GF1
Well-known member
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.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 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.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.
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: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?
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.
No disrespect felt! I'm grateful for all input.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.
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.
That's really kind of you. Thanks! I'm a bit too far away (in the Chilterns) to make that viable.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.
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.