Soprano vs. long neck soprano (help me decide)

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kente777

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So aside from the obvious playability advantages of a concert scale, please help me decide on either a classic soprano or a long neck soprano.

I don't mind playing the smaller scale of a Soprano, but the longer neck makes holding it a little more comfortable on the couch, but I also love the classic soprano twang. How will the longer neck affect the sound?

One caveat, if I get the long neck I will tune down 1/2 step.

I appreciate your thoughts.
 
It will sound a little less like a standard soprano and a little more like a concert due to string tension issues.
 
I thought body size, not scale, was the primary determinate of sound?
 
In addition to the longer neck, the bridge is usually mounted closer to the bottom of the uke. I find that I have to arch my wrist more while strumming to avoid rubbing the bridge. Not a deal-breaker, but take it into consideration. I like the extra fretboard length so it's worth it to me.
 
If you like to pick a melody as well as strum, the longer neck makes it easier, has a touch more sustain & slightly deeper sound, of course depends to a degree on the strings.

It's personal, but I like a long neck, with a low G. :D
 
kente777 said:
So aside from the obvious playability advantages of a concert scale, please help me decide on either a classic soprano or a long neck soprano.

I don't mind playing the smaller scale of a Soprano, but the longer neck makes holding it a little more comfortable on the couch, but I also love the classic soprano twang. How will the longer neck affect the sound?

One caveat, if I get the long neck I will tune down 1/2 step.

I appreciate your thoughts.
Click to expand...


Until recently I played a (Concert Scale) long neck Soprano as my preferred instrument. I found it comfortable to use and easier to carry around than a Concert. My recollection is of the bridge being in virtually the same place on both standard and long neck versions with the extra scale length being taken up in the extended neck. Martin M600 strings are, I believe, suitable for both Soprano and Concert scale lengths so no worries there.

I found the sound of the long neck similar to the Soprano and different from a Concert. MIM has some good long neck Soprano videos for you to check out, well I found them helpful. If my particular long neck Soprano had had a wider neck and wider spaced strings I'd still be playing it so my recommendation is to get one.
 
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A longneck soprano will sound differently compared to a regular soprano from the same builder and made from the same wood. But as none of my sopranos sound the same, nor have the exact same body dimensions (some are deeper or wider), the impact of the scale length on the sound probably can't be generalized. Strings matter also.
 
 
One area I'll touch upon a bit more is the actual need for a concert neck for fret spacing vs. the perception that a soprano neck is less playable becuase of smaller size neck. While there is slightly more space between frets (emphasis on slightly), I have gone back to playing Soprano as much, if not more, than my concert neck ukes. It's just a matter of playing until your fingers/hand positioning adapts to what one may think is too difficult only becuase it's a barrier fretting cleanly in the beginning efforts of a soprano. Especially since I like the that Soprano tone so much that does indeed change some with the tension of a concert neck scale.

Playing the concert had helped me understand it wasn't as much as the space as it was the muscle memory and doing the repetition of finger placement through the repeated exercises of chord fingering slowly and cleanly followed by chord transistion excercises. In the end, I am able to play the soprano as cleanly, fluidly and comfortably than I am on a concert neck through the investment in the time of proper practice.

So if that's part of your reasoning for wanting a long neck, but really want that Soprano tone, my recommendation is to invest the time to get your fingers and hand trained. It's also ok to have both to go back and forth between each and have that variety in tone as well.
 
Do what I did. Get both and then spend the rest of your days trying to figure out which is better :wallbash:
 
Some great comments, people! I've already decided I'm getting both. I think I'm going KoAloha for Soprano, and a Kanile'a for super Soprano.
 
ukuleleden said:
One area I'll touch upon a bit more is the actual need for a concert neck for fret spacing vs. the perception that a soprano neck is less playable becuase of smaller size neck. While there is slightly more space between frets (emphasis on slightly), I have gone back to playing Soprano as much, if not more, than my concert neck ukes. It's just a matter of playing until your fingers/hand positioning adapts to what one may think is too difficult only becuase it's a barrier fretting cleanly in the beginning efforts of a soprano. Especially since I like the that Soprano tone so much that does indeed change some with the tension of a concert neck scale.

Playing the concert had helped me understand it wasn't as much as the space as it was the muscle memory and doing the repetition of finger placement through the repeated exercises of chord fingering slowly and cleanly followed by chord transistion excercises. In the end, I am able to play the soprano as cleanly, fluidly and comfortably than I am on a concert neck through the investment in the time of proper practice.

So if that's part of your reasoning for wanting a long neck, but really want that Soprano tone, my recommendation is to invest the time to get your fingers and hand trained. It's also ok to have both to go back and forth between each and have that variety in tone as well.
Click to expand...

I can't argue with the above and actually find a lot of truth in it. On my travels through half a dozen or so ukes I've found that for me the spacing between the strings is the limiting factor on whether I can play a Soprano happily or not. I enjoy the sound of my Soprano but it is (still) more difficult to play than my Concert sized Uke. My Concert Uke has a wide neck and (more importantly) wide spaced strings which are much easier to practice on and hence more gets done; the resultant improvement means that my Soprano also becomes easier to play, but with my fat fingers the space between strings seems to place a hard physical limit on what will eventually be possible for me to do.

They are rare but when I find one to try out and one that isn't too expensive then I'll most likely add a wide neck (wide string spaced) Soprano to my stable.
 
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I've got 4 super-sopranos....it's my favorite size as I like to play standing up and don't like straps. The smaller body makes holding it easier and I like the longer scale length.
Try it...you'll like it!
Cheers!
 
Graham Greenbag said:
I can't argue with the above and actually find a lot of truth in it. On my travels through half a dozen or so ukes I've found that for me the spacing between the strings is the limiting factor on whether I can play a Soprano happily or not. I enjoy the sound of my Soprano but it is (still) more difficult to play than my Concert sized Uke. My Concert Uke has a wide neck and (more importantly) wide spaced strings which are much easier to practice on and hence more gets done; the resultant improvement means that my Soprano also becomes easier to play, but with my fat fingers the space between strings seems to place a hard physical limit on what will eventually be possible for me to do.

They are rare but when I find one to try out and one that isn't too expensive then I'll most likely add a wide neck (wide string spaced) Soprano to my stable.
Click to expand...

Islander ukes have wider than average 1.5" width at the nut, as do a few other brands/models such as the Kala Elite line and Leolani. That may help with the width, but there sure is nothing wrong going with a Super Soprano if that is the most comfortable for you.
 
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