What instrument am I looking for?

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bcpierce00

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I've been having a wonderful time the past six months picking up baritone ukulele -- I love the simplicity of four strings and the easy access to interesting music that would take me months longer to master on a guitar. But I must admit I find the sound of my (decent $300ish) instrument disappointingly thin.

I've been looking at (videos of) tenor guitars, but they seem to have narrower necks (more like 6-string guitar spacing, which I find cramped, than classical guitar or uke). And I've looked at oversize baritone ukes (Pono Nui), which seem promising but are apparently quite hard to find right now.

I suppose I could play on a classical guitar and remove the lowest two strings. But are there other possibilities that I'm missing?

Thank you!
 
A better baritone uke? But before that I would try different strings and alternate tunings.
 
If a customer was to propose this to me, I would suggest an extended scale baritone (22”), with body dimensions of 15” long, 11” wide and 1/4” deeper body than usual. Base price with a H. mahogany body and a spruce top $900. Fretboard and neck dimensions customized to suit.
Brad
 
I'll be watching this thread with interest. I too am curious what is recommended. I have experimented with a variety of things . . . and have found some things I like. I recently put a special set of strings on a tenor uke - which allow it to be tuned as a Bari. The results seem to depend on which uke I've put them on. I tried them on a Koaloha tenor and was not overly impressed. However, I put them on a solid spruce top/maple and wowzer. Not bad. It seems to be as good or better than some full size Bari's I've tried. I think a lot has to do with the spruce top. Its a little weak on the sustain, but easy on the left hand. I've also tried an 8 string Bari - the verdict is still out. I will experiment some more before commenting. And finally, I have discovered a steel string Pono Bari is quite nice. The steel strings make it quite a different, but very lovely uke. Its far from "thin." The sustain goes on forever but I recognize the steel string sound may not appeal to all. What it does major in is harmonics. Sometimes my wife plays along on her stand up bass and the two instruments resonant well with each other. I've not found this to be true on any other uke that I've played along with her.
 
bcpierce00 said:
I've been having a wonderful time the past six months picking up baritone ukulele -- I love the simplicity of four strings and the easy access to interesting music that would take me months longer to master on a guitar. But I must admit I find the sound of my (decent $300ish) instrument disappointingly thin.

I've been looking at (videos of) tenor guitars, but they seem to have narrower necks (more like 6-string guitar spacing, which I find cramped, than classical guitar or uke). And I've looked at oversize baritone ukes (Pono Nui), which seem promising but are apparently quite hard to find right now.

I suppose I could play on a classical guitar and remove the lowest two strings. But are there other possibilities that I'm missing?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I know this seems lame, but your last option does work. I have never played guitar a day in my life, but I bought a B.C. Rich, Rich Bich, and play it like a ukulele by removing the base strings.

I have a tenor guitar and, yes, the strings are a bit close together but the sound is awesome. It is like a really loud and really resonant baritone ukulele.

However after it is all said and done, I suppose my recommendation is to get an elite baritone to replace your cheap baritone. That is actually what I'm doing right now. I have a crappy Kala cedar top baritone and I am saving up to get a good custom baritone.
 
bcpierce00 said:
I've been having a wonderful time the past six months picking up baritone ukulele -- I love the simplicity of four strings and the easy access to interesting music that would take me months longer to master on a guitar. But I must admit I find the sound of my (decent $300ish) instrument disappointingly thin.

I've been looking at (videos of) tenor guitars, but they seem to have narrower necks (more like 6-string guitar spacing, which I find cramped, than classical guitar or uke). And I've looked at oversize baritone ukes (Pono Nui), which seem promising but are apparently quite hard to find right now.

I suppose I could play on a classical guitar and remove the lowest two strings. But are there other possibilities that I'm missing?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

In the bigger picture six months isn’t that long to have been playing and learning about an instrument, with respect you are likely to have much to learn and insufficient knowledge to move forward well. Heck, I’ve been playing Soprano for what must be over five years and I’m still a relative beginner.

With regard to your current instrument my thoughts would be how well set-up is it? Having the strings at the right hight, having the ‘right’ strings for your instrument and having a bone nut and a bone saddle can change an instrument massively. If more and/or better sound is what you’re after then don’t be mislead into thinking that the only route to it is a larger instrument! Spacing between the strings can often be changed with a different nut, spacing at the saddle and bridge isn’t a simple change but it is possible. Necks also come in different widths and profiles too, there’ll be something out there to suit you and things to try on the way whilst you find out what works well for you.

