6 string: baritone uke, guitelele, 1/4 sized guitar, mini guitar????

A Green; Have you made any decisions?

I am thinking I may dip my toe into the Mini II or wait for a solid top instrument like the Godin to show up. I have a lot of instruments and not enough space to pick up random cheapies for fun.
 
I was looking for a small guitar too and did some homework on it sometime ago. The mini is smaller and has a solid top version with a wider fretboard, closer to a classical guitar. The mini II is a little bigger and has a narrower fretboard, closer to an acoustic guitar.
 
A Green;

The Mini II EB-CE is billed as having a solid spruce top. I've gone from 14 on-hand guitars to 1 and feeling indulgent with exploration and space. I used to place a great deal of importance on prices, but I've come to realize that sometimes price is garnered by name recognition which can be misleading. I've also discovered that some low-priced instruments can match higher priced items. In my purchase of the two minis I've shopped and found a used mini on this forum's marketplace and a mint condition II from reverb. I wouldn't call them cheapies, but I would call them reasonably priced and hope they match the qualities noted in their many reviews.
 
Cordoba Mini II & Martin LX series both 3/4 sized, ~34 inches total length

For size reference, overall / total length of the current Cordoba Mini II is same-ish length as Little Martin LX (steel) series...
873mm 34.375" vs 34".
Both are 3/4 sized guitars, 4 full inches longer than a baritone uke.

https://www.cordobaguitars.com/guitars/mini-ii-mh/
https://www.knowyourinstrument.com/martin-lx1e-guitar-review/

The Cordoba Mini-M is baritone uke sized
https://www.cordobaguitars.com/guitars/mini-m/

Scale Length 510mm (20 1/8")
Neck Shape C Shape
Nut Width 48mm (1 7/8")
Neck Thickness 1st Fret 20mm
Neck Thickness 9th Fret 20mm
Truss Rod Single Action
Truss Rod Wrench 4mm Allen Key
Fingerboard Material Rosewood
Fingerboard Inlays 4mm Dots - Pearloid
Frets Total 18
Color Natural (NAT)
Finish Satin Polyurethane
Bridge Material Rosewood with Bridge Pins
Saddle Material Bone
Nut Material Bone
Tuning Machines Cordoba Satin Nickel with Black Buttons
Tap Plate N / A
Electronics N / A
Strings Cordoba Mini Strings - A Tuning
Included Case Cordoba Mini Gig Bag
Upper Bout Width 197mm (7 3/4")
Lower Bout Width 254mm (10")
Body Depth Upper Bout 65mm (2 1/2")
Body Depth Lower Bout 75mm (3")
Body Length 349mm (13 3/4")
Overall Length 775mm (30 1/2")
 
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Wuku:

Thank you for your assistance in my search. I'm guitar oriented, but the discovery of the Baritone ukulele brought me to this site and the purchase of the Mini and the mini IIEB-CE. This is a very cool forum.
 
I noted earlier that the Caramel 6 string baritone was my first exploration into a uke played like a guitar. I first ordered the ebony model, was amazed at its quality, sound, and play-- A friend dropped by, saw the instrument, had to have it, and I sold it to him then turned around and purchased the zebrawood model--same level of all-around quality--about 15 minutes ago another friend happened to drop by, saw and played the instrument and had to have one--I sold it to her. I now have the Cordoba mini and Mini IIEB-CE coming in the mail. Mr. Hanks made me buy the mini and I'll be interested to see how it plays and sounds relative to the caramel.

Mr. Hanks has an almost-fine collection and told me I'd be a fool to not jump on the mini deal offered on this forum, and I took his advice. I notice that his almost-fine collection lacks a certain model that is now for sale in this forum's marketplace--I think he'd be a fool to not jump on the deal or at least make an offer.
 
Patrick;

Yes UU is very much like AGF--composed of civilized, talented, inquiring people not interested in forcing their views on other people and willing to share information. There's something about music that raises us above our normal human pettiness.
 
Just bringing this to the front to help Mr. Hanks pursue his collection.
 
CPG;

Is your Motif an acoustic/electric? The ads I see do not mention pickups but I saw a photo of a motif with on-board tuner and eqs. Also, do you have a source for the dimensions of the Motif? I've gone to the Godin site and fail to see anything regarding body size.
 
