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  #1  
Old 05-24-2013, 11:17 PM
Harold Dickert Harold Dickert is offline
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Location: Kilbride, Ontario, Canada (in the woods north of the Burlington end of Lake Ontario)
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Default Steel String Ukulele? Or should I call it a Soprano Guitar?


How is this for something different. This is my second Steel String Ukulele, although I have given up calling it that.
All the Ukulele players I’ve met don’t know how to deal with this instruments since they are always telling me I’ve tuned it incorrectly ( A – D – F# - B). “It has steel strings” I tell them “so it needs the tension to drive the instrument”. With an 18.5” scale length, you end up at the same place as if you put a capo at the 7th fret on a standard size guitar, and only play the top four strings. The difference is that with it’s small body size the voice is totally different than a guitar with a capo. Plus there is the extended high range – as if having a 27th fret on a standard guitar all the way up to a crazy high “G”.
One the other hand, when a fingerstyle open tuning kind of guy guitar slinger picks this thing up, they get it and it takes all of thirty seconds for them to start inventing new tunes, and lead lines on it. They kind of think of it like a shrunken Tenor guitar at a high pitch – Soprano. So I’ve started calling it a Soprano guitar. Now to further mix up names… I’ve also heard those little travel guitars call Soprano’s when they’ve been tunes up a fifth. What to do???
Then there is the mater of – “What to charge”??? This thing is built just like a full size guitar, X-braced, 2-way truss-rod, ball end strings – thus a bridge with pins, and a bridge plate, intonated bone saddle, binding, inlay, etc. When you measure three times to cut once, cutting a few inches shorter basically still takes the same amount of time. I’ll have to charge guitar prices for this thingy. It ain’t no 50 buck Uke!
Also, I’ve looked and looked, but have not found anything like it with steel strings, so if any of you out there know of one, please tell me.
More info and specs at http://www.dickert.ca/Archive/037%20...%20Soprano.htm

Harold
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Old 05-25-2013, 02:53 PM
Harold Dickert Harold Dickert is offline
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Default More photos

Note how the Black Locust picks up light and reflects it like the reflectors in a tail light. This stuff really sparkles as you move the instrument around.







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Old 05-25-2013, 03:18 PM
bobby b bobby b is offline
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Well your Canadian buddies that play Uke should know that A D F# B ( D6 tuning ) is a very common Uke tuning here in Canada. It is not wrong or incorrect at all.

http://jameshillmusic.com/faq#tuning

I cant say I have ever seen a steel string uke, but if it is properly designed and braced for steel strings( which it sure looks to be ) then its fine.. it is still a uke though, not a soprano guitar.

Cheers
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Old 05-25-2013, 04:20 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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Baritone Ukulele is 19", doubt anyone will quibble about the 1/2". Four strings, I would call it a uke.
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