Baritone uke...nope...Tenor

[EScottG]

My acoustic group is gearing up for outdoor gigs this spring and I’m looking to add a new sound to the mix. I’m thinking a baritone uke could be cool and would be a fairly familiar transition from playing guitar. My local shops don’t have one, so I’ll probably just roll the dice on a cheaper-brand uke online.

A couple of questions:

For these outdoor gigs, we often play with a single condenser mic- sort of bluegrass style. Is a baritone uke loud enough to play along with an acoustic guitar and some light percussion? I’m worried that I might have to crowd the mic to get a balanced volume mix.

Any suggestions for a decent (and preferably loud!) lower-end baritone uke? I might spend up to a few hundred dollars.

Thanks for any other thoughts or suggestions

Scott

[Hoyt]

I have a Favilla Baritone (1950/60s) that I've enjoyed, although I don't play uke as much nowadays. Not sure how it will work in a combo situation with a single mic, but I've seen it called a relatively inexpensive alternative to a Martin Baritone. I think it might run you a little more than $200, but not much, on Ebay.

Here's a link to a uke forum thread about them, with a sound sample. There is much more if you search under "Favilla Baritone Uke opionions."

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/...aritone-or-uke

[ukejon]

Originally Posted by EScottG

My acoustic group is gearing up for outdoor gigs this spring and I’m looking to add a new sound to the mix. I’m thinking a baritone uke could be cool and would be a fairly familiar transition from playing guitar. My local shops don’t have one, so I’ll probably just roll the dice on a cheaper-brand uke online.

A couple of questions:

For these outdoor gigs, we often play with a single condenser mic- sort of bluegrass style. Is a baritone uke loud enough to play along with an acoustic guitar and some light percussion? I’m worried that I might have to crowd the mic to get a balanced volume mix.

Any suggestions for a decent (and preferably loud!) lower-end baritone uke? I might spend up to a few hundred dollars.

Thanks for any other thoughts or suggestions

Scott

Have you played a baritone with the low-tuned bottom string vs. a tenor uke with a high-G or re-entrant tuning? If not, you might try both. I feel that tenors cut through the mix much better and also have a more distinctive sound. Baritones can sound a bit tubby.

[repete]

It will get walked on if you try to compete with the other instruments. Small box= small volume.

-r

[ukejon]

Originally Posted by repete

It will get walked on if you try to compete with the other instruments. Small box= small volume.

-r

Maybe but mandolins certainly don't get walked on, nor do banjo ukes. In this instance, where the band is using the one mic live setup, it simply is a matter of having the uke player stand a bit closer. I've done it many times for gigs and it works.

As for ukes, Kala and Pono and Mainland are nice ones to consider.

[MikeBmusic]

A baritone uke works well wiht a female singer (higher toned voice), but I think wiht a guitar, you may be treading on the same spectrum range.

[EScottG]

Thanks everyone for the input. My first thought was to go with a tenor uke but then I thought- possibly out of laziness- that the transition from guitar to baritone would be more natural. However, even if the volume is enough, I had also worried about trying to compete with the tonal range of the guitar during a song. Maybe I could do some creative capo-ing to compliment the guitar...I don't know. Bottom line- it's a cheap enough experiment to try if I go with a really low-budget uke but, knowing myself, I will want to go at least a step up from the very cheap ones.

Scott

[MBE]

Originally Posted by EScottG

Thanks everyone for the input. My first thought was to go with a tenor uke but then I thought- possibly out of laziness- that the transition from guitar to baritone would be more natural. However, even if the volume is enough, I had also worried about trying to compete with the tonal range of the guitar during a song. Maybe I could do some creative capo-ing to compliment the guitar...I don't know. Bottom line- it's a cheap enough experiment to try if I go with a really low-budget uke but, knowing myself, I will want to go at least a step up from the very cheap ones.

Scott

A tenor uke is a baritone uke capo'd at 5, or strings 1-4 of a guitar capo'd at 5. So a baritone with "creative capoing" is just a tenor uke with a warmer tone and less room on the fretboard.

I own both, but my choice would be the tenor for a group situation, just for the sake of being different enough to stand out.

Also, for what it's worth, you can tune either with reentrant tuning (high 4th string, G on the tenor and D on the baritone).

To complicate things further, you can get tenor-tuning sets (GCEA) designed for baritone ukes (do NOT just try to tune DGBE baritone strings up a fourth!).

I have a cedar/koa Webber baritone uke that sounds just lovely tuned GCEA. Then again, it sounds lovely in DGBE as well. But GCEA definitely cuts through the mix better.

[EScottG]

Very good point MBE! Now I'm rethinking the baritone idea and might opt for a tenor instead...

Scott

[Earl49]

FWIW, I play ukulele a lot. Tenor is my favorite size, and I play it even at bluegrass jams. When we have a bunch of guitars and only one or two mandolins, I switch to my tenor uke and play it in the "chunking" style of a mandolin. It occupies basically the same tonal range as the mandolin.

While I own examples of all four types (soprano, concert, tenor, baritone) the baritone rarely comes out of its case to play, just once or twice a year. It takes a little while to get used to the chord NAMES being different -- the shapes are actually the same -- but you will catch on pretty quick. For example, your guitar D shape is the G chord in tenor GCEA tuning. You just add three letters (five half-steps if that is easier) to the chord shape you already know. Your guitar C shape becomes an F chord, but without those pesky fifth and sixth strings.

[Hoyt]

Good point Earl. I have played my tenor uke like a mandolin. I actually use the pick I use with my mandola. I chop, pick single string runs, etc. It's very bright and does fit in. Don't think you'd have to be right up on mic to be heard.

I play my baritone when I'm by myself. It sounds very nice and expressive that way.

[EScottG]

Thanks again everyone! I think you might have saved me from a mistake with the baritone- I'm going with a tenor. Not sure what model yet but it will be fun researching the options.

Scott

[mstuartev]

Mainland makes a great, practically priced tenor. I suggest getting it set up with a low G on the bottom.

[fongie]

Scot I purchased a Martin T1K not so long ago. You won't be disappointed.

Cheap, all Koa and loud

[EScottG]

Thanks- I have read that the Martin T1 has a lot of volume, and they look great, too. So do those Mainlands. Decisions...

Thanks

Scott