Which Baritone? Please everyone give your comments. Good or Bad.

wab223

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
I find this hilarious and cool at the same time. My first instinct is to tell you just to get a guitar; you're not going to get that sound without steel strings. But if you're set on one of those two ukes and you want to try to get closer to that sound, you probably want the one that's more similar to his guitar, which looks dark like rosewood. Since the only difference seems to be mahogany vs. acacia, and since mahogany is more common in that type of music, I would lean that way.
 
Between your two choices, go with the spruce/acacia. Top wood is 85% of the sound you hear, so both will sound very similar since they are both from the same brand. Acacia is more attractive and responsive, IMHO.

If you want to replicate Smokey Joe in your video, hold out for a Pono steel string baritone. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon one on this forum. Mine sounds just like an acoustic guitar, and I go to it way more than I thought I would.

Good luck, cowboy!
 
Spruce/hog. is the standard for acoustic guitars. I would think acacia and mahogany are fairly close in sound. I had a Pono cedar/ebony steel string UL/40. It was a good instrument but made me realize how much I missed the two extra bass strings. I sold it and had a guitar built to get the sound I wanted. I own several baris including a custom "contra" baritone with the same dimensions as a tenor guitar except with nylon strings.

For myself, I've never been a fan of acacia. I much prefer a true mahogany sound. If I wanted acacia, I'd buy something in Koa. I flatpick mostly bluegrass so am naturally inclined to a spruce/hog or spruce/rosewood.
 
If you want to replicate Smokey Joe in your video, hold out for a Pono steel string baritone. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon one on this forum. Mine sounds just like an acoustic guitar, and I go to it way more than I thought I would.

I did not know this was a thing. Pretty cool.
 
Well, IMHO, if the OP wants to sound like the video he'll need six strings. It's the rocking bass notes from the thumb pick that carry the song through, the jangly treble arpeggios just "sound nice" in the background ;)
 
I have a Baritone Pono MBD-SP. No slotted headstock, rope binding. Worth Brown low D string set. It sounds nice to me, but that steel string sound will be very hard to replicate. Good Instrument, for my skill level.

Have a look here:

double U times three dot manndolins dot com


double U times three dot fannerelectricukulele dot com forward slah jazzy-electric-ukulele
 
Last edited:
Well, IMHO, if the OP wants to sound like the video he'll need six strings. It's the rocking bass notes from the thumb pick that carry the song through, the jangly treble arpeggios just "sound nice" in the background ;)

This.

A baritone uke will at best sound like a bad guitar if you try to play it like a guitar. You would do better to pick up a cheap guitar and put your efforts into that if that's what music you want to play.

Personally, I like a cheap baritone uke. I think they have the most ukulele-ish sound. To my mind, "good" baritone ukes sound like incomplete guitars.

Those Kmise ones are pretty good and less expensive than a meal in a restaurant. I bought one for ÂŁ55 which had a solid top, and one for ÂŁ36 which was laminate. This price included delivery, and even a gig bag! Exceptional value for money. I gave them away in the end.
 
Last edited:
How do you play a ukulele like a guitar?
 
I suppose I am a little less literal-minded than the other folks on this thread.

When the OP says "I would like to eventually sound like this," I interpret that as meaning he wants to fingerpick. That can certainly be done on a baritone ukulele or even a tenor guitar. I am patently not saying that one could affect a perfect mimickry of this tune with a baritone; all I'm saying is that with four-stringed instruments someone can play things that are similar to this.
 
How do you play a ukulele like a guitar?

With a ukulele, there are no bass notes. You have to imply them with what you have, or miss them altogether.

If you play a guitar arrangement on a ukulele, you're playing a ukulele like a guitar. It often won't translate. The song in the OP is a classic case in point. It won't go anywhere without the alternating bass notes.

When the OP says "I would like to eventually sound like this," I interpret that as meaning he wants to fingerpick.

Possibly. But his playing won't sound like a guitar.

Incidentally, tenor guitars are a different beast. Not sure it is helpful to group them with baritones.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I know its not going to sound like a guitar, that is why I said this was for fun (kind of). :D

I love playing Uke but don't really have much interest in playing guitar. That tune has been one of my favourites for a long time.

I have my perfect tenor Uke. A Kala Cedar top with laminate acacia body. I got it from mims.

I figured if I get another Uke it should be a different size and tuning hence the baritones thoughts. A pono would be expensive for me but I only want to buy once.

thanks a lot for all the replies. If you have any other suggestions I am listening.
 
