Long Neck Soprano

Down Up Dick

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What's a long neck soprano? (a tall, graceful gangster? Ha Ha?). No really, is it a soprano with a concert neck? If so, what's the point? Why not just buy a soprano or a concert. What am I missing?
 
Yes, soprano with a concert, or sometimes even a tenor, neck. The point is to get the sound of a soprano with the fretting ease of a longer fretboard.
 
Yep, soprano with a concert neck. Some of the reasons why I've heard include having either more frets, or a bit more room on the fretboard for bigger hands, while still retaining a soprano sound from the smaller body. There are also tenor-neck concert ukes for the same reason, and I think I've even heard of a baritone-neck tenor.
 
Hmmm, well I hate to admit it, but my old ears don't hear that much difference between a soprano and a concert. My concert is louder than my soprano, but I don't hear much difference. Maybe somethin' they make for those stricken with massive UAS? I dunno . . . I 'll have to investigate further.
 
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Hmmm, well I hate to admit it, but my old ears don't hear that much difference between a soprano and a concert. My concert is louder than my soprano, but I don't hear much difference. Maybe somethin' they make for those stricken with massive UAS? I dunno . . . I 'll have to investigate further.

I tend to feel the same - my concert ukes are louder and the notes ring for a bit longer than on a soprano, but it's not a dramatic difference like for instance comparing a soprano ukulele to a baritone would be.
 
I guess it depends on the two instruments being compared but I have noticed quite a bit of difference in sound between a soprano and concert. I have one long neck soprano and another on the way, I like the extra finger room of the concert neck.

There is a youtube video from MyaMoe where Gordon and Aaron are talking about the sound difference between a regular soprano and a long neck soprano. They state there is a 23% increase in string tension because of the longer scale length and it does influence the sound, they both like it better.
 
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I just played both, and they're even about the same loudness. Well, all, thanks for the info. I'll have to spend my Uke money on somethin' else. :cheers:
 
Maybe somethin' they make for those stricken with massive UAS? I dunno . . . I 'll have to investigate further.
You could be on to something there. I have one with two more on the way. The first is hence up for sale. I think you should start your investigation with a Kala SLNG. :p
 
I just played both, and they're even about the same loudness. Well, all, thanks for the info. I'll have to spend my Uke money on somethin' else. :cheers:

The only reason I went for a long neck was the extra fretting room. If you have a soprano you like then there really isn't any reason for a long neck. I am glad you are looking at other ukes, we must keep the economy rolling ;)
 
On the other hand, sometimes it is just a person's hearing. To me, the differences are obvious. The long neck soprano a fuller sound, just of a touch of the concert (you have to be able to hear the difference in the first place). As has been said, the same with the other sizes. Having recently been fully tested for hearing problems, I have become sensitive to the different kinds of "deafness." Some are tone related, some loudness related, etc. On the other hand, sometimes it takes a while for your ears to get used to hearing sonic subtleties. It sometimes also relates to how many ukes a person has heard, including their quality, tone woods, strings, etc. I can still remember the day I laid down my Pono concert and picked up and played a Kanilea. Wow, what a learning experience. Some people's hearing is so good that they can hear the differences in short order, others take time, certainly more than a few months. With some folks, it takes as long as it takes.
 
Well, Phil, I'm old, and I was a radio operator for 10 years or so. It's a wonder I can hear any of my Ukes at all. And Jim, tenors are just a bit too big for me. Like Goldilocks, I find the concert juuuust right (she was only a so-so ukeist too).
 
For those of you who have both types of instruments, how does the long-neck soprano compare to the standard as far as sustain when you go up the neck? From my experience, most sopranos get kind of "plunky" as you play nearer the body. Sort of sustain, etc.
 
Yeah Dick, I was a Morse Intercept Operator and have some tinnitus thrown into the mix. I also love a concert size. My hands aren't very big either. I'm guessing the better made the uke, the easier to hear the subtleties.
 
For me the issue is room for big hands and fingers on the fretboard. I love my standard soprano, but its real tight for me. The concert size opens up the frets just enough to allow comfortable fingering. I played a tenor in lieu of my soprano for just that reason. Now I've discovered that the concert size gives me the soprano sound I love, and the room to play.
 
For me it the appeal of a soprano long neck is the concert neck with "shangalang" of a soprano. I get the extra real-estate of the longer fretboard and a bit of extra sustain.
 
That sounds interesting! Perhaps the next soprano on the building plantera needs the concert-scale neck. I am in the process of doing that to a soprano banjo-uke t hat came to me with a bad neck. Hmmm
 
Me too, Phil, on the MIO for a while, but I got away. I hear a constant hum or my pulse all the time. It gets on my nerves sometimes, and knowing my pulse rate all the time scares me at times.
My hands are pretty much medium; I have a heck of a time trying to play chords on the baritone--big stretch. But I mostly fingerpick it. I don't play it much as I'd rather sing and accompany myself with chords.

Hey George, you got a National Steel Uke? I think I read that somewhere. Wow! Is it loud? Do you play blues
on it? I'd like to have one, but not yet. I gotta play better to spend that much.
 
All you Folks seem to be really honed in on the sounds of your Ukes. To whom do you play? Is your "sound" for your audience or for your own ear or do you just play?

French Horn players debate the merits of silver horns over brass, and some trumpet players swear by rotary valve trumpets. Yet no one in the audience ever hears the difference.

If you play wired or miked, doesn't that change the sounds of your Uke? So why be so nitty picky over minute differences in the Uke? I mostly play to sing, or whistle, or play my harps (not too much yet), and, if the chords are right and have no thunks, I'm happy. I'm not criticizing, just wondering how others think.
 
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