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| buying a uke - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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inferno Approved
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Im intersted in buying a ukulele but i have little information on them.... Im trying to find out if i should get a baritone or soprano? and also i want to know the best one for under $200... any help would be appreciated thanks alot! =]
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gadgeteer Approved 
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inferno: A baritone is the largest of the four sizes of ukulele and some don't even consider it in the same league as the soprano, concert and tenor ukes because it's tuned differently. A baritone is actually tuned like the top four strings on a guitar. I guess one question would be, have you played guitar before? If so, what style of music did you play? Often times, tenor ukuleles are suggested for fingerstyle guitar players as the tenor is the largest of three 'normal' ukes (soprano, concert, tenor) and is also said to be easier to get around the fretboard if you play up the neck. I came from a fingerstyle background but started out with a concert size since it's right in the middle size-wise. For me that was the most comfortable size. Now I'm drifting to the soprano (smallest size). Do you have any stores near you where you can at least hold each of the three sizes of ukulele to see which feels best to you? As for which instrument is best for under $200, that's not an easy question to answer. Some instruments in that price range that are often times suggested are the FLEA and Fluke ukes that you can find at http://fleamarketmusic.com. There are also the Koa Pili Koko ukes that I really like. Those are really the only two brands that are in your price range that I own and can talk about. I'm sure other people will chime in with some other advice that might help you make your choice. Welcome to the club!  Last edited on Wed Mar 5th, 2008 09:41 pm by gadgeteer ____________________ Julie Strietelmeier http://ukulelereview.com |
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inferno Approved
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ok thanks.... and no i have not played guitar before.. but im leaning towards the soprano because i think i will have an easier time learning on a bigger uke.. if you have any more advice for me it would be much appreciated thanks so much =]
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gadgeteer Approved
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inferno: The soprano is actually the smallest sized uke. It is only about 21 inches long. This picture will help you see the difference in the 4 sizes: http://home.earthlink.net/~billtong/lcaf/ukuleles.jpg
____________________ Julie Strietelmeier http://ukulelereview.com |
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lenf Approved
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inferno wrote: im leaning towards the soprano because i think i will have an easier time learning on a bigger uke... As gadgeteer noted, soprano is the smallest normal size. For ease in learning, I'd suggest you look at a concert size. When I started, the soprano seemed a bit crowded on the frets, and I liked the bit of extra room on the concert. There's even more room on a tenor, of course, but I found that more of a problem than help at first, especially with barre chords. The other factor is you could find a better $200 concert than a $200 tenor or baritone. You'll certainly want something with good intonation up the neck and, preferably, solid wood at least on the soundboard. I'm not a big fan of plastic in ukes, like the flea/fluke things. Re: baritone, you'd be learning something rather different than a traditional uke, with different tuning, different song books and manuals, etc.
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scrooner Approved
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I know, it's bad form to recommend something over a given budget, but check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/OHANA-CK-50G-SOLID-Cedartop-rosewood-CONCERT-UKULELE_W0QQitemZ250221817576QQihZ015QQcategoryZ16224QQcmdZViewItem Ohana cedartop concert with rosewood back & sides. The included case is worth $40, so if you subtract that & shipping, you're at $200 I have seen and played one of these in a shop, and let me tell you it's a showstopper! Absolutely gorgeous uke for the price, and it sounds VERY nice. Ohana is similar to Bushman/Vineyard for those who are familiar with those brands. I wish these had been out when I first started shopping....they are awesome.
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ezmember Approved
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Kala is another good brand you can get from musicguymic on Ebay. There's one here (the Mango wood is beautiful): http://cgi.ebay.com/KALA-MANGO-CONCERT-UKULELE-W-CS-PP-BOOKS-KA-MC_W0QQitemZ250222745685QQihZ015QQcategoryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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molinee Approved
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lenf wrote: inferno wrote:im leaning towards the soprano because i think i will have an easier time learning on a bigger uke... Someone please correct me if I am wrong, as I am learning too. If you do decide to get a baritone because you like the bigger size, you can buy special strings for the baritone that will give you the standard tuning of the smaller ukes... Yes/No??
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GX9901 Approved 
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molinee wrote: lenf wrote:inferno wrote:im leaning towards the soprano because i think i will have an easier time learning on a bigger uke... I think you can buy GCEA strings for the Baritone, but the better way to go is probably to just get a tenor ukulele. Part of the reason why Baritones are tuned DGBE is because their bigger size makes them more suited to a lower/deeper sound. Tuning it GCEA probably isn't making the best use of the Baritone size.
____________________ Check out my uke blog: http://gx9901ukes.blogspot.com |
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scrooner Approved
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ezmember wrote:
MGM usually states "solid wood" when that is the case. If you're interested in this Kala, I would check to see if it has a solid wood body.
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inferno Approved
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ok thanks alot.. so im now trying to decide between the tenor or the concert size uke... which do you think will be better for me, again i have never played before...and im still undecided on which brand to buy, so again any advice would be great!! thanks =)
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Ukeconomics Approved 
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inferno, if you can go try each size out. Even if they're cheap you'll still get a clue about how the size fits you and what each basically sounds like. Guitar Center, a national chain, does carry a few ukuleles, and some regional chain stores (Schmidt Music, for example) do as well. For ~$200 you'll probably find a better quality concert ukulele than you would a tenor, but you can certainly buy a decent tenor ukulele in that price range. But like some here have said, if you can pay a bit more for a lot more uke, it's worth it because it'll be even more fun to play and that's what it's all about.
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Félix Approved
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Hi! this is my firt -and thus required- post. I just clicked "confirm my order" on harpdepot.com so I guess I'm officially the owner of a Bushman Jenny Concert uke. I cant wait to try it! Well, just wanted to thank you all for the multiple reviews and advices posted on this forum, it helped me a lot!  See ya round!
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ezmember Approved
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That Uke has a good reputation so you done good! Let us know how you like it when you get it, and start a new thread so your message isn't lost in someone else's post. Enjoy your new Uke!
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > buying a uke | |
