Ukulele sized guitar?
January 2, 2021 4:45 PM Subscribe
I read that ukulele-sized guitars exist. I would like to purchase one. Does anyone know what they’re called/who makes them?
Would it help to search on the word "Guitarlele"?
posted by wenestvedt at 5:11 PM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
https://nationalguitaracademy.com/guitar-sizes/Also, I believe that some guitar companies & luthiers do 3/4-size guitars, but I suspect that's still lager than you want.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:11 PM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
I just bought a Loog electric guitar that's the size of a uke, they have acoustic options too. It's awesome and I love it! If you're open to things that aren't nominally guitars but are a lot like guitars, you might check out strum stick or the seagull m4, both of which have a bit of dulcimer influence, and are designed to be very easy to learn and play.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:18 PM on January 2, 2021
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:18 PM on January 2, 2021
This seems decent: Martin Steel String Backpacker Travel Guitar with Bag
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:18 PM on January 2, 2021
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:18 PM on January 2, 2021
Guitelele, guitarlele or such. They have scale lengths from about 17" to 20" (about 430mm to 510mm). They're generally tuned higher than a normal guitar, usually about a 4th, up to A. Yamaha makes a small, inexpensive one. Quite a few others have popped up on the market from different companies. The ones marketed as guiteleles are usually strung with normal classical guitar strings, which work fine tuned up to A with the shorter scale length. I don't think any are intended for re-entrant tuning, though I'm sure some players have strung them up in such a way. They are very similar to the smaller fractional sized classical guitars in the 1/8 to 1/4 size range, though those are typically intended for children sized hands, so the neck widths are narrower than instruments marketed as guitleles, adn a bit cramped, IMO.
There a some steel string guitars in this size, but they're rare. There used to be the Tacoma Papoose, and Ibanez still makes the piccolo guitar. Similar idea, just with steel strings instead of nylon.
I have a few guitars like these that I tune to normal E, by using heavier strings. One is a Harley Benton branded guitelele, strung with a set of strings marketed for 7 string classical, with a low C. I simply discarded what would have been the high E and used the rest. Works OK, but the saddle needs pretty careful compensation to play in tune. I've also experimented with normal tuning using steel strings, which I found more satisfying, but they require more tinkering in order for the instruments to hold up to the added stress, using strings in the 013-.056 range.
posted by 2N2222 at 5:20 PM on January 2, 2021
There a some steel string guitars in this size, but they're rare. There used to be the Tacoma Papoose, and Ibanez still makes the piccolo guitar. Similar idea, just with steel strings instead of nylon.
I have a few guitars like these that I tune to normal E, by using heavier strings. One is a Harley Benton branded guitelele, strung with a set of strings marketed for 7 string classical, with a low C. I simply discarded what would have been the high E and used the rest. Works OK, but the saddle needs pretty careful compensation to play in tune. I've also experimented with normal tuning using steel strings, which I found more satisfying, but they require more tinkering in order for the instruments to hold up to the added stress, using strings in the 013-.056 range.
posted by 2N2222 at 5:20 PM on January 2, 2021
I bought a Seagull M4 a couple of weeks ago. It's a fun thing to be sure, but it's not a guitar in the sense that you can play guitar music without transposing and simplifying it. If it's a case of wanting something very portable with an interesting sound that's fun to play, it might be worth a try. But if it's about getting an actual guitar for a small space or small hands or something, then definitely look at the guitelele.
posted by pipeski at 5:30 PM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 5:30 PM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
My kid has a Loog. I play full-sized guitar (with tiny hands, it should be noted), and I like the feel of the Loog. Some of the lower frets are pretty close together if you’re soloing, but the higher frets being closer together means you can finger some interesting chord shapes that you wouldn’t be able to do on a full-size guitar.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:04 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 6:04 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
personally I don't like the Yamaha Guitalele, it sounds rather thin and plinky.
I would recommend a half-scale or 3/4 guitar, Baby Taylor is something nice from various options. I play a cheap China nylon classical 3/4 for strummin'.
posted by ovvl at 7:18 PM on January 2, 2021
I would recommend a half-scale or 3/4 guitar, Baby Taylor is something nice from various options. I play a cheap China nylon classical 3/4 for strummin'.
posted by ovvl at 7:18 PM on January 2, 2021
The Martin Backpacker sounds okay, but is tiring to play as the headstock is the heaviest part and it tends to dive on you. It's impossible to play without a strap. I had one, and sold it quickly
The Guitalele can sound amazing, but I suspect the performance I saw with two composers from the Royal Conservatory in Toronto playing Guitaleles was quite a bit to do with the incredible skill of the musicians. A small part also had to do with the top-flight luthier setup that their instruments had received.
There used to be a nice little plain guitar that was made in a factory in Romania. It was advertised as a cittern. Lovely sound and incredible spruce top on the thing, but the finish was very plain.
posted by scruss at 10:05 PM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Guitalele can sound amazing, but I suspect the performance I saw with two composers from the Royal Conservatory in Toronto playing Guitaleles was quite a bit to do with the incredible skill of the musicians. A small part also had to do with the top-flight luthier setup that their instruments had received.