Ok, so if we disregard the guitar aspect completely and just look at the two models, I think you should base your choice on which sound you like best as otherwise they are almost identical regarding the build. Judging by the videos, the mahogany back and sides sounds ever so slightly warmer than the acacia one which sounds a tad brighter (which is typical for these tone woods but not always the case). Although to be fair, the spruce top does bring some brightness to both instruments anyway.

If you'd like to save some money you could also look at the cheaper Pono models. I have the acacia deluxe baritone (https://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/pono/pono-acacia-deluxe-baritone-abd.html) myself and I think it's really good value for the money. I have absolutely desire to upgrade from that, at least in the near future. The non-deluxe models are a bit cheaper than that but the price difference there is only about $60-$70, considerably less than the price difference compared to the spruce top models.
 
wab223, since you're looking for fun, look into tenor guitars. Despite what Chris667 said, I treat my tenor guitar just like a steel stringed baritone. I re-tuned it from CGDA to DGBE and play it like a uke. It is a bit louder than a regular baritone and it is a bit rougher on the fingers. Other than that I treat it just like a baritone. I have a cheap Cedar Kala baritone and in comparison to the tenor guitar its body is a little bit smaller and it is an inch or so shorter than the tenor guitar. Those differences are either humongous or negligible, depending on your personality. And as I said earlier, you can finger pick with a baritone. Many of us around here play a modified Carter Scratch, or Cotten pick, or Travis pick. Since we don't have the low E and A strings of a guitar, it is different but it is definitely doable.
 
wab223, since you're looking for fun, look into tenor guitars. Despite what Chris667 said, I treat my tenor guitar just like a steel stringed baritone. I re-tuned it from CGDA to DGBE and play it like a uke. It is a bit louder than a regular baritone and it is a bit rougher on the fingers. Other than that I treat it just like a baritone. I have a cheap Cedar Kala baritone and in comparison to the tenor guitar its body is a little bit smaller and it is an inch or so shorter than the tenor guitar. Those differences are either humongous or negligible, depending on your personality. And as I said earlier, you can finger pick with a baritone. Many of us around here play a modified Carter Scratch, or Cotten pick, or Travis pick. Since we don't have the low E and A strings of a guitar, it is different but it is definitely doable.

So you're converting your tenor guitar into a guitar with two broken strings? I get that you might like the jangly sound of steel strings, but I don't see why you wouldn't just play the guitar. I get that you might want to play tenor guitar, but why would you reduce its range?

Oh, and I never said you can't pick a baritone uke. Of course you can. All I have said is that if you want to sound like a guitar, it's better to learn the guitar.
 
Last edited:
You might like a guitarlele. Lots of utube videos out there. Mr. Hanks just received a custom one, sounds like a good match for your application.
 
I would like to eventually sound like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zprRZ2wFQD4
Simple right? :D

It is actually not too difficult; and I think you can do it in 1 year by just taking a guitar class at your local college.

I speak from experience; and I think this is a little known secret on music education.

I took 2 years of guitar at SJSU's open university. The cost was extremely cheap and the instruction was very good (plus the tests and group performances will motivate you to practice). the key was working from home on the class days. This was way better deal than the private guitar lessons I tried (the private lessons just didn't motivate me enough to put in the practice hours).

The _BEST_ part was I was able to make some friends to practice and jam together outside of the class; we even put on 2 shows at the senior center with our 4-person band. But I was on the keyboard since I don't play the guitar at anywhere near the level of the others. Most my of classmates already have many years of guitar experience before taking the class (Oh, BTW, the difference between the student skills between the first beginner class and even the second beginner class was huge because many experienced students skip the very beginning class, so don't get discouraged, just hand in there.)

Of course, right now we've got COVID19 thing going, but once it's over, this is an excellent way to get instruction.
 
A tenor guitar was not even on my radar. Its certainly an interesting instrument. There does not seem to be many models available or maybe I am not looking in the right places?

I think I prefer to stick with a Bari but I am taking my time with this decision so I will certainly research tenor guitars more.
 
The sound should be pretty similar for both of those Spruce top Pono baritones.

If you’re wanting a steel string sound, get a steel string uke. There was one for sale on Reverb.



This is for fun although the question is serious and I probably will buy one of these baritones.

I am looking for a baritone.

I would like to eventually sound like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zprRZ2wFQD4


Simple right? :D
I narrowed it down to 2 choices. What would you pick if wanted to sound like Townes?

https://www.theukulelesite.com/shop...ahogany-spruce-top-baritone-slot-mbsh-sp.html

https://www.theukulelesite.com/shop...pruce-acacia-slothead-baritone-absh-sp-1.html
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom