Fingerstyle ukulele suggestions

Hi,
I have a Kala KAT which is great and I’ve developed an interest in finger style. Would a ukulele with a wider neck be any advantage. If so, what should I get . Costing around about the price level as my Kala.
Oldden

Extra string spacing (not the same thing as a wider fingerboard) might help you clean up your technique, but you might also find the extra width a detriment. Enya and Baton Rouge would be worth trying, but they cost more than your KA-T.

A fingerstyle 'ukulele should exhibit superior dynamic range, intonation, and tone separation. 'Ukulele offering significant improvement in these areas will probably start at between $250 USD and $400 USD new.

If I were you, I'd practice the fundamentals of fingerstyle on that KA-T, develop a repertoire within the style, and reflect upon what I want in my next instrument while saving toward a decidedly better instrument.

Good advice. I’ve use tenors with mostly 1 3/8” nut and sometimes wished for more room. I haven’t really tried a 1.5” nit yet looking to try that when I can. Sound advice to work with what you have, develop good clear fingering technique. Develop a song list thT you can play well, then start looking for upgrades. Strings make a huge difference so if you haven’t gone into that rabbit hole, I would suggest you do. It’s fun. Good luck. So many great ukes out there. In my mind a light build, solid wood, lots of clarity is what makes a good finger style Uke. Have fun searching.

To be honest, I have absolutely no notion how wide my nut is. I am primarily a finger style musician and I just play. My philosophy is "a poor craftsman blames his tools." If my nut was wider, I would adjust; if my nut was narrower, I would adjust. The key is to develop your style and then nothing can take that away from you. Then it doesn't matter what specs the uke has, or what strings you're using, or which pedals you've stomped on (if playing with an amp).

My practical advice is to just be you with your Kala. Upgrade ukes whenever you get the opportunity. Perhaps it will seem to be an improvement, perhaps it won't. Develop your skills first of all. Then a better uke will either be an augmentation of your increased awesomeness or at least it will not be an impediment.

Thanks to all for the advice. I’m more than happy to carry on with my Kala until I know I need something better, if ever. I just asked because classical guitars have a wider neck than the rest , so I wondered if the same applied to ukuleles.
Thanks again, Oldden.

On guitar forums the fingerstyle players generally express a desire for wider nuts than the typical strumming or flat pick dreadnaughts. I can only assume that this is supposed to benefit the picking hand for cleaner play. In that case it is the string spacing at the saddle that needs to be considered. Oddly enough this is not always reported in the instrument specifications.

I think the big advantage of a wider neck for fingerstyle is you will usually get more space between the A-string and the edge of the neck, which gives you more control of fingerstyle techniques like pull-offs. It is kind of interesting that Kala uses wider necks on its more expensive USA-made ukuleles. Presumably they think that more advanced players are buying the more expensive models.

Another imporant feature is sustain, which I think is much more important for fingerstyle playing than for strumming and singing. If you're buying a new ukulele specifically for fingerstyle playing, a lightweight solid wood soundboard will be more vibrant and give you more sustain than the plywood soundboard on the Kala KAT. If you really like Kala, look at the Kala KA-STG or Kala KA-ACP-CTG or better. For a wider neck in the budget price range, look at Islander ukuleles.