There used to be a nice little plain guitar that was made in a factory in Romania. It was advertised as a cittern. Lovely sound and incredible spruce top on the thing, but the finish was very plain.
posted by scruss at 10:05 PM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
Be aware of the Cavaquinho also: a 4 stringed instrument from the guitar family - but about the same size a a ukulele. Prominently used in samba in Rio. Can sound like this.
posted by rongorongo at 2:37 AM on January 3, 2021
posted by rongorongo at 2:37 AM on January 3, 2021
Mrs. TheCoug and I got her dad a Cordoba Mini, which if you are inclined toward nylon strings, is a surprisingly decent little guitar. It is tuned to A, and sounds somewhere between a guitar and a uke.
posted by TheCoug at 7:37 AM on January 3, 2021
posted by TheCoug at 7:37 AM on January 3, 2021
personally I don't like the Yamaha Guitalele, it sounds rather thin and plinky.
I think that's because they're really a guitar-ukulele hybrid, and a relatively new hybrid at that. There's a clear history of small guitars tuned up a 4th. If you live in an area with a large Mexican immigrant population/tradition, you'll likely have seen/heard a requinto played, which is a similarly tuned guitar, however is larger and fuller sounding than the guitarlele, simply because of it's increased size and scale length.
If one is seeking a ukulele sized guitar, there are expectations one should have as a result. Which makes me think of another possibility. One reason someone might seek a ukulele sized guitar might be to avoid re-entrant tuning typical of a ukulele. I've known guitar players avoid the ukulele because the re-entrant tuning throws them off.
If that is the case, it's entirely possible to tune the lowest string of the ukulele (typically tuned to a high G) an octave lower so that its 4 strings go from low to high rather than high, low-high. This makes the ukulele layout more "linear" (I guess would be the way to put it). There are string sets and individual strings for this tuning. Additionally, I've used a D string from a classical guitar set to do this. The complication with this is that the nut of the ukulele might need slight modification to accommodate the wider string. Ukulele players can get pretty passionate about this tuning, for and against, but it's nice and I prefer it on a soprano uke.
The cavaquinho is an interesting suggestion, but they're virtually impossible to find in North America, being part of the Portuguese and its colonial traditions (and kind of the father of the ukulele). They're like steel strung ukuleles, with slight variations in style depending where they're from (Portugal, Brasil, Cape Verde, etc).
They are four string, tuning varies by region. There's a slightly larger version with 5 strings called a rajao, but that seems even more rare in N America.
posted by 2N2222 at 11:50 AM on January 3, 2021
I think that's because they're really a guitar-ukulele hybrid, and a relatively new hybrid at that. There's a clear history of small guitars tuned up a 4th. If you live in an area with a large Mexican immigrant population/tradition, you'll likely have seen/heard a requinto played, which is a similarly tuned guitar, however is larger and fuller sounding than the guitarlele, simply because of it's increased size and scale length.
If one is seeking a ukulele sized guitar, there are expectations one should have as a result. Which makes me think of another possibility. One reason someone might seek a ukulele sized guitar might be to avoid re-entrant tuning typical of a ukulele. I've known guitar players avoid the ukulele because the re-entrant tuning throws them off.
If that is the case, it's entirely possible to tune the lowest string of the ukulele (typically tuned to a high G) an octave lower so that its 4 strings go from low to high rather than high, low-high. This makes the ukulele layout more "linear" (I guess would be the way to put it). There are string sets and individual strings for this tuning. Additionally, I've used a D string from a classical guitar set to do this. The complication with this is that the nut of the ukulele might need slight modification to accommodate the wider string. Ukulele players can get pretty passionate about this tuning, for and against, but it's nice and I prefer it on a soprano uke.
The cavaquinho is an interesting suggestion, but they're virtually impossible to find in North America, being part of the Portuguese and its colonial traditions (and kind of the father of the ukulele). They're like steel strung ukuleles, with slight variations in style depending where they're from (Portugal, Brasil, Cape Verde, etc).
They are four string, tuning varies by region. There's a slightly larger version with 5 strings called a rajao, but that seems even more rare in N America.
posted by 2N2222 at 11:50 AM on January 3, 2021
Stumbled on this looking for stuff for my own projects:
Stewart MacDonald, one of the major luthier tool & supplies companies, has both mini guitar kits and now assembled & painted versions of the "Tele" mini.
Looks maybe only a little larger than a "standard" ukelele.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:59 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Stewart MacDonald, one of the major luthier tool & supplies companies, has both mini guitar kits and now assembled & painted versions of the "Tele" mini.
Looks maybe only a little larger than a "standard" ukelele.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:59 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Don't overlook the (possibly smelly) Charango, which is traditionally a guitar made from an armadillo's shell. Wikipedia says they're usually about 26" long -- nice and small.
Don't fear the lingering possibility of Hansen's disease: get one today!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:02 PM on January 5, 2021
Don't fear the lingering possibility of Hansen's disease: get one today!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:02 PM on January 5, 2021
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posted by soundguy99 at 5:10 PM on January 2, 2021