Yamaha Guitalele - six string uke
 

I've noticed that most of the "big box" music stores and Amazon are now stocking these instruments. Previously, they were available only in Canada and overseas.

There are quite a few clips on YouTube featuring Guitaleles AKA Guitarleles.

Now that they're available in the States, I'm wondering if anyone has gotten the urge to get one. Looks like they'd be a fun instrument to noodle around on - and the cost is only one Benjamin. I'm tempted to get one.

Here's a description I found on Amazon:
Introducing the Yamaha GL1 Guitarlele, now officially available for the first time in the USA! Half guitar, half ukulele...100% fun. A unique mini 6-string nylon guitar that is sized like a baritone ukulele (17" scale) and plays like a standard tune guitar. The guitarlele's tuning is pitched up to "A" (or up a 4th) at A/D/G/C/E/A.

i might have seen one of those yamahas recently - at least, i played a tiny nylon string yamaha, smaller than my jr1 and more bass, too. it was tempting, actually.

i have one of these as a beater
http://www.amazon.com/Mahalo-UNG-30B...5087944&sr=8-1
not great but not bad, and sometimes the price goes way down, too.

Thanks for the input, Ms. Cake! :)

I haven't seen those Mahalos previously. They look pretty cool. I noticed that the price varies depending on the color so you can save some bucks if you aren't wedded to a particular one.

yeah see them all over the place in this city, never played one because I have a couple of Larrivee Lites so I`m set for smaller body guitars.

Yamaha Guitale
 

I tried one. cheap price. Wasnt sure what it was all
about. I didnt know it was a uke. Not sure what it was.
I found it a bit small for my big paws so i gave it a
quick look and passed it by. looks cool.

the neck on the mahalo is pretty wide - as i recall, 1.8" at the nut - so good for those with larger paws or who are just used to wider necks. it takes a little time to find the perfect playing position, but is worth it. and btw, the mahalo definitely benefits from a string change after you have it.

A wider nut is nice, but there is a second problem: on short-scale fretted instruments like this, the frets get very close together as you go up the neck. So close that the big fingers on those big paws can no longer be crammed into the available space! Obviously, this issue is at its worst when trying to play chords that require multiple fingers squeezed closely together.

I've always had a soft spot for the sound of a mandolin, but I'm one of those big-pawed, big-fingered people and I doubt my fingers would cooperate with the skinny neck and tight fret spacing of a mandolin.

Truth to tell, regular six-string guitars are already a tight fit for me. My fingers are big enough to stick between the two adjacent black keys of a keyboard. And I play electric bass guitars using one fret per finger even down low near the nut - even on my 35" scale Yamaha RBX 774, though that one is a bit of a stretch!

-Gnobuddy

Ive been debating one of these little Guitlele's. Ive been looking for something that I can travel with that wont take up much room. I believe you can tune these to G or A so I could play it just like a six string guitar just a few steps up. Ive also been looking at the A&L Ami's... and maybe some Parlor guitars... not sure what I want to do?

My neigthborhood guitar store received a guitarlele so I went in to try it out. It is SMALLER than it looked on youtube. The fret spacing was so tight, I couldn't really play it...and I have small hands for a man. I was hoping it would be the perfect travel instrument, but it sure wouldn't work for me. The A&L Ami is wonderful...probably where I will wind up someday.

I have one of those breedlove travel guitars that are tuned to A. It is a blast to play. You can really burn on it. The sound isn't spectacular but if I run it off the pickups I can dial up something acceptable. I find it very easy to play.

I have one ,,,and it is a cool little instrument.... built like a tank... I bring mine to the beach and enjoy it with the sun the sand and the sea...
You definitely must do a setup on it.... because of its super short scale, intonation can be a big problem if not setup well. sound wise, it is mroe like a guitar than a uke.... both my 2 year old son and myself enjoy it very much...:D

I thought they would be cool , typically Yamahas are decent for the money - but the one i saw at a Best-Buy a few weeks ago was very poorly build and very low end - something i would consider a poor quality childrens toy .If they come out with a better made playable model -ill consider a purchse .

I've played one at the local music store...and I just wasn't impressed.

Maybe I'm just "old school", but if I want I uke, I don't want a "guitar-lele". I would want a ukelele! Same thing goes for mandolin and banjo...I've tried a "banjitar", and I can get those tones out of my 12-string.

last time i tried one of these, i had tuned it standard, and then a little higher than standard. today i played one tuned to A, and it is a lot more fun that way. it makes all the songs you know sound so very different, and i found it very amusing.

Have you checked out some of the You Tube videos of people playing this little Yamaha guitalele? It seems there are quite a few people managing to get really attractive sounds out of this instrument, plywood top or no plywood top.

Here's an example, this man gets really lovely tone out of this budget instrument (despite the automatic volume control in the camcorder audibly squashing all the peaks): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumuT...eature=related

And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Pf-...eature=related

And this is a pretty nice demo of the instrument, including comparison with a regular guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrHL0...eature=related

If my hands were smaller I'd probably get one of these just for fun and giggles (and to add interesting sounds to some of my home recordings).

-Gnobuddy