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CPG;

Is your Motif an acoustic/electric? The ads I see do not mention pickups but I saw a photo of a motif with on-board tuner and eqs. Also, do you have a source for the dimensions of the Motif? I've gone to the Godin site and fail to see anything regarding body size.

Hi. Mine does not have a pickup. I think they make them with pickups, but I only found ones without them. I actually measured mine right after I got it to determine what cases would fit. It's basically a true parlor sized body with a full scale neck so not all parlor cases will fit it and a lot of small bodied guitar cases seem built more for dreadnaught jrs.

Here are the (slightly rough) measurements I took
Upper bout: 9.5"
Lower bout: 13"
Body length: 18"
Full length: between 38" and 39"
(let me know if you need additional measurements)

It fits perfectly in this case by the way: https://www.elderly.com/products/canadian-parlor-guitar-case

Other parlor and small bodied guitar cases looked like they might be to short overall but this one is a little longer than most. Other's might fit it but I wasn't confident. This case is perfect.
 
CPG;

Thank you. The Motif is very close to the Cordoba Mini II EB-CE, relative to body size, its overall length is considerable longer than the mini's.

I, too, have only found the Motif sans pickup.

It's an interesting guitar and on my list of possibilities. I appreciate your help.
 
CPG;

Thank you. The Motif is very close to the Cordoba Mini II EB-CE, relative to body size, its overall length is considerable longer than the mini's.

I, too, have only found the Motif sans pickup.

It's an interesting guitar and on my list of possibilities. I appreciate your help.

Happy to help. Yes, it has a full scale (25.5" scale) and full width (though with very slight radiused) classical guitar neck. I like small body guitars and considered the mini II but I'm a fairly novice guitar player, so I wanted a small bodied guitar that had roughly the same scale length as my Taylor 324 Grand Auditorium as to not get too messed up switching between them. I was going to get a steel string Art & Lutherie Roadhouse which is pretty much the steel string version of the Motif, but thought nylon would be something fun and different. I'm really happy with it. The small body is super comfortable and the neck feels similar enough to my Taylor (in terms of fret spacing) that switching between the two isn't too difficult. Yes the wide nut, 12 frets to body, and nylon strings feel different from the Taylor but generally the adjustments I need to make to my fretting hand are pretty minimal. I keep the Motif in my home office and it is serving as the perfect office and couch guitar. It sounds good enough though that I would have no problem playing it with other musicians. I don't play classical and I treat it like a folk guitar. I put strap buttons on it and stuck a cut down very thin, clear pick guard/golpeador on it too as I like to be able to use it to practice with a pick (GASP!) sometimes too. I'm super happy with it. Tough to beat for the price. In retrospect, I'm kinda glad I couldn't find one with the electronics. I don't perform with it so I don't need them and if I ever do I would rather just have an aftermarket system installed anyway.
 
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I tend to treat my nylon strung guitars as folk instruments and I like the nylon accompaniment with the voice. If you ever want an elegant aftermarket pickup take a look at the one offered by Kremona--it's reasonable and smart.
 
I tend to treat my nylon strung guitars as folk instruments and I like the nylon accompaniment with the voice. If you ever want an elegant aftermarket pickup take a look at the one offered by Kremona--it's reasonable and smart.

I familiar with it but have never tried it. They actually make it for ukes too which was how I first ran across it. Seems like a good solution.
 
I've been moving my up from the Caramel 6 string baritone and Cordoba Mini, to the Mini II, and I may end up going for the Motif, in which case I'll probably go with the Kremona pickup. I have an Emerald carbon fiber X 10 that is hard to beat and I'd like to have wooden guitar of about the same size or a bit smaller. I also have a Kremonay Sophia which is too big for my taste and will heading off to market one of these day--which will free up resource for further exploration.
 
I found motif with Q1 electronics on Craig's list for $300. It's on the other side of the country and the shipping cost may put it around the price of new one.
 
I found motif with Q1 electronics on Craig's list for $300. It's on the other side of the country and the shipping cost may put it around the price of new one.

Could be worth it if you really want the Q1 system. Otherwise might be worth it to call GC/Musicians Friend and see if they have any b-stock.
 
I'm headed to GC this morning to check out a possible trade: My virtually new Kremona Sophia for a new Goin Motif--should be an interesting excursion.
 
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