If you’re a guitar player it would be a very smooth transition to a baritone. Due to it’s larger body, size and tuning it has a very different sound to sopranos, concerts and tenors. Instead it is tuned to DGBE which is the same as the top 4 strings on a guitar. The baritone ukulele isn’t tuned to gCEA like the other sizes/scales. Due to it’s larger body size you will typically get a fuller sound from a Tenor. Typically it has 15+ frets and is tuned to gCEA just like the soprano and the concert. The tenor ukulele is larger in both scale length and body size than the concert.

The larger body gives a fuller sound than the soprano, although the strings are tuned the same. Typically they have between 15 and 20 frets and as a result of the longer scale length the tension on the strings is more than the soprano (meaning they require a little bit more pressure on the strings). ConcertĬoncert size ukuleles are a little bigger than sopranos. Sopranos usually have between 12 and 15 frets (I’m a fan of 15 fret sopranos personally). There’s a fairly common misconception that the smaller the ukulele the more difficult it is to play and this is often levelled wrongly at the soprano. Typically it has the smallest body and the shortest fretboard. The soprano ukulele is the one most people picture when the word ukulele is mentioned. I ended up buying a concert scale ukulele as it was pretty much the first one I picked up. I personally had no idea that ukuleles came in different sizes when I bought my first ukulele. When it comes to buying a ukulele, it’s good to get a bit of knowledge about each one. Smallest to largest we have soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. There are 4 main sizes of ukulele and each has its own characteristics.

From sizes and strings to budgets, brands and buying tips. Hopefully I can help you to avoid the mistakes that I made when I bought my first ukulele. If you’re considering buying a ukulele for the first time then the ukulele buying guide is the page for you.

Ukelele types