Ohana super Sopranissimo - Neck conversion

robinfowler

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My last task was to shorten a Kala travel uke.

Today I looked at the Ohana Sopranissimo that I have up for sale - Only reason I am selling is that I like to play std soprano scale.

So my thought was would it be possible to remove the neck on the Sopranissimo and install a std Soprano scale neck? Making a Super Sopranissimo?

How would I remove the existing neck without destroying the Uke?

Any suggestions on what neck would fit well?
 
Robin, would "switching in" a soprano-scale neck necessitate re-locating the bridge, to keep intonation accurate?
 
Robin, would "switching in" a soprano-scale neck necessitate re-locating the bridge, to keep intonation accurate?

Possibly - right now it has a scale smaller than Soprano but can still be tuned to std GCEA tuning - but strings are at relatively low tension. Adding the longer neck would increase the string length (but still not to a full Soprano length) so I am thinking will increase the string tension (Which is good) and should tune OK.

Due to the size of the body even moving the bridge would not make the string length "full" soprano length.
 
Unless you are a luthier, I wouldn't go there, just get another soprano. :)

I've often thought I'd like to try a sopranino, but I personally don't get on with the soprano scale, so have held off, I prefer a long neck soprano, & upwards regarding size.
 
Although that would certainly be possibly, the amount of work required and the doubtful results would probably make it a waste of time. I'm guessing you would have to saw the neck from the body and then attach the new one with a dowel or two. Then you'd have to get the nut to 12th fret to saddle distance right. It would be simpler and faster to buy a replacement uke.
 
I agree with Keith and Jerry, Robin! I'd hang onto that O'Nino! They're so darn cute! And again, they'll handle aDF#B tuning (with standard soprano strings) very nicely, so if you're ever in a situation where you need a decent "conventional" sound, but with super portability, it fits the bill quite nicely!
 
The point of the exercise is to end up with the smallest/shortest Soprano scale Uke possible.

My Kala travel use (cut down) is small - but I want smaller.

So a long neck Sopranino appeals - but I cannot find anyone building these.

So a neck transplant and moving the bridge down to give the full Soprano scale appeals.

I found a broken Ohana soprano on ebay for $20 which I have bought for a donor neck - once it arrives I will check measurements and see if it is remotely possible.
 
Try the Fremont Sop Hards on the little one. I found they eliminate the sloppy string tension on my little ones, even though I can deal with the tight frets too well. They are just too cute to sell.
 
It’s not going to work. There’s no room for the bridge.The Ohana soprano neck is scale length 14” with the 12th fret at the body. The saddle will need to be 7” south of the neck-body joint. The sopranissimo body is 7” long.

You might be able to make it work with a 14 fret to the body neck if you can find or make one.

If the goal is a project I’d start from scratch. If the goal is to have a small soprano I’d look at something like the Romero Creations XS or commission a custom build. If the goal is cheap I’d swap out the strings and stick with what you have.
 
The point of this was to end up with the smallest soprano. I am thinking I could shim the neck so the 13th fret meets the body (even though there may not me a 13th fret - 12th would be above the body. And also move the bridge way down on the body. Also trim the headstock and add small tuners. All up this could be a 15-16" soprano.

Thinking peg head tuners - maybe will filed down knobs to make them even smaller.

Also I enjoy fiddling and learning with such projects.
 
I think you can learn something from Jaco Pastorius.

> Jaco Pastorius played a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass that he called the Bass of Doom.
> When he was 21, Jaco acquired the bass with its frets removed,
> or removed them himself (his recollections varied over the years),
> and sealed the fretboard with epoxy resin.

We do not remove neck, we remove fret wires. Then fill the spaces by epxy resin. We move bridge as much as we can get soprano scale. If we can not enough space, we use tail piece for more space. Now we have a fretless soprano (see the figure below). We call it the Ukulele of Doom. Then we think about fret wires.

 
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The bridge will need to be right near the end of the body, was thinking to do strings though the body - but on tip rather than through the face - then use a wood extention to wrap the stings to the bridge.

Or could use a tail piece something like this.

tail_uke_tail.jpg

This will be a franken uke for sure...

