I always love these type of threads. Some of the comments are truly brilliant, and reflect how passionately people can feel about their instrument of choice. When I first started playing a couple years ago, I bought a tenor, as I thought that size would make for an easier transition from the guitar. I didn't like the feel of the added string tension--it just didn't seem natural to me, almost awkward. This is kinda funny as the string tension on acoustic guitars are so much greater. So I went down one size to a concert scale and found a happy medium. I played that instrument for a few months and started to develop UAS--quite a common of a problem for us--but couldn't justify spending more than $200 to the wife. Plus, I was also looking for a ukulele that was small enough to travel with, so I settled on an Ohana-SK35. That was it for me! The soprano is the quintessential ukulele, in terms of sound. I am NOT bashing other sizes, as they each have their place; I do think tenors are better suited for the soloist. But nothing sounds more like an ukulele to my ears than a soprano. Plus they make great traveling companions. I live on the west coast, but both my wife's family and and mine live on the east coast, so holiday travel for us is in the air. My soprano is small enough to slide under the front seat when we fly, so it is able to go everywhere with me. I do not find most chords to be difficult to play, though I did have to readjust my playing technique to account for the tighter fret spacing. But this only took a few months of practice, and now I can play comfortably up to the 7 fret...beyond that, some barre chords just don't work too well. Still I do not find that to be a limiting factor when playing songs. I later sold my concert to fund the purchase of a Kiwaya KTS-4. What a great instrument, though at some point, I hope to purchase a vintage Martin S1 or S2.
