Budget ukuleles for big-handed beginners

My suggestion for someone with wide finger tip pads is to look first at an islander. An mc4 or mt4. Don't go for the super wide nut, I tried one of those ukes I forget that has a stupid wide nut (oscar schmidt ou6w) and it felt terrible.
Thanks a lot for the suggestion. The Islander certainly is the most popular suggestion. Unfortunately, it's just not suitable for me at all due to my budget constraints.

Nothing I'm aware of. TBH I would not trust the neck width measurements on any cheap ukes on a big website. Someone will put a different number into the CNC router one day and they will all be different.
Thanks a lot for such a detailed reply. In terms of big resellers I understand the reservations and I certainly share some, but I might start a new thread about that (you lucky people!) because I think the subjects a bit more nuanced than it's sometimes represented.

You say you're a beginner - have you ever played a uke which has a really wide nut? What is your reasoning behind wanting one?
Mainly it's the wide array of very experienced ukulele players and dealers who recommend it for beginners and people with big hands, eg in reviews of the Baton Rouge Wide Neck Soprano, eg:

Barry Maz

[Nut width]should matter to you is because it has such a huge bearing on playability. You know those many people, shops, magazines that say that 'if you have larger hands, you need a larger uke because there is more space on the neck..'.. That's actually a huge generalisation and is not for the reason you may think. As ukuleles get longer in scale, they tend (most cases, not all) to get wider nuts too. And that wider nut creates more space across the fingerboard as it means the string spacing can (again usually, but not always) widen. And THAT is what people are talking about when they say 'oh my hands are too big, They find the soprano cramped across the neck. They are facing the problems of narrow string spacing. They move to a tenor with a naturally wider nut and say 'oh, this is better', but they are wrongly connecting the extra space you normally get with a tenor with the scale of the uke. That's not the connection - it's down to the increase in nut width.

Southern Ukuleles

Excellent... for those that ... have either large hands or prefer the width of a Tenor neck.

World Of Ukes

a wider, 38mm nut width [gives] those with larger hands a viable, comfortable option

Ukulele Mag

[When buying your first ukulele] if you have large hands or thick fingers, a wider neck will make you feel like you just traded in your regular mattress for a king size!

Duke of Uke

Players searching for extra room on the fingerboard will be glad to know the nut is wider than most, providing plenty of space to form those first difficult chords.

and

Cordoba ukuleles all have a wider nut width than many of their competitors, at 38mm, making them favourites with guitar players or beginners wanting extra fretting room and comfort

Etc etc

I've been buying and playing ukes for years and I can honestly say I never thought about nut width or heard anyone much talking about nut width until about 18 months ago. There were some ukes I liked playing, and some I didn't.

I'm sure if I stick at Ukulele playing for a similar length of time it won't be an issue for me then, but while I'm starting out, I just wanted to see if there was an option that wasn't such a squish.

I started looking at wider nut widths when I couldn't get certain chords, and a wider nut width was one suggested solution.

The two ukes I played last (which I know because they are both out of their cases in front of me) are a Stuart Longridge soprano and an Argapa sopranino. Out of curiosity I measured them; the Argapa is 35mm and the Longridge is 38mm. I can tell the difference between them but I don't think one is better than the other. They're just different.

It's disrespectful of me to say it is all in your head, but here is a video of Ian Emerson playing a Tiny Tangi.



Ian has really big hands. An extreme example, of course, but I think it goes to show you just adapt your technique for different instruments.
No disrespect felt! I'm grateful for all input.

I think "just adapting your technique" is possibly something you can do after a few years of playing, and which has less application for a beginner just starting out.

Saying that, a Waterman is not necessarily a good choice of uke. I have played a couple of those and some are definitely an impediment to progress. Still, don't get hung up on spending a lot of money on a collection of mediocre instruments. Get one really good instrument (you can buy a good instrument for not much money if you're careful), and stick with that until you find another one you like.

That sounds like sound advice for later on, if and when I get any good at playing. We bought the Waterman for our children as a Christmas present half for fun, and half in the hope they might show an interest in which case we could encourage learning more formally. My interest has resurfaced really from happening on a fun Ukulele learning app. Right now I just want one entry-level Ukulele to get started on.

If you live near Derby and want to try playing a selection of my ukuleles with varying nut widths, you are welcome to come to my house and try a couple. They range from very cheap to very high end. I suspect you would change your mind about what you wanted afterwards.
That's really kind of you. Thanks! I'm a bit too far away (in the Chilterns) to make that viable.

