings, otherwise, the guilele may be up for sale. Since I got it cheap, I'll be able to get my money back, which is why I jumped on it in the first place. Or, maybe I'll just keep it around for myself when nobody else will be playing, and I can just go at it on my own.

Dan

dhoenisch said:

So, I need to get my hands on the standard guitar tuning guilele strings, otherwise, the guilele may be up for sale. Since I got it cheap, I'll be able to get my money back, which is why I jumped on it in the first place. Or, maybe I'll just keep it around for myself when nobody else will be playing, and I can just go at it on my own.
Dan

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Hello Dan,

Don't sell it yet!. We just released the EFS Guilele set referenced above. That should clear up the "chord confusion".

After years of playing both guitar and uke I still sometimes get confused and start playing the guitar chords on the uke. Doesn't happen often but every now and then I drift.