Anyone have a spare tenor uke?

[brewerpaul]

OK, after seeing Jake Shimabukuro last night, I really want to get a tenor uke. Anyone have one that they're not playing that they'd be looking to sell? Maybe a whistle trade?

[Tim2723]

Just a little food for thought Paul, but have you considered a concert size instead? The concert's scale length is more lke a mandolin's, which might make the transition easier given your mandolin experience.

[s1m0n]

What's the scale length on a tenor uke?

I have what *I* think of as a tenor guitar, but its smaller than most TGs. It's an elderly regal made of some non-descript wood. It refused to take being restrung to 'irish' tg tension & pitch, so I put standard TG strings (cgda) back and the neck straightened up. It's got a light, sweet tone, but I don't use it much. The friction pegs are gearless, so tuning can be a frustrating series of minute adjustments. In good shape apart from about a 1/4 inch of missing binding. It's in the back of a cupboard right now, but I think the scale was something like 17 or 18 inches.

[Thomaston]

Yep, a tenor uke is usually around 17 inches scale length. Does the nut or bridge look like it would accommodate wider nylon strings well? You might want to keep it tuned down when not in use... I've read horror stories of ukes collapsing under the pressure of metal strings, since they're braced for nylon.
I used to have a Lanikai tenor uke that was a lot of fun. I regret selling it. I had gotten it after becoming enamored with Jake's playing, also. The banjo style of clawhammer works really well on uke due to the re-intrant tuning.

[s1m0n]

I'll drag it out later and look at the bridge & nut. Tenor banjo & tenor guitar strings are intended to be at banjo tension rather than guitar/mandolin tension. They're a lot looser & much gentler, so I leave it strung more or less to tension. It's one I used only at home, so I didn't usually tune it with a tuner or tuning fork. I'd set the bass string to about the right tension and tune the rest to it by ear. The actual pitch it's at these days could be anything, but putting it away tuned never appeared to harm it.

But yes, if it's suitable I could be persuaded to sell or trade it for something. It came with the original cardboard & cloth case. You're supposed to slide the instrument in from the end. I'd invariably knock it out of tune by bumping the tuning pegs on the way, so I stopped using it. The hinge and handle were leather, but they've dried out so much they're too brittle and tear every time you look at them crossly. I still have the case, tho.

[Tim2723]

Simon, from your description it might (big guess on my part!) also be a baritone ukulele. A tenor uke is smaller of course, but so much so that it wouldn't be easily mistaken for the smallest tenor guitar. A tenor uke is remarkably smaller than the smallest tenor guitar, while a baritone uke is just a bit smaller than the tenor guitar. As I'm sure you know, scale length can vary widely and is not the most reliable indicator of an instrument's identity. Regal, while best known for resonator guitars and banjos, produced a number of ukuleles early in the last century when the instrument was all the rage. The tuning pegs also suggest it to be a ukulele, as very few guitars were outfitted with simple pegs during the time that Regal was producing, yet it was the norm for ukuleles until rather recently, and is still commonplace.

But as I said, just a big guess on my part.

[Sandy McLeod]

My Lanikai tenor is about 17 inches and my Martin baritone is closer to 20 on the scale. But as Tim wrote, there is a certain variance with ukes, especially older ones. I tune my tenor to low G as it gives me more leeway than re-entrant tuning for the type of music I play but you can get sets of strings for ukes in whatever tuning you want or you can use classical guitar strings if you know the specs. There are sites which talk about which brands work well but most of it is based on anecdotal experience. Virtually all agree though that steel strings on a uke is a death sentence for the instrument. Having said that, Aquila makes a wound low G in their sets and I have used that for years on my Lanikai which is admittedly not a high end instrument but one that gives me much pleasure. Not as much as the Martin bari, though.

Sandy

[s1m0n]

Found it. The scale is actually 21". The label does say its a tenor guitar, but its smaller and lighter than any tenor I've seen. The body is 14" long, 10.5" at its widest, and 3 inches deep. Overall length is 30.5".

[Tim2723]

Hi Sandy, the reason I'm guessing it might not be a tenor uke is that if one were to place a tenor uke, a baritone uke, and a tenor guitar, all being average sized, next to each other, one would easily see other differences than scale length. There can be long-necked tenors and short-necked baritones; every combination you (or the builders) can imagine, and as you say, the older instruments can be harder to tell apart.

Oops! Simultaneous typing! It sounds like what you have is a small-body tenor guitar. They came in a variety of sizes too. All very confusing but lots of fun! Odd that it would have peg tuners though, but nothing is impossible.

At any rate, it leaves Paul still looking for a tenor ukulele.

[Tim2723]

And BTW Paul, I still suggest you look into the concert size uke for it's mandolin-like scale length. I think you'd be very happy with one.

[brewerpaul]

Still looking and contemplating.
Since my wife is still in school (nurse practitioner) it's hard to justify spending the $$. However, I have a really nice rifle that I bought years ago and fired exactly on one occasion. I'm hoping to sell that and fund a Tenor.

I'm curious about the pros and cons of re-entrant tuning. I already play guitar, so low G tuning would make sense to me. Still, Jake S uses high G and he sounds OK... Any thoughts?

[nohoval_turrets]

As a guitar player too, I orginally went for low-g on both my ukes (soprano & tenor). Thing about low-g is that I find it turns the uke into a small guitar - but with too few strings. Re-entrant tuning gives chords more punch because the voicings are so tight. Makes the sound sort of shimmer and twinkle. So I've gone back to re-entrant for the soprano, and I think it works much better. For the tenor I've stuck with low-g, but I seldom play it.

Re-entrant does take some getting used to, especially for playing melodies and runs, if you're going to exploit the specific possibilities it creates. Practising the scales will help.

[s1m0n]

Here we go. Mine's like this, but in much better shape. This one has been nastily refinished and has lost the Regal - Tenor Guitar label inside. And it has white or yellowed white plastic binding. In a uniform coffee-coloured stain over nondescript hardwood. The sides might be maple.

[Thomaston]

Hmmm, based on the pic, I'd guess tenor guitar. It actually looks a lot like the basis for the Fletcher Tenortone guitars.
http://fletcherinstruments.com/index.html

[Tim2723]

I would agree. That's a tenor guitar.