Eight string ukulele

ladypriest

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Hello. I'm shopping for a tenor ukulele as arthritis has made playing guitar difficult for me now. As I shop, I've ran across eight string ukuleles. I'm having a difficult time researching if the neck is the same size as a guitar or smaller? Does anyone know if the neck is as wide? I also see six string ukuleles but they all have Kulu electronics and I don't want anything acoustic, if that is what that means. The salesperson I am working with is not a knowledgable as I would like but I'm limited to using this one particular music store. Thank you.
 
An eight-string instrument will require a greater strength of grip, simply because there's more strings to push down, especially if you're strumming chords rather than playing medley.
I don't have an eight-string ukulele, but my mandolin has a similar neck-width to my tenor ukulele, if that's any help, about 34mm, whereas my guitars are closer to 40mm.
For what it's worth, I too suffer from arthritis in my left hand and often find it easier to play my steel-strung guitar for extended periods than my ukulele, but that may simply be down to being "moulded" to the guitar that I've had since the early '70's, the ukuleles are a much more recent entertainment ;)

Is it possible to advertise locally for a 5 or 10 minute "borrow" of a few instruments, just to try them for comfort?

Good luck :music:
 
When talking about 5/6/8 string ukes, these still only have four courses with doubled up strings.

Tenor ukes usually have the tightest strings with the most tension, but you can use concert strings to alleviate some of the tension, & fluorocarbons strings too.

You mention that you don't want anything acoustic, but that is the majority of ukes. :confused:

Another possibility is to look at the baritone uke, same notes as a guitar, just minus the 2 lower strings.
 
Thank you so much for the information. This has been extremely helpful. The reason I mentioned a tenor ukulele is because I told someone who was apparently well informed on ukulele's that my voice was either alto, or lower and he said I should buy a tenor. Suggesting a baritone uke is a wonderful idea. I didn't even think about the different types of strings. When I was talking acoustic, I meant I don't want to have to plug anything into a speaker. I just want a mellow, smooth uke that's well made, strung properly and will last. I write music and I've not been able to use my guitar because of arthritis in shoulders and wrists so I've not been able to create the melodies. Thank you again.
 
I replied earlier to your post but it somehow disappeared. Anyway, thank you so much for mentioning the mandolin. That was extremely helpful. I was going to buy a mandolin but I wasn't sure if I wanted to learn a new instrument all over again. The arthritis is also in my shoulders so even holding the guitar has been difficult. It's not possible for me to borrow a few instruments but I did find a music store where I might be able to check a few out. And I didn't realize that an eight string would require a stronger grip. Thank you for mentioning that.
 
Thank you so much for the information. This has been extremely helpful. The reason I mentioned a tenor ukulele is because I told someone who was apparently well informed on ukulele's that my voice was either alto, or lower and he said I should buy a tenor. Suggesting a baritone uke is a wonderful idea. I didn't even think about the different types of strings. When I was talking acoustic, I meant I don't want to have to plug anything into a speaker. I just want a mellow, smooth uke that's well made, strung properly and will last. I write music and I've not been able to use my guitar because of arthritis in shoulders and wrists so I've not been able to create the melodies. Thank you again.

I have an 8 string concert taropatch uke from Pono and love it. It does take a bit more umph to play 8 strings over 4 but it isn't bad compared to a steel string 6 or 12 string guitar. A baritone with flourocarbon or other strings might be the best fit though. A tenor is tuned just like a concert or soprano but has a more space to finger chords. I also have a Martin tenor and both that uke and my taropatch have a pretty thin neck. I haven't played a baritone though.
 
Thank you. I did play a 12 string guitar back in the 80's. I found some YouTube videos on taropatch and also tenor vs soprano vs baritone. I have a lot more research to do. The 8 string did sound nice but I'm thinking I'll start with a 4 while learning and then add to my family of ukulele's once I get good. I do like the taropatch videos I've watched. Thanks again.
 
What is it about guitar that is causing the most difficulty? High string tension? Longer scale? The number of strings? Width of the neck?

If you want to stick with 6 strings, there are some shorter scale options you may want to consider like baritone scale guileles or "parlor guitars".
 
Thank you for your reply. The arthritis in my right shoulder and right elbow makes it impossible for me to extend my arm over the guitar whether I'm sitting or standing. My ortho doc and we even worked on my resting my right leg on a stool but no matter what, the pain was too severe. Same goes with the wrists. Besides width of the neck, I do have difficulty putting pressure on the strings so I'm beginning to think that although an eight string is what I had hoped for in the first place, I might need to rethink that idea. I need something small that I can rest in my lap, and a longer extension from shoulder to the body.
 
