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What Size Ukulele Should I Buy?

10/6/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture
Sizes and types
The Ukulele comes in the following sizes; Soprano, Concert, Tenor and Baritone. Each has specific characteristics that may influence a player to choose a particular size.

Soprano
The soprano ukulele is an excellent starting size and introduction to the Uke for a couple of reasons. For one they are the least expensive and represent the biggest bang for the buck. Two, the soprano Uke, because of its scale length and string tension, has that Uke specific “jangly sound” most familiar to the average listener. It is tuned the same as the Concert and Tenor  They make an excellent choice for children because of the size but are in no way considered too small for an adult. Most ardent Uke players own one or more.

Concert
The concert size (which is sometimes referred to as Alto) is larger and probably the most popular size among performing artists. It is tuned the same as the Soprano and Tenor. The larger size and fret spacing afford more room to make chords and the increased string tension make it harder to bend strings out of tune.  Those with larger hands and bigger fingers will find the concert easier to chord than the smaller soprano models.

Tenor
The tenor is the largest of these first three and is tuned the same as the Soprano and Concert but has more frets. This allows players to reach notes in the higher register. This size is a common choice for guitar players who are transitioning to ukulele. For the simple reason that they are used to holding a much larger instrument, the tenor is more familiar to them while a soprano might feel tiny.

Baritone
Other than the much larger size of the baritone, the biggest difference from the first three listed here is the tuning. For the first three sizes use the standard tuning GCEA is used while standard tuning for the Baritone the Baritone is DGBE

You couldn’t make a bad choice but you should consider the fact that three of the sizes you tune the same way and they sound most “Uke-ish”. Therefore the baritone may not be your best first choice. You can see a good representation of these at http://www.eddyfinn.com/




4 Comments
Tanya Ellis
10/6/2016 07:54:39 am

Thanks, this was helpful. I'm thinking about getting started on the uke.

Reply
Jeff Bair
10/6/2016 08:01:03 am

My first uke was a tenor because I am a guitar player and needed to play the uke part of the Train song Soul Sister for the band I was in. Then my singer decided he didnt want to do it so I now have a uke that I play all the time!

Reply
RJ Uke
10/6/2016 08:30:17 am

My favorite is concert. With that being said, I own all 3 sizes. I will never understand why a uke player would want a baritone.

Reply
James P
10/6/2016 12:11:32 pm

Great Info!

Reply



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  • Eddy Finn Ukes
    • See All Ukes
    • New Year, New Toys!
    • Specialty Ukuleles >
      • Tiki Series
      • EF Pineapple
      • EF Peanut
      • EF Moon
      • Moonshiner
      • EF 8 String
      • EF-G6 Guitar-Lele
      • EF-TRV-C Travel Uke
      • EF-SP5 Cigar Box Guitar >
        • EF-SP5-E Electric Cigar Box Guitar
      • Road House Cigar Box
      • Banjo Ukes >
        • EF-BU5 Uke-Jo
        • Banjo Uke Closed Back
      • EF-75MC All Solid Mahogany Uke
      • EF-28-C Koa Select
      • EF-26-KC Eddy Finn Koa Uke - Concert
      • EF-8-MC Mahogany Concert Uke
    • Tropical Mahogany EF 9 Series
    • Textured Ash Series
    • Basswood Series >
      • EF-1-S
      • EF-1-C
      • EF-1-T
      • EF-1-CE
    • All Weather Plastic Ukes >
      • Beachcomber Series >
        • Purple Beachcomber
        • Blue Beachcomber
        • Green Beachcomber
        • Orange Beachcomber
        • Red Beachcomber
    • E-Bass >
      • Uke Bass
      • Uke Bass Fretless
    • Minnow Series >
      • Pink Minnow
      • Blue Minnow
      • Natural Minnow
      • Red Minnow
      • Black Minnow
    • Cases, Bag and Stand >
      • Hippie Gig Bags
      • Paisley Bags
      • Uke Gig Bag
      • Hippie Hardshell Cases
      • Black Hardshell Case
      • Rattan Cases
      • Uke Stand
  • 2018 Catalog
  • Videos
  • Find A Dealer
  • Blog
  • Join our email list
  • Contact
  • Warranty Information
  • About
  • Eddy Finn Order Form
  • Eddy Finn Star Bucks Promo
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