If I mount the neck with a shim so that the 12th fret is 10mm from the body junction then I can move the bridge back 10mm from the edge of the body.

Will I get much sound propagation with a bridge very close to the end of the body?
 
That string extension looks beautiful and is done on the mandolin
 
The point of this was to end up with the smallest soprano. I am thinking I could shim the neck so the 13th fret meets the body (even though there may not me a 13th fret - 12th would be above the body. And also move the bridge way down on the body. Also trim the headstock and add small tuners. All up this could be a 15-16" soprano.

Thinking peg head tuners - maybe will filed down knobs to make them even smaller.

Also I enjoy fiddling and learning with such projects.

Just wondering if you think the luthiers at Ohana are idiots or just like the idea of a tiny neck. They made the 17 inch sopranissimo, with their knowledge and experience, at the neck size and bridge location that they could move it to, while still making a viable instrument. You, with no luthier knowledge, decided you will make a 1 to 2 inch shorter soprano scale length instrument out of it. You have already asked about this at the luthier's lounge with no encouragement there. Obviously you can do whatever you want with your instruments, but I wonder what makes you think you, with no luthier knowledge, can accomplish what experienced luthiers haven't. Do you feel there is no actual skill or thought in creating instruments other than to stick bridges and frets wherever they fit? An accomplished luthier has already created a 19 inch soprano scale using his years of experience. I guess he can learn much from you on making a playable 15 to 16 inch one.
 
It’s not going to work. There’s no room for the bridge.The Ohana soprano neck is scale length 14” with the 12th fret at the body. The saddle will need to be 7” south of the neck-body joint. The sopranissimo body is 7” long.

You might be able to make it work with a 14 fret to the body neck if you can find or make one.

If the goal is a project I’d start from scratch. If the goal is to have a small soprano I’d look at something like the Romero Creations XS or commission a custom build. If the goal is cheap I’d swap out the strings and stick with what you have.

Like Arcy said, you have to maintain the soprano scale length to make it work, so there has to be enough room to set the bridge back far enough on the body, and/or have more frets to the body.
 
I think it's fun to speculate on what's possible. Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean it can't be done!

Here's a screen shot showing the challenge of making a uke just a few inches longer than its own scale length. Though technically it's doable, it seems that building - or having one built would be more successful than cobbling one together. This drawing shows that a "Flea" like shape would likely be the way to go in order to have sufficient area for a vibrating soundboard. 16-1/2" overall length is about the shortest I could configure one...

maybe Magic Fluke could make a "Mite" :eek:

short.jpg
 
Just wondering if you think the luthiers at Ohana are idiots or just like the idea of a tiny neck. They made the 17 inch sopranissimo, with their knowledge and experience, at the neck size and bridge location that they could move it to, while still making a viable instrument. You, with no luthier knowledge, decided you will make a 1 to 2 inch shorter soprano scale length instrument out of it. You have already asked about this at the luthier's lounge with no encouragement there. Obviously you can do whatever you want with your instruments, but I wonder what makes you think you, with no luthier knowledge, can accomplish what experienced luthiers haven't. Do you feel there is no actual skill or thought in creating instruments other than to stick bridges and frets wherever they fit? An accomplished luthier has already created a 19 inch soprano scale using his years of experience. I guess he can learn much from you on making a playable 15 to 16 inch one.

Hi - thanks for your reply. My investigation of this is not meant to belittle the luthier skill. You could take it as a compliment that I want to learn about this field. The plan is actually to make a Soprano neck Sopranissimo, keeping the full Soprano scale. The basic challenge is to have half the scale between the nut and 12th fret and the other half between the 12th fret and bridge. So no shortening of the Soprano scale or random fret placement, just removal of any non-scale length on the instrument. Do I think I am better at instrument design than the pro's - No - Do I think I can learn something about instrument mechanics by playing around with a "cheap" Uke that I currently do not like to play due to the short scale - yes. Will I end up with an unplayable uke - Possibly :). Then I will either stick with my Kala travel uke or commission a minimal Soprano from a luthier.
 
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