Talk me out of a baritone ukulele

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phydaux

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I’m kicking around the idea of buying a ukulele. I’ve more or less settled on a baritone ukulele. My idea is that, with a baritone ukulele, all of my experience playing guitar with chord shapes and scales and everything will transfer over. Plus my state has a ukulele group that does biweekly stromalongs. I figure if I show up to those with a baritone ukulele then I’ll be able to do the baseline of the songs and actually add something to the group that it probably doesn’t already have.

But then part of me thinks that I should just get a regular ukulele, like a tenor ukulele, and actually play ukulele rather than play a guitar that shrunk in the dryer.

What do you guys think? Is there a good reason to go with the regular ukulele rather than a baritone?
 
I would buy the baritone. You're more or less decided. You build on your guitar experience and challenge yourself at the same time. You will have too many fingers or too few strings. You'll likely play far more in first position than what you did on guitar. Your group will love the oomph.
Get the tenor later (or go even smaller) when you've tried the other instruments of your group. Then you'll surely buy one that suits you.
 
If you like baritone then get a baritone. The main disadvantage is that there’s less training material, but if you already play guitar you probably have enough of the basics to adapt.

If your goal is to play bass lines then get a bass. The bari doesn’t go low enough to be satisfying there.

I started with concert then got a tenor and now play mostly baritone and bass. I’ve never been chased out of a jam. At least: not for instrument choice ;)
 
phydaux said:
I’m kicking around the idea of buying a ukulele. I’ve more or less settled on a baritone ukulele. My idea is that, with a baritone ukulele, all of my experience playing guitar with chord shapes and scales and everything will transfer over. Plus my state has a ukulele group that does biweekly stromalongs. I figure if I show up to those with a baritone ukulele then I’ll be able to do the baseline of the songs and actually add something to the group that it probably doesn’t already have.

But then part of me thinks that I should just get a regular ukulele, like a tenor ukulele, and actually play ukulele rather than play a guitar that shrunk in the dryer.

What do you guys think? Is there a good reason to go with the regular ukulele rather than a baritone?
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Okay, I'm going against the flow here but you asked. If you had said that you just think baritones are really cool and that you just want to play one I would have said go for it, but going to baritone because it is just like the guitar you already play seems counter productive. I mean, just play the guitar then. If you really want to play the ukulele I would suggest going with a regular re-entrant ukulele and treat it like a whole different instrument. It isn't hard to play a ukulele especially if you want to be a part of a strum along. You just have to learn a new way to play the chords you already know. Expand your horizons and learn something new. You can do both. Lots of people do.
 
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I switched/added from guitar to a concert a few years ago. I was pretty happy and all until I found this site. Then I became obsessed with the fact that bigger people (bigger hands) seemed to play tenors, so I had to have one. I got one but it has smaller frets and a skinnier neck than the concert, so i don't like it as much as I thought I would. I got a junk baritone, and immediately felt at home with the finger spacing (huge compared to the other sizes). The string spacing is huge though, so it's easier to fingerstyle than to strum. I got another tenor, and the neck is huge! I don't think I like it. I feel that this search for the perfect neck profile, right height frets and ideal string spacing may go on for a while. I can only fret E-1402 quickly on the concert.

I vote for something smaller than a baritone, partially because of the tuning and partially because of the fact that the smaller ones feel like a uke to me.
 
If you can try a bari in a store somewhere, you might want to do that.
I've found that they sound as though something is missing, rather one dimensional, compared to a guitar, or even a re-entrant ukulele. They seem practically useless for strumming, might as well play a guilele. Although they are pretty cool if you pick clawhammer style!
 
I always suggest a beginner starts with a concert scale, unless having played previously, as you have, so to have a uke, probably best to get a tenor, unless you really like the bari, which has the same tuning as a guitars, DGBE - the choice is yours, but you will buy more - it's just the way it goes with ukes. :D

:smileybounce: :music:
 
I love my bari. But I agree that you may miss the “real” bass notes. Working on Roxy’s Waltz by Aaron Keith. I recorded baritone (DGBE) and then play over with a tenor (GCEA). Sounds really nice with those lower notes.
 
Are you planning to sing with your ukulele? Meaning solo performances? I find I need both. Different ukes for different songs. But I find a regular uke tuned gcea works with most all songs. However, gotta have my baritone for any Tom Waits or Bob Dylan songs. Blue Suede Shoes, You are my Sunshine, gotta be gcea on reg uke. I could go on and on, but perhaps you might give this some consideration.
 