How do you find the Baritone scale and body size for comfort and ease of use? My guess is that it’s fine for you and so worth persisting with.

What are you looking for? I’d suggest that you’re looking to gain more experience which in turn will shape you and guide you towards what works better for you. I suggest that you don’t bother looking for the ‘silver bullet’ but rather make small and simple changes whilst constantly checking what the results are and what works for you.
 
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Strings make a lot of difference, we all like different things, wound verses unwound, nylon verses fluorocarbon, etc.

Until you've tried a few, you won't really know if it is your instrument, or just the strings. ;)
 
Coming from a guitar most $300 baritone ukes will sound thin. With the guitars bigger body and longer scale length and 2 more strings ringing out the baritone doesn’t stand a chance in the “rich resonance” department. Going up in size to a Pono Nui will give you more depth of sound. I own some expensive, world class baritones, Kamaka, Mya Moe and LfdM and none of them sound as full and resonant as my $300 Cordoba Cadet 3/4” classical guitar. You can’t fight physics.

That said a higher end larger bodied baritone will give you a bigger sound.
 
I'm curious to know what your ukulele is made of?

Going to a cedar or spruce top gives the baritone a sound much more appealing to my ear. Something to consider trying if you like the baritone form factor.
 
With respect to your current uke - have you tried different strings? Have you played other baritones (and hence have anything to compare to)? Are there other things you like or don't like about it besides sounding thin?

If you switch - are you interested in staying with a nylon strung instrument?

Have you actually played a (narrow necked) tenor, and found you didn't like it, or are you just assuming it'll feel too narrow?

Since you mentioned easy access to music - are you "hooked" on tabs in a given specific tuning?

I can see how tenor guitars would come into this discussion since they seem like a natural choice for a slightly-larger-than-a-baritone-uke instrument with four strings, but they're (usually) a very different animal than a ukulele. They typically have narrower necks as you've identified, and they're also typically intended for steel strings. Think of them as a way for banjo players to "cheat" and play something that sounds like a steel strung folk guitar rather than thinking of them as a larger ukulele. If you think you'd like that sound, there are a lot of great tenors to choose from and you just have to accept that most of them will top out at 1 3/8" nuts.

There are a few exceptions, like the Pono Nui you mentioned, which has a 1 /38" nut and is built for nylon strings. In an off the shelf instrument that might be as close as you can get.

Or get something custom made and the sky's the limit!
 
Wow -- many thanks for all the comments already. What a lovely community.

Some responses...

* I should have included the crucial measurement of my current instrument: It's 1 1/8" string separation at the nut. (It's a Lauren BU36, in case anybody has heard of that -- the internet has mostly not, apparently. No idea what it's made of.)

* 6 months is definitely not a long time on a new instrument -- I'm still very much learning the basic coordination skills -- but I do have quite a bit of music background: my mother was a professional pianist and composer, and I've studied vocal technique and performed art song for 25 years. So I've got a pretty well developed ear.

* I've done some experimenting with alternative strings: changing the ones it came with to fluorocarbon did make a significant difference, but didn't get me to where I wanted to be. I haven't experimented with nut or saddle.

* I haven't played a tenor guitar, but I've tried both classical and steel-string 6-string guitars. I like the richness of the steel-string sound (even, as one person said, on a relatively humble instrument), but I didn't like the way the strings cut my fingers, even after some weeks of toughening up. I am hoping to stick with DGBE tuning for the moment.

* My main goals in picking up ukulele are (1) making music with my family, mostly folk, jazz standards, and show tunes (we're having a ton of fun working through The Daily Ukulele), (2) learning something about jazz harmony, and of course (3) keeping myself sane in stressful times.

All in all, it seems from what several people said that I will probably wind up with a better (and larger) baritone ukulele, but it might be worth a detour to get my hands on a tenor guitar for a bit.

Many thanks, again!
 
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I know I am late to the game, but I recommend the Pono Nui steel strings. I know you mentioned Pono, but the steel string I have sounds just like an acoustic guitar while having the playability of a ukulele. The strings are spaced comfortably. They are harder to find but worth a look when one is available!

I have a Pono Nui spruce/rosewood Bari and love it.
 
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KaminTheWeaver said:
I know I am late to the game, but I recommend the Pono Nui steel strings. I know you mentioned Pono, but the steel string I have sounds just like an acoustic guitar while having the playability of a ukulele. The strings are spaced comfortably. They are harder to find but worth a look when one is available!

