Anyone own a guitarelele ?

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LarryL

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I have an Opio tenor uke which I dearly love, but I would like to get a 6 string uke and I know that Opio makes one (for 900$) as does several other companies. I am curious how many of you own one and what you recommend...I want the type that is tuned like a tenor uke with the added D and A on the bottom strings. I am looking for a brand name and a good dealer...i purchased my Opio thru the Ukelele site located in Hawaii, but they dont seem to carry them.
 
Yes, I have 3, 2 tenors and a baritone.

As far as dealers, the usual suspects apply: HMS, Uke Republic, Elderly, but as you say, selection may be limited at any given point.

As far as brands, you may want to consider the Yamaha GL1 to start. At less than $100, it would tell you if you like the concept and if you're ok with the string spacing. Some people find it very cramped, in which case there are other models with wider necks. I've come to like even a little narrower and there are one or two brands like that.
 
I wouldnt feel comfortable purchasing a uke for under $100, but at the same time, the nearly $900 opio might be a bit over the top for me at this point. I am trying to find something that might be in the middle , more like around 500-600....but those may not exist. Thanks for the response,,I appreciate it.
 
I own a Bruce Wei Arts Guitalele. I got it second-hand for peanuts because it has a few cracks in it. It plays great, though, and I'm really happy with it. I don't have any recommendations other than that. Here's a video of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykIQzlEMsPw
 
Have a look at the Romero Creations TT6. I have both the RC and the Opio. The RC is nicer, but the Opio is louder. Both are hard to get, mostly out of stock as their production is limited, while there is high demand. The tenor sized guileles are cool, but I prefer the ones with a baritone scale length.
 
LarryL said:
I wouldnt feel comfortable purchasing a uke for under $100, but at the same time, the nearly $900 opio might be a bit over the top for me at this point. I am trying to find something that might be in the middle , more like around 500-600....but those may not exist. Thanks for the response,,I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Just a thought, but you could consider the Yamaha a "rental" for that amount of money. If you buy something for $900 and decide you don't like the concept, you'll lose more than that reselling it.
 
The middle ground may be the used market too. I was looking at a 6 string that was already sold, but Elderly Instruments had is listed for $550. It was the Koaloha Opio acacia.
 
LarryL said:
I have an Opio tenor uke which I dearly love, but I would like to get a 6 string uke and I know that Opio makes one (for 900$) as does several other companies. I am curious how many of you own one and what you recommend...I want the type that is tuned like a tenor uke with the added D and A on the bottom strings. I am looking for a brand name and a good dealer...i purchased my Opio thru the Ukelele site located in Hawaii, but they dont seem to carry them.
Click to expand...

A six string uke is a uke with 2 strings doubled, and guitalele is a tiny guitar in uke size. Completely different things. There are many threads on both. Plenty of guitaleles to choose from as well.
 
I had a Yamaha Guitalele as my car guitar. It was ok but not fantastic. Even though the fretboard is wide enough, the strings are close together. I changed the bridge and nut to get the strings wider apart.

I now have 2 Cordoba Mini M and they are, considering the size, fantastic in both playability and sound. The fretboard has the same width as a standard classical guitar. There are strings available(made by Aquila) for both A and E tuning.
 
Thanks for all the replies....I went the low end route and ordered a Gretsch 6 string uke for $180...I figure if I like it, I can always upgrade to a Pono or Opio or other brands you all listed on here. Thanks for your input...btw it wont be available until the end of July, but that's ok too. I am new to this forum and enjoying it...I have been playing guitar for 57 years in all styles as well as banjo and pedal and non pedal steel...so the uke is a breath of fresh air to me and love it !
 
merlin666 said:
A six string uke is a uke with 2 strings doubled, and guitalele is a tiny guitar in uke size. Completely different things. There are many threads on both. Plenty of guitaleles to choose from as well.
Click to expand...

Yes, I used the wrong words...I realize the difference and what I am after and purchased is guitalele, a uke with 2 added bass strings..thanks
 
My Gretsch 9126 guilele came yesterday and after playing for a while, I think I will keep it for now. I am used to my Opio concert, and of course this doesn't compare in quality, or price. The neck is thicker than I like, the sound is good, not very loud, but mellow. the intonation up the neck is off. Perhaps after I take it to my tech and have him set it up, I will enjoy it more. But it is fine for doing Travis picking up to the 5th fret or so, which is good, but I like to do a lot of chord melody up to the 12th fret and this will not do the job for that...not like my Opio does. But again, I paid $180 for the Gretsch and $650 for the Opio . so I cant expect them to be equal. I wanted to play one and try it for a while before I jumped in and paid $1,000 and this will fit that criteria.
 
There used to be an Opio Guitalele that sold for around $700. I have a Gretsch Tenor that works quite well and has been my main uke for more than 5 years.
 
Bill1 said:
Yesterday I picked up a Yamaha APXT2. .........
Click to expand...

It's a really nice guitar, with a good sound in itself. I have it as my car guitar.

It really shines, when hooked up to a THR5A Yamaha acoustic amplifier, then it sounds like a full blown steelstring guitar played acoustically, because of the special Yamaha pickup built into it.
 
I returned my Gretsch today....just wasnt the right instrument for me...neck too fat and didnt have a sound that did anything for me...oh well...live and learn. Thanks for all the feedback. The moderator can close this topic as far as I am concerned.
 
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