Take this for what it is worth as I don't know much........Play what you want to play.....for me if I was going to play a baritone in the most common configuration I'd likely just get a guitar. You already have some experience with that instrument. Your guitar skills will transfer over to pretty much any size ukulele. Sure you'll have to learn new cord shapes but your brain and fingers will get along just fine and you'll expand what you know. If you want the uke sound and feel and want to play with your local group and four strings and all get an ukulele. I like concerts and tenors, you will have to find your own preferences. Try out instruments when you can. Get one an get started!
 
terrgy said:
Are you planning to sing with your ukulele? Meaning solo performances? I find I need both. Different ukes for different songs. But I find a regular uke tuned gcea works with most all songs. However, gotta have my baritone for any Tom Waits or Bob Dylan songs. Blue Suede Shoes, You are my Sunshine, gotta be gcea on reg uke. I could go on and on, but perhaps you might give this some consideration.
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No singing, unless it's singalong with the strumalong at the get togethers.

Blue Suede Shoes sounds better on a reenterant uke than a linear? That makes me sad. 12 bar blues was a specific style I wanted to play, and I was already working on a 12 bar blues medley set list - Rock and Roll Music, Johnny B Goode, Blue Suede Shoes, Rock Around the Clock, Jailhouse Rock.

Is it that Blue Suede Shoes sounds better on a reenterant tuned instrument rather than a linear tuned instrument, or is it that Blue Suede Shoes sound more like Blue Suede Shoes on a ukulele when played on a reenterant uke than it does when played on a linear tuned uke?
 
Neil_O said:
What is the pattern??? That sounds interesting!
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I think he's talking about CAGED & barre chords on a guitar & bari uke, and how the shapes are reuseable up & down the neck. Although on a standard tuned uke CAGED would become... FDCAG? Am I all wet?
 
I play blues songs, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan songs all the time on a re entrant ukulele. Of course, you aren't going to be able to replicate the sound that they have, you aren't going to do it on a bari either.. You make it your own.
 
Thanks, but I think my question was will they sound "wrong" when played on a baritone uke? Or will they, when played on a baritone ukulele, just not sound like those songs played on a ukulele? Will they sound like more vanilla guitar songs?
 
I came from guitar to ukulele and find no appeal in baritone. It's just like a classical guitar with two strings missing and it lacks the typical uke punch. In a uke group you won't be fully accepted because people will get confused by your fingering and for low end the Ubass player will get all the respect. There is already a lot of variety with the basic uke sizes, low G string, and 6 and 8 string options.
 
Rllink said:
I play blues songs, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan songs all the time on a re entrant ukulele. Of course, you aren't going to be able to replicate the sound that they have, you aren't going to do it on a bari either.. You make it your own.
Click to expand...

You said, “You make it your own.” If you play and sing solo, that’s the whole truth, nothing but the truth.” I love love my Kala baritone, been playing it now for nigh on 5-6 years. Play it often. But on some songs, my voice just doesn’t work with it. Sometimes not even with a regular uke tuned gcea. I am thankful churches and senior homes have pianos in their fellowship and/or dining halls.

I’ve never played with a ukulele group. So I really don’t know. But I have a hunch one would be more accepted and appreciated in a group with a gcea tuned regular ukulele. Two times over the years, I have driven 100 mi to play with a dulcimer group. Around 25 dulcimers. I disliked it because a banjo and a couple of guitars drowned the dulcimer sounds to eternity. Nobody said anything, but expressions told it all. No singing, everybody just playing fast as they could.
 
merlin666 said:
I came from guitar to ukulele and find no appeal in baritone. It's just like a classical guitar with two strings missing and it lacks the typical uke punch. In a uke group you won't be fully accepted because people will get confused by your fingering and for low end the Ubass player will get all the respect. There is already a lot of variety with the basic uke sizes, low G string, and 6 and 8 string options.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Baritone is like a guitar with all the good stuff missing. No low end. If you're playing with other ukes and/or guitars, you'll disappear in the mix. As a solo instrument, thin sounding. I have all sizes of ukes and also play guitar, bass, banjo and others. Baritone uke just never appealed to me - I can't come up with a use case for it.
 
"If you're playing with other ukes and/or guitars, you'll disappear in the mix"

I can see where that would be the case if I were playing with other ukes and guitars. If I'm playing just with other ukes, though, then rather than strumming along could I finger pick a bass line? Would that add something to the ensemble?
 
If you're not sure how comfortable you'd be with GCEA (tenor uke) tuning, capo your guitar at the fifth fret and ignore the two lowest-pitched strings.

I began without guitar experience, and my first ukes were tuned GCEA. I later bought a baritone and taught myself how to transpose from tenor shapes for chords to baritone shapes. Now I like playing both. Some things work better for me in GCEA tuning, and baritone allows me to add a fullness to the sound of an ukulele group by playing lower tones than the GCEA-tuned ukuleles play. You'll eventually figure out what you prefer, or your tastes may shift over time.
 
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