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cdyas
Akahai
67 Posts |
 Posted - 06/24/2003 : 5:18:20 PM
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Hi All,
Looking for some opinions and considerations in choosing a uke size.
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2003 : 7:03:26 PM
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Aloha,
Trivial question, why do you ask, get both! 
You will, you know, in no time at all.
I started with a Fluke concert which has a larger scale length than the standard concert according to a very good luthier's web site that I've forgotten the name of. Next was a tenor, then a couple of sopranos with a third on its way, and a tenor scaled electric mandola/tenor ukulele showed up somewhere in the middle. Once you start, if you like them, it's hard to stop!
IMO, the larger bodies/longer scale lengths sound richer, fuller, and are more of a nuisance to carry around. Little sopranos almost fit in your pocket, you can keep one always by your side, and their sound is more plinky.
So pick the best sounding one you can find in any size. In a couple of weeks or months you can go back and get its big or little sister.
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Pauline |
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cdyas
Akahai
67 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2003 : 7:34:40 PM
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Ho Pauline,
No mess around. I already have a made in Vietnam at 100% humidity uke that has felt the lack of humidity in Colorado and is lookingg lean on the soundboard so i got the plinky sound down. I was looking for something better as I learn and you can pick up a new lanikai with case off ebay for about $150. I thought the tenor size might be better since it can be tuned a couple different ways if I ever get there. But does the GCEA tuning on the tenor affect learning vs a concert or soprano?
A sad story about humidity. The owner of the guitar shop that I go to has a customer who brought back a 6 string Kamaka from Hawaii and even though it has been humidified, has pretty much imploded and is having it worked on to try and save. |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2003 : 10:02:50 PM
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Oh, Colorado, that is a different climate. You almost have to get a room or house humidifier to protect wooden instruments, or so I've heard.
Lanikai, is that the uke distributed by Hohner? I've heard nice things about it. I've heard raves about Lehua ukes, built in Portugal and some finishing in Hawaii. Elderly sells them. This may be unfair, but for now I'd expect the Portuguese who have been playing little guitars for centuries to have a better feel for construction than the Chinese where they have to still be a novelty. In a few years, that could be entirely different. Is that true in a factory setting...?
I tune my tenor low G, but I'm seriously thinking of trying low G on a soprano, just for fun. Inertia, and a suspicion that I'd have to get the nut slot for the 4th string filed has prevented my doing so. High/low 4th matters if you are finger picking. Iz tuned low. Oh, everything is GCEA in my house, but most G's are higher. The chord forms are the same, and I'm not aware of a vast difference in chord sound. Of course, I'm the person who was having a problem telling a D on one guitar string from a D on another string, logic said they had to be different, but... Then I realized they were an octave apart and I could finally, slowly, hear the difference. It was weird.
Concert frets are closer together than tenor frets, so that will make a difference in the feel of the fretboard. How large are your fingers? Other than that, I don't think you'd find a difference in learning. I notice tenor to soprano for sure, fingers get more crowded. |
Pauline |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1154 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2003 : 9:12:30 PM
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| Due to Herb Ohta Jr.'s urging, Sheila now strings her old Martin soprano with a low G. She loves it!! |
Dusty |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2003 : 12:27:48 AM
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Aloha Dusty,
Just out of curiosity, I tuned the fat, nylon, unwound, C down to G on a soprano. Ouch, it sounded horrible. Bradda Iz's method of restringing with a normal set resorted fat string to thin string wouldn't work with whatever is on that ukulele right now. So what brand or tension of strings did H.O. Jr. recommend, or what does Shiela use?
Mahalo, |
Pauline |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1154 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2003 : 11:47:32 AM
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Pauline,
Sheila started with the low G strings at Aloha Camp last year. She repaced the 4th string with a wound string she got from Dennis Lake.
Now she has a set of Hilo (Low G) strings on here uke. I got them from
Roy Cone.
http://www.ukuleleworld.com/uw_string.html
I also bought a set of Aquila NYLGUT strings (low G) from Jim Belof last Saturday. Haven't tried them yet; although Jim had a set on a Fluke and they sounded really nice (and loud). Roy Cone also sells them.
http://www.ukuleleworld.com/uw_aquila.html |
Dusty |
Edited by - wdf on 06/26/2003 11:48:44 AM |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2003 : 1:52:36 PM
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| Dusty, thanks, Hilo or Nylguts. A follow-up question, please, was the wound G skinny enough or did Sheila have to get the nut slot widened? |
Pauline |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1154 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2003 : 3:04:51 PM
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quote:
...was the wound G skinny enough or did Sheila have to get the nut slot widened
It fit right in the existing slot. |
Dusty |
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Ipu
Aloha
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2003 : 9:07:43 PM
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| speaking of humidity or lack there of, I just had the back on my concert, koa, Mele seperate. It didn't like the heater this past winter here in Vermont. It was fixed by my friend the violin maker. I am worried about next winter and the other ukes I own. I plan to shop for a Kamaka tenor while in HI in a few weeks. I guess it's just a metter of keeping themin the cases with humidifiers. |
Buddy Dubay |
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Pops
Lokahi
USA
387 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2003 : 8:32:09 PM
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| I love my Kamaka concert. It's very well made, easy to play and sounds great. |
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