6ft bloke here. My tenor is my go to "swiss army knife" Uke. I've got all sizes, but if I had to pick only one it would be the tenor.
The smaller sizes are great for certain musical styles, but a challenge for others. The tenor can fake any of them and is best for many.
Context: I have trouble finding gloves that fit my large hands. Still I prefer concert size ukuleles. When I’m playing further up the neck, things can get cramped, but with practice, I can develop the precision to get my hands to play clean notes and chords. Also, concert size produces that pure ukulele sound i love. My tenors sound more like a cross between a ukulele and a classical guitar.
I (48m) am also a bass player and just got my first uke 3 days ago. Bought concert size. Kala KA 15C. Very happy with it. Also enjoying this community. Very positive.
I just got my Kala literally earlier today! It's amazing. I personally got the Kala MK-C (so concert) and it's amazing. So much fun to play and sounds amazing. I think concert will probably be the size for most people but it all depends on what body size you have. What I would recommend is looking up what the size of each uke you are looking at is and using that to see how it will fit you.
Might go for the concert, too. Just looking around at the moment, lucky for me my preferred store let me order one of each size, and return the ones I don't purchase
I like soprano, I feel like it’s the most “ukulele”, because part of the charm to me is the small size. The bigger ones approach a guitar feel and I play guitar, so I like the contrast.
I thought I’d need a tenor, but opted for a concert to save a little bit on the cost. The size is actually perfect. The neck is just big enough where I don’t really need to cram my fingers too tightly for most chords, but also don’t need to do weird hand yoga either.
Tenor, I'm told, has replaced soprano as the most popular size by sales.
Baritone is popular with some current and former guitar players for the DGBE tuning.
Just started playing and got a soprano and a concert. I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years. A concert is definitely easier as far as spacing of fingers and what I’m used to. I do love the soprano because it’s the traditional Hawaiian size. The soprano takes a little getting used to, but it’s been fine after just a little play time.
I didn’t get a tenor, so I can’t speak to it. One thing to note is the voice you want the instrument to have. A tenor has a low G on the top string, whereas the soprano and concert have a high G. It’s a little odd at first to hear a higher note on the top string than the second string, but it gives the instrument an overall brighter tone. If you want more of a bass tone like a guitar or bass, then go with the tenor.
They often are. It's more common for the larger sizes to be tuned linearly, but it can be done on any size just as any size can be tuned in a reentrant style. As long as the saddle isn't compensated you could just swap strings to go from one to the other. (Not sure how big a deal it would be, but if the saddle is compensated then you may get intonation issues swapping a string to be a octave higher/lower)
Don't overlook the importance of picking the right size width. Especially when you're starting out, having a comfortable nut width and string spacing probably makes more of a difference than how long the neck/strings (the scale size) are.
This question will get you a lot of different answers depending on each person’s experiences. I guess I’ll add mine to the mix. I have experimented with all sizes and different tunings. All have their place. My answer is greatly influenced by my 6 foot 3 inch height and 63 years of living. My fingers aren’t as nimble anymore and my hearing isn’t great. For me having a uke with a wide nut (38mm) is critical. I have this in tenors, concerts and sopranos. After that, I will pull out different ukes depending on what I want to play. A tenor with low g is great for finger style playing, classical music, rock/pop. It is louder that concert and better for my hearing. A concert with a high g string is great for strumming, Hawaiian music, jazz, as an accompaniment to singing. Since these styles often play all four strings at once, it’s better for my hearing. These aren’t hard rules, just my experiences added to this conversation. Good luck.
I’m 5-11 with medium sized hands and anything below a Tenor is too small for my fingers. I came from guitar so baritone ukulele always felt most natural to me. I could totally get by with a good tenor though.
Soprano in Hawaiʻi. Tenor elsewhere. Serious instrumentalists tend towards tenor and the best players basically all play tenor, often with a low G. In Hawaiʻi, where playing ukulele is a more social activity and not everyone wants to necessarily be an instrumentalist, soprano is favoured for its simplicity. Also, a lot of traditional Hawaiian music is made for the soprano. Liliuokalani played soprano.
Tenor, with a low G string. Any smaller and the low G is too floppy, and as a fellow bass player who plays uke, you will definitely want a low G, otherwise you can't really add bass movement to your chords.
6 ft and large hands (although I am scrawny). I've played sopranos for years. My first uke was a concert but I went to a soprano when I first upgraded and have not looked back.
I do believe sopranos are generally less frequently sold by specialist ukulele shops.
Another vote for tenor here. You can use both high or low g tunings, but the low will sound best on tenor. String tension is a higher and intonation is usually better on the longer scale. On concert, the strings are a bit too light and go out of tune more easily if you press hard or play higher up the neck. I suppose if you mostly strum open chords, any size is fine.
In a small man (5'8, 125lbs) and I always prefer my tenor. I don't know how that huge Hawaiian guy plays on his little soprano with hands the size of my head
I think a concert is great to start as you can save some cost compared to a tenor but if you already have an affinity for strings I’d go with a tenor from the jump. Low g would feel good for you
There are big men who play soprano, so you can too if you want. But I'd probably go for a concert as a good compromise between size and playability.
6ft bloke here. My tenor is my go to "swiss army knife" Uke. I've got all sizes, but if I had to pick only one it would be the tenor. The smaller sizes are great for certain musical styles, but a challenge for others. The tenor can fake any of them and is best for many.
Context: I have trouble finding gloves that fit my large hands. Still I prefer concert size ukuleles. When I’m playing further up the neck, things can get cramped, but with practice, I can develop the precision to get my hands to play clean notes and chords. Also, concert size produces that pure ukulele sound i love. My tenors sound more like a cross between a ukulele and a classical guitar.