I think you should try to get to a Guitar Center and try some things like Cordoba Mini and Yamaha GL-1 to see if a small bodied 6 string would work. FWIW, I happen to have a Mini for sale at the moment, but it has a wide classical neck so may not work for you.
 
Thank you. I think you're right. I need to try a few out first. I found a music center about ten miles from where I live but I have credit with Sweetwater so that's where I need to shop. I need to stick with a narrow neck.
 
What puzzles me is why eight strings? Surely using eight rather than four is going to put additional load on hands that are already suffering and won’t instruments designed for eight strings be a built a bit heavier than those with four strings. I don’t doubt that the OP will have her reasons but sharing them might allow helpful comments.
 
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The reason I mentioned a tenor ukulele is because I told someone who was apparently well informed on ukulele's that my voice was either alto, or lower and he said I should buy a tenor.

A few things to add:

1) whoever told you to buy a tenor due to vocal range doesn’t know what they are talking about. Soprano, concert, and tenor ukuleles are all generally tuned the same (some have a low G), and while baritone is lower (DGBE) a chord is still a chord...so your vocal range has zero impact on what instrument to buy. If anything, be concerned about what key you are singing in.

2) A properly set up eight string ukulele is no harder to play than a four string. Picking individual notes due to the double courses of strings is harder, as is isolating strings for tuning. That said, if you have any ukulele that hasn’t been set up (at least to average tolerances), it is going to be more difficult to play regardless of the number of strings.

3) Most of us use too much tension as we play...the ukulele really needs a minimum of effort to cleanly play a fretted note. My guess is that you could experiment on any ukulele and see how lightly you could press and still get a clean sound. You might be surprised—and relatively pain free.
 
Thank you for your reply. I'm trying to share as much as I can about myself. Because of all these wonderful replies I did in fact, make note that I'll try different ukes with less strings so I apologize if I wasn't forthcoming enough. I played a twelve string guitar for many years and I was hoping I didn't have to give that up completely. That is why I was thinking I might be able to continue to capture my music with an eight string uke. Thank you again for taking the time to respond.
 
Thank you for your reply. Yes, I agree about the a properly set up eight string uke as far as difficulty playing. My arthritis does not prevent me from picking. I think I have my choices narrowed down and your post has been extremely helpful. Thank you again. I really appreciate your input.
 
Of all the common uke sizes (soprano, concert, tenor, bari), tenors have the highest string tension. Sopranos and baris are pretty low. If the bari size still works with your arthritis, that might be your best option. But even a tenor uke will have less string tension than a standard steel-string guitar, so it might work for you if the smaller body size is a benefit. Like other have aid, go to a store and try a bunch out.

- FiL
 
If it's any help, I have just recently bought a parlour guitar. It has a narrower neck width at the nut and also a shorter scale, both of which factors make it easier to play than a standard size guitar. Generally speaking, the neck width at the nut is less on a uke than it is on any guitar; although, I did have a guitalele once and that was actually as wide or wider at the nut than a guitar. I find the baritone size uke the most comfortable to play and I think you would probably find it the most familiar as you are coming from a guitar background.
 
I have a baritone that I enjoy very much, but I’m mostly a fingerpicker and don’t strum much. I think the chords for it would be close to guitar chords. It’s size might bother your arthritis though. I have it in my neck, and I have trouble looking at my fretting hand sometimes.

The uke’s size shouldn’t have anything to do with your voice’s pitch. All ya gotta do is play in the proper key.

I have a tenor 8 string, but I don’t play it much. As I said before, I mostly fingerpick and don’t care to do it on the 8 string. I’m also not crazy about tenors (or sopranos). I’m a concert man. The’re just the right size for me.

If I were you, I would certainly go somewhere and try some ukes as the others have suggested.
:eek:ld:
 
If you are just starting with the uke from guitar, you might want to go with a baritone as the tuning is similar to a guitar so you don't have to learn so many new chords.

With the GCEA tuned ukes, I would not get an 8 string. It gives a bigger sound but more hassle to tune and change strings. Does it take more effort to play? I don't know.
 
With the GCEA tuned ukes, I would not get an 8 string. It gives a bigger sound but more hassle to tune and change strings. Does it take more effort to play? I don't know.

As the owner of an 8 string, that's largely untrue.

They are no more difficult to play than a 4 string.

They are not particularly difficult to tune. Yes it takes a little longer but o more difficult. Same with changing strings.

It does give a bigger sound but the pairs of strings also give a fuller sound. I actually prefer mine tuned with just the G strings in octaves, though I currently have mine tune DGBE
 
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