Guitalele or 1/4 scale classical?

phydaux

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Im considering my next purchase after my baritone ukulele. I’m thinking either a Guitalele or a quarter scale classical guitar.

Size wise there isn’t a lot of difference. And with the right strings the guitalele can be tuned E to E.

Does anyone have any thoughts about one over the other?
 
I've never played a 20 inch scale guilele or requinto that sounded good tuned E to E. Yes, you can tune E to E but what a floppy, wimpy sound and feel, even with really heavy strings. G to G (terz) seems to be the sweet spot for the 20" scale but A to A works fine if you can handle the tension. Aria and a few other makers produce alto guitars close to that scale and sound amazing tuned B to B. If you can edge up the scale another inch or two the E to E tuning works a lot better. I reviewed a couple 6-bangers:

https://fraryguitar.com/romero_creations_baritone6_review.htm

https://fraryguitar.com/romero_creations_TT6_review.htm
 
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If you want E-to-E, definitely go 1/4 size or baritone guilele. Although I agree G-to-G is really better. If you want A-to-A, go with tenor guitalele.
 
The Yamaha GL1 is a cheap way to try, I really like mine I play uke and classical music on it the string spacing is tighter than a uke but I got use to it , compared to $120 aud tenors it sounds better to my ears.
 
I've never played a 20 inch scale guilele or requinto that sounded good tuned E to E. Yes, you can tune E to E but what a floppy, wimpy sound and feel, even with really heavy strings. G to G (terz) seems to be the sweet spot for the 20" scale but A to A works fine if you can handle the tension. Aria and a few other makers produce alto guitars close to that scale and sound amazing tuned B to B. If you can edge up the scale another inch or two the E to E tuning works a lot better. I reviewed a couple 6-bangers:

https://fraryguitar.com/romero_creations_baritone6_review.htm

https://fraryguitar.com/romero_creations_TT6_review.htm

This really is an accurate answer. I own a 20” scale Pepe Romero and have played several Cordoba Minis, also 20” scale . None sound great tuned E-E, tuned G-G they do sound wonderful.

I own a Cordoba Cadet which has a 23” scale and is classified as a 3/4 size guitar. It does sound good tuned E-E and I think the 23” scale length is minimum length to have enough string tension to sound good tuned E-E.
 
It’s interesting to note that the Tacoma Papoose ( no longer made) was tuned A-A . 19 1/2 scale length .
“The Papoose was the first guitar Tacoma ever made. It is a voiced instrument, 5 frets shorter than a standard guitar with an offset paisley sound hole and a smaller body. It is tuned A-D-G-C-E-A and essentially acts as a normal guitar with a capo on the 5th fret. The advantage of the papoose is its versatility. It has a full, bright sound without the compromises of string scale of a capoed guitar. It adds a wonderful treble quality in the studio for balancing out layered recordings, and works well as a travel instrument.”
There are a few on reverb ...
They feel more like a guitar with a warm sound ( cedar top / mahogany Back and sides. )
 
I have a Cordoba Mini that I tuned E-E, and while it sounded OK, I ended up tuning it G-G, which I think is the sweet spot for that guitar.

Both my Romero Creations DHO 6 string, and Esteve 6008 Requinto are tuned E-E, and are awesome, particularly the Esteve Requinto, which has essentially a full size classical guitar body with a 535mm scale and 52mm wide fretboard.
 
interesting discussion, has anyone pulled off the 6th string and made a 5 string ADGBE ?

david
 
interesting discussion, has anyone pulled off the 6th string and made a 5 string ADGBE ?

david

Well, sorta—I was having a tough time on my Kremona 7-string, tuned B E A D G B E. I removed the 7th string and it played like a champ at E A D G B E...
 
interesting discussion, has anyone pulled off the 6th string and made a 5 string ADGBE ?

david

Kinda off topic but what the heck. When I got interested in tenor guitar, 4 steel strings, I took my old acoustic guitar and removed the E and A string. It played easy enough and gave me a good idea of the “tenor guitar” sound to end up buying one.
 
I am offended, not off topic at all! Just kidding, thought it was a good way of getting around wanting E to E tuning on a scale length that could only go down to A, especially as most open guitar chords use only 4 or 5 of the six strings. I guess making the 6th string a re-entrant E would also work.
 
I play both guitar and ukulele and sure enjoy their differences and unique contributions they can bring to different styles of music. But I have a hard time understanding the purpose of baritone ukes and guileles as IMO they lack the unique characteristics of uke. They are already fairly large and with hard case not much difference to haul around compared to classic guitar. And if you just get a classic guitar and take two low strings off then you have a baritone uke or add a capo at 5th fret and you have a guilele. So what makes these instruments so popular?
 
I play both guitar and ukulele and sure enjoy their differences and unique contributions they can bring to different styles of music. But I have a hard time understanding the purpose of baritone ukes and guileles as IMO they lack the unique characteristics of uke. They are already fairly large and with hard case not much difference to haul around compared to classic guitar. And if you just get a classic guitar and take two low strings off then you have a baritone uke or add a capo at 5th fret and you have a guilele. So what makes these instruments so popular?

I can't speak to the appeal of guileles, but modern baritones have nice wide string spacing compared to a guitar, and I find I can't be bothered with the extra two strings anymore, so it's sort of my guitar substitute. But I mostly play my soprano.
 
I find my Guitarlele great fun tuned a to a played like a uke or adding some bass it’s heaps smaller and lighter than my 000 acoustic that doesn’t get much use lately.
 
Man not to get off topic either but it seems like every brand calls it something different: guitarlele, guilele, guitalele, etc. Any tips for searching? Not as easy as "tenor"...
 
Man not to get off topic either but it seems like every brand calls it something different: guitarlele, guilele, guitalele, etc. Any tips for searching? Not as easy as "tenor"...

Guilele is tenor scale, guitalele is baritone scale and guitarlele is just a generic term. JUST KIDDING! I totally made that up.

Yeah, I don't know why they can't standardize the terminology with that instrument. Guitalele is the Wikipedia entry and probably my favourite choice, but sometimes it's none of the above, like the Cordoba Mini guitar.
 
I am having a hard time understanding why folks keep trying to make a guitar sound like a ukulele, or a ukulele sound like a guitar.

If you want a guitar sound, buy a guitar, and if you prefer a ukulele sound buy a ukulele.
 
I am having a hard time understanding why folks keep trying to make a guitar sound like a ukulele, or a ukulele sound like a guitar.

If you want a guitar sound, buy a guitar, and if you prefer a ukulele sound buy a ukulele.

To each their own.

I can't claim to understand why some people have 10 or more ukuleles or why some ukes these days made overseas cost more than my American made 310 or 000-15 but here were are.

I can absolutely see the appeal if you wanted a smaller acoustic to travel with.
 
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