Ease of getting fingers on the board is much more to do with nut width rather than scale length. Whilst fret spacing down the neck increases with size, it's not really where they feel and space comes from. A wider nut width makes the most difference and again, whilst this 'can' increase with scale increases that is less a hard and fast rule. There are sopranos on the market with more width than even some tenors - and hence more space where it counts.

@JJandDad

Ай бұрын

That's an interesting thought, and a valid argument, I personally find space in either direction helps. When a nut is too wide the barre chords can be an issue for some players. Personal preference plays a big part, as does the ability of the individual. The difference in nut width isn't as big as the difference in scale length for the extra mm2 gained. I know some of the very high end instruments are lacking in width, but seem to have very good playability, possibly because of a great setup. But that is from the perspective of someone who isn't a beginner. Hence the advice here is to go and try a few times before buying.

@GotAUkulele

Ай бұрын

@@JJandDad Thing is - the more traditional neck width IS wider. Certainly that's the way most Hawaiian ukes were made and still are. The narrow nut trend came in when the far east uke boom took hold. Even those now are moving away from them. In my experience, even a half mil on the nut totally changes the feel of the uke and the space. Never really noticed differences in fret spacing myself.

@JJandDad

Ай бұрын

@GotAUkulele I think I noticed it more because of moving between all the different sizes every day. Just grabbing the nearest instrument.