I have a Pono Nui spruce/rosewood Bari and love it.
Click to expand...

Yes, I just found out about these recently -- they do sound interesting! Are the strings equally hard on the fingertips as a 6-string guitar?

They do indeed seem to be hard to find, though.
 
Steel strings can seem intimidating but after a few weeks/months of regular play you'll forget all about the discomfort. If you're still concerned, you can switch to light gauge strings and/or softer feeling string materials, at least during the break in period. If you think you'd like a steel stringed instrument, go for it!
 
bcpierce00 said:
Yes, I just found out about these recently -- they do sound interesting! Are the strings equally hard on the fingertips as a 6-string guitar?

They do indeed seem to be hard to find, though.
Click to expand...

It does take a bit of callus-building, but now I play it with no pick and I don't feel sore afterwards. If you're looking for comparison, Lichty also makes a steel string baritone, but that's in a much different price range.
 
I suggest an 8-string baritone -- 4 courses of paired strings tuned D-G-B-E: #1 (E) octave, #2 (B) unison, #3 (G) octave, #4 (D) octave. Yields 5 high strings, 3 low. Very full sounding with great cutting power.
 
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bcpierce00 said:
Wow -- many thanks for all the comments already. What a lovely community.

Some responses...

* I should have included the crucial measurement of my current instrument: It's 1 1/8" string separation at the nut. (It's a Lauren BU36, in case anybody has heard of that -- the internet has mostly not, apparently. No idea what it's made of.)

* 6 months is definitely not a long time on a new instrument -- I'm still very much learning the basic coordination skills -- but I do have quite a bit of music background: my mother was a professional pianist and composer, and I've studied vocal technique and performed art song for 25 years. So I've got a pretty well developed ear.

* I've done some experimenting with alternative strings: changing the ones it came with to fluorocarbon did make a significant difference, but didn't get me to where I wanted to be. I haven't experimented with nut or saddle.

* I haven't played a tenor guitar, but I've tried both classical and steel-string 6-string guitars. I like the richness of the steel-string sound (even, as one person said, on a relatively humble instrument), but I didn't like the way the strings cut my fingers, even after some weeks of toughening up. I am hoping to stick with DGBE tuning for the moment.

* My main goals in picking up ukulele are (1) making music with my family, mostly folk, jazz standards, and show tunes (we're having a ton of fun working through The Daily Ukulele), (2) learning something about jazz harmony, and of course (3) keeping myself sane in stressful times.

All in all, it seems from what several people said that I will probably wind up with a better (and larger) baritone ukulele, but it might be worth a detour to get my hands on a tenor guitar for a bit.

Many thanks, again!
Click to expand...

For what it is worth I keep my tenor guitar tuned as DGBE. I didn't even buy special strings. It came tuned in fifths and I just adjusted the strings to DGBE
 
bcpierce00 said:
Wow -- many thanks for all the comments already. What a lovely community.

Some responses...

* I should have included the crucial measurement of my current instrument: It's 1 1/8" string separation at the nut. (It's a Lauren BU36, in case anybody has heard of that -- the internet has mostly not, apparently. No idea what it's made of.)

* 6 months is definitely not a long time on a new instrument -- I'm still very much learning the basic coordination skills -- but I do have quite a bit of music background: my mother was a professional pianist and composer, and I've studied vocal technique and performed art song for 25 years. So I've got a pretty well developed ear.

* I've done some experimenting with alternative strings: changing the ones it came with to fluorocarbon did make a significant difference, but didn't get me to where I wanted to be. I haven't experimented with nut or saddle.

* I haven't played a tenor guitar, but I've tried both classical and steel-string 6-string guitars. I like the richness of the steel-string sound (even, as one person said, on a relatively humble instrument), but I didn't like the way the strings cut my fingers, even after some weeks of toughening up. I am hoping to stick with DGBE tuning for the moment.

* My main goals in picking up ukulele are (1) making music with my family, mostly folk, jazz standards, and show tunes (we're having a ton of fun working through The Daily Ukulele), (2) learning something about jazz harmony, and of course (3) keeping myself sane in stressful times.

All in all, it seems from what several people said that I will probably wind up with a better (and larger) baritone ukulele, but it might be worth a detour to get my hands on a tenor guitar for a bit.

Many thanks, again!
Click to expand...

For what it is worth I keep my tenor guitar tuned as DGBE. I didn't even buy special strings. It came tuned in fifths and I just adjusted the strings to DGBE
 
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