My budget is, I realise, the overarching restraint here. If I can't find any viable options in my price range, I'll stick to what we have already.
 
I think "just adapting your technique" is possibly something you can do after a few years of playing, and which has less application for a beginner just starting out.

I really strongly disagree with that. The point about starting out is you don't have any technique yet. You are a blank canvas, which is really exciting.

As to what you have read in the reviews, They're the opinions of a small number of people and these things are so subjective! There is no substitute for playing lots of ukes and putting the hours in.

My suspicion is your Waterman is not particularly playable (as many of them aren't) and you are connecting that with the idea that a soprano is harder to play if you have big hands.

My budget is, I realise, the overarching restraint here. If I can't find any viable options in my price range, I'll stick to what we have already.

My favourite, most played instrument was 35 quid from eBay. You can get a really good instrument for very little money.
 
We’re getting into thread drift but I think it worthwhile confirming some of Chris’s comments above.

Sopranos can be played well by those that have large hands and fingers, of course all Sopranos are not equal but technique helps and it having widely spaced strings helps too. A small percentage of Sopranos models come with wide necks and widely spaced strings and a good proportion of standard Ukes can have their strings spaced further apart (which takes a bit of skill and quite a bit of time to do).

A good playing second hand Uke can be bought off of ebay for relatively little money, but you do have to be reasonably well informed to understand what’s worth buying and what might need to be done to make your purchase into a nice little player. I have bought several gems that just needed sorting out but I’ve also bought a few instruments that turned out to be only good for recycling. Let the buyer beware, etc., applies but it’s certainly possible and (also) some people do have good instruments that they’re looking to re-home .. I’ve got two that I really should let go off to free some space up.

A few years back I bought an old Lanikai Pineapple off of eBay for about 30 pounds plus carriage. It had obviously been well used and needed a small repair. I did the repair, set the Uke up and fitted a new set of strings. That resulted in a nice little player fit for another decade plus of happy use. I ended up selling the instrument on ‘cause I only need half a dozen or less Ukes and it was pretty much the same as one of my other Ukes (a much loved Kala KA-P). In terms of a presentable and good (sounding and to use) little player the buyer got a bargain - I’m happy with that - and I covered my (financial) costs but virtually none of my time. I enjoyed the process of restoring a broken ‘treasure’ back into a useable instrument and polished/learnt some skills along the way.
 
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Disclaimer: Haven’t read the entire thread, but a Flight Travel should be in your budget. If I’m not mistaken, it has a relatively wide nut and a zero fret, so the setup should be great. It’s sort of a knockoff of the Magic Fluke line, which is a lot pricier (hand built) and fantastic. Also much better than the Waterman. Happy strumming!
 
Disclaimer: Haven’t read the entire thread, but a Flight Travel should be in your budget. If I’m not mistaken, it has a relatively wide nut and a zero fret, so the setup should be great. It’s sort of a knockoff of the Magic Fluke line, which is a lot pricier (hand built) and fantastic. Also much better than the Waterman. Happy strumming!

All that you say is true, but The combination of a plastic fretboard and relatively narrow string spacing meant that for me I was constantly pushing or pulling the string off the side of the neck. Better players will probably have better luck.
 
Disclaimer: Haven’t read the entire thread, but a Flight Travel should be in your budget. If I’m not mistaken, it has a relatively wide nut and a zero fret, so the setup should be great. It’s sort of a knockoff of the Magic Fluke line, which is a lot pricier (hand built) and fantastic. Also much better than the Waterman. Happy strumming!

All that you say is true, but The combination of a plastic fretboard and relatively narrow string spacing meant that for me I was constantly pushing or pulling the string off the side of the neck. Better players will probably have better luck.

Thanks both. Ziret - that's a useful point. I ended up picking up a very well-priced Flight 310NUT Tenor, advertised as having (and arriving with) a 38mm nut, only to find the actual string spacing was only approx 1mm wider than the Waterman Soprano! I'm going to stick with it though - It seems very nice, and I want to turn away from hunting down the perfect instrument, and get into learning.

(For the benefit of anyone who stumbles onto this thread in a similar search to mine, Barry Maz has just reviewed the Bumblebee S0prano which is an entry level model with a 37mm nut - there is a Concert in the same range that can be had for GBP35 , and that might fit the bill very nicely (although Bumblebee is made by Flight apparently, and so it might be the same large-nut-not-so-wide-strings-spacing as Flight's other Ukes) and so it might not offer a massive increase in space. Worth investigating, nevertheless.

