Comments on: Which Size Ukulele?

By: Joe E

Joe E — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:54:02 +0000

What kind to buy? I’ve been struggling with that for a coupla month (still a novice player) but this is what my research seems to boil down to:

Experienced guitar player? Buy a baritone. Tuned like 4 strings of the guitar, so your skill will transfer somewhat.

Big guy? Tenor or concert. More space for your fingers on the frets. And bigger sound, if that matters to you.

None of the above? Soprano. “Peanut” shape (mini-guitar) or pineapple (often more resonant due to the shape). Very popular size, sounds great, wide range of quality and price…

Brand? The bulk of my reading suggested Lanikai for beginners. That was my first one and I love it. I still need a cheapo uke that I can take to the beach without worrying about it but 2 ukes in 2 months is enough for now.

By: Kristov Sergey

Kristov Sergey — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:59:41 +0000

Hey, Im getting my first (concerto) ukulele because I love the Billionare song and hope that I will be able to play it by my own with my ukulele. However, there are things that I’d like to know:

1. the most useful strumming pattern
2. chord chaging methods

Im sincerely hoping for your help. thanks!

By: antonio vet

antonio vet — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:48:50 +0000

Hi, I am an italian middle aged who used to play guitar, 5 strings banjo and bouzouki, and I’d like to try the ukelele, I am also a father of two boys of 7 and 11, so I wonder what kind of uke size would be the best, giving the fact the I would also introduce my sons to it?

By: lucas

lucas — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:37:07 +0000

my name is lucas, i’m brazilian and a want to buy a ukulele. what size would be bether for me?it’s my first ukulele.

By: Bethany

Bethany — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 01:47:20 +0000

Okay, i play guitar but im no pro. But i do have a natural talent for it. And im looking to buy a uke. I’ve read that a Lanikai LU-21C is a good one and i’ve read some good reviews from random shoppers. Im wondering if a concert would be a good one for me? i have normal size hands but longer fingers. and what type of wood would be the best? And what are some trust worthy online stores to buy from?

By: Abby

Abby — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:32:41 +0000

I have been playing guitar and several other stringed instruments for about 10 years now. I am a soprano singer and was interested in getting a ukulele that would work well with my voice. I was thinking of a concert because it seems to be the loudest. I would technically be a beginner on the instrument. Any thoughts as to the size/voice/brand of instrument I should get? My budget is around $50-100. Thanks!

By: Tantal

Tantal — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:58:49 +0000

I am also looking to buy either a Concert or Tenor when I get better at playing. I bought a Soprano (cheap one at 30$) to learn and I find it a bit too small. Being 6’2”, and having large hands, it makes certain chords hard to do. Keep in mind I am an extreme novice and a lot of this discomfort might have to do with me not being used to it. I am still at the “OMG my fingers hurt” phase. But I find myself constantly trying to reposition the instrument. Overall I am a huge fan of the Uke and I love it’s sound.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:40:29 +0000

for thous of you who are buying your first uku; I’d suggest using a tenor. it has good round sound to it(not to high not to low, but can hit the notes most songs need fairly easy.) my opinion is that it has a really nice sound even if you are just playing around and not trying to make music. for younger/ smaller players you might want a soprano because your size matters just a little.(for instance if you cant handle it right because of the size you should buy for best comfort of holding an playing.)

Make sure to buy them in the 35-90 dollar range, and test them out before you buy them! nothing is more irritating then having a poorly built Uku. i had a friend buy one for 20 bucks, it looked ok but it could never be tuned for more then 5 minutes at a time… it was very appalling. if you buy them online make sure to go to a place that has many brands and has review section for each product. buyers beware, its important to look at brands.

i hope this helped some

By: Pollux777

Pollux777 — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:12:50 +0000

Hey you forget to talk about the bass ukulele. I have heard “Stand by me” playing by a bass and a tenor (I think it was a tenor but I am not sure). Of course, it’s still a bass and it is made to play bass part (so maybe not an instrument to play while singing) but it was looking fun anyway.
I have now a fender tenor uke and I am very satisfied of it. I also have a soprano but it is a very cheap instrument and since I have my tenor I forget it. I plan to buy a concert and maybe later a baryton. As you said I will probably end by having a copy of every size cause I really like ukulele…

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:25:06 +0000

I’m thinking of buying a uke too, my friend got one the other week, and we’re going to try and learn to play it together, so I wanted to get one of my own.

Originally I was just going to get a soprano, but now I’m tempted by a tenor or concert, just because they’re bigger in size, and might be easier for me to play, as I’m roughly 6’3” and found it a bit tricky on the soprano at times. The thing is tenors are a lot more expensive than sopranos. What would you recommend? I kind of think that I should just save my money and buy a soprano for now whilst I’m still learning, then move onto a tenor when I’m a bit better, but at the same time I’m also thinking that learning might be easier if I start on a bigger instrument…