Are thinline ukuleles awkward or weird to play?

mikelz777

mikelz777

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
3,250
Reaction score
3,018
Location
MN metro suburbs
Does it feel awkward or weird to play a thinline ukulele? Would it require much adjusting to how you would play it?

I am an all-concert guy but I do have a concert scale long neck soprano uke. I love it but it does feel kind of weird to play it. My forearm hits the body in a different place and I find that my sleeve and/or wrist area often tend to dampen the strings at the saddle/bridge so I kind of have to bend my wrist a little on my strumming hand to prevent that from happening. I sometimes find myself trying to figure out where to hold it too. (Is more to the right or to the left that's most comfortable?) I was wondering if it was a similar thing with a thinline uke. The body (in my case would be a concert) face would most likely have the same or a very similar profile as my other ukes but the body would certainly be thinner.
 
I recently bought a tenor Lanikai Figured Bocoté (butterfly wood) Thinline after trying a couple of Kala travel ukes that members of my group have. I don't notice any discernible difference in playing it, minor adjustment, but I always use a strap with 2 strap buttons, which helps a lot. I'm amazed at how much projection and sustain the thinlines have, I'm sure due to the curved back they have.

Lanikai Thinline Bocote 800.jpg


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
I don’t find my wife’s Kala concert travel/thin line to be awkward to hold at all. In fact, I’d say it is more comfortable for me than some of the nicer ukes we have in the house.

*not super relevant below, since you’re a concert guy*
That said, I hate with the passionate fire of 1,000 stars the feeling of their tenor size version. The length of the body leaves me wanting more width to hold against my body, and I could never figure out how to hold it to feel “right”, similarly to what you describe in your LN soprano. That said, I haven’t had a chance to hold any other brands’ thin-line ukes in tenor size, so maybe it is just the Kala one I can’t abide?

FWIW, I have the tenor scale soprano from Ohana, and while it takes some adjustment to hold, I actually quite like the way it feels in my arms.
 
Last edited:
I find if I'm playing, leaned back on the couch, in my usual Gerald Ross style, I prefer the thin body, but if you were trying to play it standing up without a strap it might be harder to play, and even sitting upright, I don't feel like I want the thin body as much. Having said all that, I never hung onto any of my thin bodies very long. I like it better in concert and tenor size, less so in soprano size.
 
I have a thin line concert, it has a curved back, & I find it slips about a bit, but you get used to it. :)

I love long necks - 2x concert scale sopranos - 1x tenor scale soprano - 2x tenor scale concerts. :D
 
I prefer playing my slim Brüko soprano to anything else. Seeing as it's what I almost exclusively play, an ordinary ukulele seems absurdly bulky (I exaggerate).
 
I love playing my thin line Kala Travel Soprano. But perhaps it doesn't answer your question as you're hoping for a concert. Kala makes a beautiful thin line travel spruce top spalted maple concert uke with a cutaway.
 
I'm used to playing tenors but recently got a thin line concert Bonanza Oreo. I haven't played a concert since I was a beginner but I was amazingly comfortable with this one right off the bat. The thin line seems to make it comfortable to hold and play so I find myself just picking it up, a lot. The ukulele with all its variety is just wonderful.
 
I had a Bruko 3/4 concert with an arched back and it was one of the most comfortable ukes I've played, especially on the couch. I kind of miss it.

jimavery said:
I prefer playing my slim Brüko soprano to anything else. Seeing as it's what I almost exclusively play, an ordinary ukulele seems absurdly bulky (I exaggerate).
Click to expand...
 
I'm toying with the idea of getting a thinline concert and it would fit into my "if I'm getting another uke it should be something different" motif.

Moving from my concerts to my longneck soprano does take some conscious adjustment to my playing approach. I still have to fiddle around with it to find my comfort zone when playing it due to the body size. A thinline uke would be a different animal. The "playing plane" should be what I'm already used to when playing my other concerts because it will be very similar in body size but I was wondering if it was much of an adjustment playing closer to my body since the body of the uke is thinner. You wouldn't have to lift your elbow/forearm as high away from your body. In that respect, it may be even more comfortable to play than a normal sized body uke. I suppose equally likely, the difference is negligable and both would be comfortable to play if I'm already comfortable playing a uke with a concert sized body.
 
Last edited:
Two ways of looking at 'something different' - concert scaled soprano (which you already have), or a tenor scaled concert, that way you still keep the familiar body size........ ;)

......or, of course, go all out & try a tenor scaled soprano. :)
 
Croaky Keith said:
Two ways of looking at 'something different' - concert scaled soprano (which you already have), or a tenor scaled concert, that way you still keep the familiar body size........ ;)

......or, of course, go all out & try a tenor scaled soprano. :)
Click to expand...

Exploring the mix of body and scale/ neck - I also have a thin body electric ukulele - the Seagull. It has a concert body but a soprano scale. I find it easy to play as the Fretboard and strings make playing easy. However being partially a solid body it's heavier than my other Ukuleles.
 
I have nothing to contribute to this discussion as I've never played a thinline. However, I've got my eye on a Bonanza Oreo. If I get a thinline, that will be it. :)
 
Just got a Kala tenor travel uke. I have been playing it for about a week and it has really opened up. It is extremely loud for its size.
 
I love playing my thinline Kala Travel Soprano. It's fun and easy to play and fairly portable to take places. Plus Kala provides a gig bag. I would even play a bigger thinline ukulele. And I find no sacrifice in sound taking into account it's price point ($200).
 
HMS still has some thin-line mango Rebel ukes in both concert body/tenor neck and soprano body/standard neck. I’ve played the spruce/hog version and found it quite comfy to hold and play.

Iirc, Baz also has a very favorable review of one on his site.

Just sayin’. :rolleyes: ;)
 
Okay just to confuse I'll weigh in. I regularly play soprano and concert. Equally comfortable with both but would probably lean towards soprano if I had to choose most comfortable, and wasn't needing the extra frets of the concert. That said, I have a Kala travel soprano that I never pick up just for fun because - yes it feels weird to hold and isn't as satisfying. I keep it for the ease of having a tiny musical companion I can grab and go without announcing to the world that a kumbaya moment is imminent. I enjoy it for the wow factor that it produces great sound for such a tiny profile. But a daily player or long session -- no!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
What are the nicest "thinline" ukuleles out there?
Replies
6
Views
2K
coolkayaker1
coolkayaker1
KohanMike
Ordered another custom Bruce Wei thinline.
Replies
5
Views
215
Kenn2018
Kenn2018
hands_on_lanzon
Sold Thinline Kinnard Tenor, Cedar/Palo Escrito
Replies
13
Views
842
hands_on_lanzon
hands_on_lanzon
bazmaz
Fanner Pixelator Thinline Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW
Replies
5
Views
453
Eggs_n_Ham
Eggs_n_Ham
C
Sold Price Reduced: Rebel Cheesecake (Spruce/Mahogany Thinline) Tenor
Replies
10
Views
1K
CPG
C
Top Bottom