DiscGolfGuy
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- Jun 15, 2018
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I've got an older (I'd guess around 60) tennis buddy that used to play guitar but gave it up about 25 years ago. He said he recently tried to pick it back up and his "fingers won't allow him to play it like he used to."
He said he now has trouble keeping his fingers steady on each string, with them now moving a little (maybe the hand strength is no longer there to hold the string down?), touching the string above or below.
We got to talking and I mentioned I had been reading up on ukuleles and that I felt like he might not have this problem with a uke, maybe a concert or tenor (I mentioned baritone but he didn't want something that large...maybe it's too close to a guitar for him) , because I thought the strings were further apart than a guitar.
He seemed very intrigued with the uke so we discussed it a little more. I told him I wasn't an expert but knew a lot of people that were. I tried to get as many details from him as possible.
From those details it seems like he wants to try a uke that has the strings further apart than a guitar (so his fingers are less likely to touch other strings) and has strings that don't take a huge amount of strength to hold in the correct position.
I started to offer advice based on what I've read in one book and some of the advice you all have given me, but decided it would be smarter to leave the recommendations to you experts!
So, should I tell him to look at a concert size or tenor size?
btw: he said he's willing to spend up to $140
Thanks!!!
edit: after reading the first couple of replies I wondered: would a concert size (small stretch horizontally and less string tension) with a wider nut width (1.5", less likely to touch other strings when fingering chords) be a nice fit for him?
If so, are there certain brands that have a wider nut width or is it something he would need to check on with each model? Any quality ones in his price range?
DGGuy
He said he now has trouble keeping his fingers steady on each string, with them now moving a little (maybe the hand strength is no longer there to hold the string down?), touching the string above or below.
We got to talking and I mentioned I had been reading up on ukuleles and that I felt like he might not have this problem with a uke, maybe a concert or tenor (I mentioned baritone but he didn't want something that large...maybe it's too close to a guitar for him) , because I thought the strings were further apart than a guitar.
He seemed very intrigued with the uke so we discussed it a little more. I told him I wasn't an expert but knew a lot of people that were. I tried to get as many details from him as possible.
From those details it seems like he wants to try a uke that has the strings further apart than a guitar (so his fingers are less likely to touch other strings) and has strings that don't take a huge amount of strength to hold in the correct position.
I started to offer advice based on what I've read in one book and some of the advice you all have given me, but decided it would be smarter to leave the recommendations to you experts!
So, should I tell him to look at a concert size or tenor size?
btw: he said he's willing to spend up to $140
Thanks!!!
edit: after reading the first couple of replies I wondered: would a concert size (small stretch horizontally and less string tension) with a wider nut width (1.5", less likely to touch other strings when fingering chords) be a nice fit for him?
If so, are there certain brands that have a wider nut width or is it something he would need to check on with each model? Any quality ones in his price range?
DGGuy
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