A look at what is currently available on eBay
Difference between a soprano and a concert ukulele?
I have a couple of questions:
Which one is:
1) in you opinion better?
2) better sounding?
3)an easier transition from a guitar?
4) easier to learn?
And is Lanikai concert uke good, or not?
The easiest transition from guitar is actually the baritone ukulele as the tuning is the same as the top four strings of a guitar [DGBE]. It is very similar to a parlour guitar or even a Taylor Baby. Some have steel strings, some have the same "nylon" strings as an ukulele. But the chord charts will be different than the other three ukulele. Same shapes, different names.
Next, smaller in size is the Tenor ukulele. Most professional recording ukulele players prefer the tenor for its rich sound and the ability to create more complex musical tones across a wide spectrum. The neck scale length and the body are both larger than the concert and standard (also known as rhe soprano). It is also an easy transition from a guitar. I play both slack key guitar (ki ho'alu) and slack key ukulele and low-G tenor ukulele. It is a fairly easy transition between the instruments.
In the concert size, a few luthiers (Kanile'a and KoAloha) are making what they call a super concert. It is an ukulele with a tenor length neck and a concert sized body. I know several people that love them. It is easy to navigate the fretboard and the body resonates with a very nice tone.
The concert ukulele is the one for those that have a budget to navigate but want a nice sounding instrument. Some though, find the small neck difficult to hold jazzy barre chords.
One of the biggest advantages of the smallest ukulele (standard or soprano) is that most people can fret some fantastic sounding chords that are impossible (with one hand) on the guitar. That, and the fact that most are tuned to a "high-G" or "reentrant" tuning -- the old "my dog has fleas" tuning and a whole new world of possibilities open up far a fretted instrument. Many people (like me) find this instrument is too small for their hands and many chords are next to impossible to hold above the fifth fret. Some alos find it lack the projection (loudness) and fuller tones produced by the larger bodied ukulele.
Lanikai makes an excellet ukulele. They are some of the best values for the money and will last a begiining ukulele player a long time until they move up to a solid wood crafted instrument. I saw a nice combo package (on Amazon.com) of a concert ukulele, soft case bag, tuner, and book for around $100.
Bottom line though, is you should find a nice music shop that has a wide variety of ukulele and pick them up and strum/fret for comfort. Then have the salesperson play it for you so you can get a good idea of the tone that you want to reproduce. You will find that your ear (and eye) expects something completely different than any of us can describe or recommend and we will all offer poor advice if we convince you to get other than what you are expecting. The internet can save you money of you already KNOW what you want.
Have fun; the ukulele has a magical charm.
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