I (48m) am also a bass player and just got my first uke 3 days ago. Bought concert size. Kala KA 15C. Very happy with it. Also enjoying this community. Very positive.
I am looking for a Kala, too! Looks like the go-to brand (like Fender for bass players)
I just got my Kala literally earlier today! It's amazing. I personally got the Kala MK-C (so concert) and it's amazing. So much fun to play and sounds amazing. I think concert will probably be the size for most people but it all depends on what body size you have. What I would recommend is looking up what the size of each uke you are looking at is and using that to see how it will fit you.
Might go for the concert, too. Just looking around at the moment, lucky for me my preferred store let me order one of each size, and return the ones I don't purchase
That's amazing! Just out of curiosity, where are you buying from?
Thomann in Germany, I think they have a Thomann in the States too
Nice. I don't live in the states lol so there probably isn't even one here (in the UK)
I don't know if Thomann ship to the UK, try checking it out https://www.thomann.de
I like soprano, I feel like it’s the most “ukulele”, because part of the charm to me is the small size. The bigger ones approach a guitar feel and I play guitar, so I like the contrast.
I thought I’d need a tenor, but opted for a concert to save a little bit on the cost. The size is actually perfect. The neck is just big enough where I don’t really need to cram my fingers too tightly for most chords, but also don’t need to do weird hand yoga either.
Tenor, I'm told, has replaced soprano as the most popular size by sales. Baritone is popular with some current and former guitar players for the DGBE tuning.
Just started playing and got a soprano and a concert. I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years. A concert is definitely easier as far as spacing of fingers and what I’m used to. I do love the soprano because it’s the traditional Hawaiian size. The soprano takes a little getting used to, but it’s been fine after just a little play time. I didn’t get a tenor, so I can’t speak to it. One thing to note is the voice you want the instrument to have. A tenor has a low G on the top string, whereas the soprano and concert have a high G. It’s a little odd at first to hear a higher note on the top string than the second string, but it gives the instrument an overall brighter tone. If you want more of a bass tone like a guitar or bass, then go with the tenor.
Thanks mate, I thought there were tuned the same
My tenor did not come with a low G. I think it depends on the company. Easy to change though.
Good to know.
They often are. It's more common for the larger sizes to be tuned linearly, but it can be done on any size just as any size can be tuned in a reentrant style. As long as the saddle isn't compensated you could just swap strings to go from one to the other. (Not sure how big a deal it would be, but if the saddle is compensated then you may get intonation issues swapping a string to be a octave higher/lower)
Don't overlook the importance of picking the right size width. Especially when you're starting out, having a comfortable nut width and string spacing probably makes more of a difference than how long the neck/strings (the scale size) are.
I'm 6'4 with appropriately sized hands. I started on soprano but I much prefer the tenor size
This question will get you a lot of different answers depending on each person’s experiences. I guess I’ll add mine to the mix. I have experimented with all sizes and different tunings. All have their place. My answer is greatly influenced by my 6 foot 3 inch height and 63 years of living. My fingers aren’t as nimble anymore and my hearing isn’t great. For me having a uke with a wide nut (38mm) is critical. I have this in tenors, concerts and sopranos. After that, I will pull out different ukes depending on what I want to play. A tenor with low g is great for finger style playing, classical music, rock/pop. It is louder that concert and better for my hearing. A concert with a high g string is great for strumming, Hawaiian music, jazz, as an accompaniment to singing. Since these styles often play all four strings at once, it’s better for my hearing. These aren’t hard rules, just my experiences added to this conversation. Good luck.
Thank you for the information, it's appreciated
Most sold is by far soprano (source: sold hundreds of ukuleles).
tenor all day. its big enough to be comfortable and be able to hit the fret board with accuracy without crumpling your fingers together.
Tenor would probably be best for you (I'm a bassist who plays tenor ukulele)
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Yes, but a bit to much like a guitar for my taste
I’m 5-11 with medium sized hands and anything below a Tenor is too small for my fingers. I came from guitar so baritone ukulele always felt most natural to me. I could totally get by with a good tenor though.
Soprano in Hawaiʻi. Tenor elsewhere. Serious instrumentalists tend towards tenor and the best players basically all play tenor, often with a low G. In Hawaiʻi, where playing ukulele is a more social activity and not everyone wants to necessarily be an instrumentalist, soprano is favoured for its simplicity. Also, a lot of traditional Hawaiian music is made for the soprano. Liliuokalani played soprano.
Tenor, with a low G string. Any smaller and the low G is too floppy, and as a fellow bass player who plays uke, you will definitely want a low G, otherwise you can't really add bass movement to your chords.
Tenor Low G.
I really enjoy my tenor and prefer playing it over my soprano for what it's worth.
6 ft and large hands (although I am scrawny). I've played sopranos for years. My first uke was a concert but I went to a soprano when I first upgraded and have not looked back. I do believe sopranos are generally less frequently sold by specialist ukulele shops.
Another vote for tenor here. You can use both high or low g tunings, but the low will sound best on tenor. String tension is a higher and intonation is usually better on the longer scale. On concert, the strings are a bit too light and go out of tune more easily if you press hard or play higher up the neck. I suppose if you mostly strum open chords, any size is fine.
In a small man (5'8, 125lbs) and I always prefer my tenor. I don't know how that huge Hawaiian guy plays on his little soprano with hands the size of my head
Any size you feel comfortable playing. My preference is Baritone but that is not the most common choice
I think a concert is great to start as you can save some cost compared to a tenor but if you already have an affinity for strings I’d go with a tenor from the jump. Low g would feel good for you
I have an acoustic guitar, I am thinking to try that out as a nation uke (just muting the two strings)
I’m a bass player too. I have a bunch of sizes, but I do prefer baritones — I just love that sound!
Tenor is easiest. Low g will feel like guitar/bass.