EDIT: I just reread Barry Maz's review and he does actually list the Bumblebee's string spacing - 27mm. I measured my Waterman for comparison - 28mm from inside G to inside A and 29 from outside to outside.
 
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Thanks both. Ziret - that's a useful point. I ended up picking up a very well-priced Flight 310NUT Tenor, advertised as having (and arriving with) a 38mm nut, only to find the actual string spacing was only approx 1mm wider than the Waterman Soprano! I'm going to stick with it though - It seems very nice, and I want to turn away from hunting down the perfect instrucment, and get into learning.

(For the benefit of anyone who stumbles onto this thread in a similar search to mine, Barry MAz has just reviewed the Bumblebee SOprano which is an entry level model with a 37mm nut - there is a Concert in the same range that can be had for GBP35 , and that might fit the bill very nicely (although Bumblebee is made by Flight apparently, and so it might be the same large-nut-not-so-wide-strings-spacing as Flight's other Ukes) and so it might not offer a massive increase in space. WOrth investigating, nevertheless.

I was actually going to mention the new Bumblebee ukes but I recalled Bazmaz saying that the string spacing is indeed similar to a standard 35mm nut.

I'm sad to hear that the string spacing on the Flight tenor wasn't that wide either. But to be fair, even a 1mm increase can be significant in terms of comfort. Flight make very decent beginner ukes (in addition to their mid and high-end ones) so hopefully you'll get to grips with it.
 
I was actually going to mention the new Bumblebee ukes but I recalled Bazmaz saying that the string spacing is indeed similar to a standard 35mm nut.

I'm sad to hear that the string spacing on the Flight tenor wasn't that wide either. But to be fair, even a 1mm increase can be significant in terms of comfort. Flight make very decent beginner ukes (in addition to their mid and high-end ones) so hopefully you'll get to grips with it.

Thanks - yeah, the Flights seem very nice - just slightly narrow string spacing than their nut width suggests.

As you point out, the Bumblebee is the same.

For completeness, I measured mine and the 310NUT Tenor is 30mm center of G to center of A. The 310NUC Concert is 27mm center-to-center.
 
Just to add more info/ideas...

The Mahalo Hano series has a wide-neck concert-scale option, which, on paper, seems well matched to the specs I was after.

I recognise that Mahalo isn't everyone's favourite manufacturer, but the bad reviews seem to be generally of their cheaper Kahiko series, with its poor tuners and strings, both of which seem to have been changed in the Hano series. One for people to consider.

That said it's available for GBP50 and an Islander Concert can be had for approx GBP100. I know it's twice the price but in terms of what you get, and in terms of the reviews and recommendations in this thread, it seems worth the extra...

EDIT: Just to add another option into the mix - The Donner DUC-100. Available on Amazon currently at GBP42.50, reviewed fairly glowingly by Barry Maz here, and listed as having a wider than average nut width and string spacing.
 
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I see a lot of posts where people talk about their big hands. I always wonder what constitutes big hands. I have a size 11 ring finger. Is that big hands?
 
I see a lot of posts where people talk about their big hands. I always wonder what constitutes big hands. I have a size 11 ring finger. Is that big hands?

Can you play the basic D-chord comfortably with 3 fingers on a Kala ukulele? If yes, then your hands aren't too big.
 
Can you play the basic D-chord comfortably with 3 fingers on a Kala ukulele? If yes, then your hands aren't too big.

I think that an interesting guide if a bit rough and ready. At one time I couldn’t play the basic D-chord comfortably with 3 fingers on a Kala ukulele but I then changed my technique: I placed my fingers on the strings with the middle one offset slightly rather than in-line. Later I discovered that the standard spacing between strings on my Kala Soprano (KA-P) was typical of mass market Sopranos but narrower than it could be: I made a new nut with wider spaced strings. Some of the better old and new Sopranos (like Martins) came/come with wide spaced strings.

Now I play Sopranos comfortably and it’s my preferred scale, all I needed to do was change my technique and re-space the strings. YMMV and other players may have found alternative ways around their difficulties with Sopranos.

For what it’s worth I have a Kala KA-P and a KA-S and I have owned them for years. I’m very pleased with them both.
 
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