Small stringed instrument, Uke or Mandolin?

Mando or Uke?

  • Mandolin

    Votes: 8 61.5%

  • Ukes are cool. They are going to go big as people find new ways to use them.

    Votes: 5 38.5%
  • Total voters
    13
sunvalleylaw

sunvalleylaw

Yep.
I have an interest in getting a small stringed instrument that can be tied to a back pack or thrown in the canoe, etc.

Uke or Mando. Which would you get and why?


Side question, "Which one is more consistent with getting better at guitar?"
 
I received a soprano ukulele for a bday gift. I don't use it much, but I have a book of songs for the uke, one of which is "Stairway To Heaven". It's the only song I can play on it.


Therefore, I choose ukulele.:embarrassed:
 
Based off of your other thread I'd suggest the mandolin... you might be able to take it more seriously. :embarrassed:

Really, I'd go for both. The uke won't set you back much cash (under $50 for a solid starter) an Kentucky makes some pretty damn good entry mandolins for $200ish.
 
I'd rather have a mando. Grew up with ukes so if I were to own one, I want a good one. I use to play the melody line on a uke as well as the one note riff to Smoke on the Water growing up. Sorry I have to pass....
 
Kerouac said:
Based off of your other thread I'd suggest the mandolin... you might be able to take it more seriously. :embarrassed:

Really, I'd go for both. The uke won't set you back much cash (under $50 for a solid starter) an Kentucky makes some pretty damn good entry mandolins for $200ish.
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Well, whichever is more useful for improving guitar is the one I would choose first I guess, though I love the sound of a mando in a group, and struggle with the tone of a uke. Are the chords formed and notes laid out differently on each?

It is not so much the relative cost of the instruments as which one will help me with guitar more. I really can't dilute my learning curve too much.


BTW, I really do respect musical skill on the uke. The NPR broadcast yesterday was nice. I guess Ukelele is translated literally as "Jumping Flea"!
 
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sunvalleylaw said:
Well, whichever is more useful for improving guitar is the one I would choose first I guess, though I love the sound of a mando in a group, and struggle with the tone of a uke. Are the chords formed and notes laid out differently on each?

It is not so much the relative cost of the instruments as which one will help me with guitar more. I really can't dilute my learning curve too much.


BTW, I really do respect musical skill on the uke. The NPR broadcast yesterday was nice. I guess Ukelele is translated literally as "Jumping Flea"!
Click to expand...

Mandolin would be great for work on tremolo picking. Uke would be great for strumming and syncopation.
 
sunvalleylaw said:
Well, whichever is more useful for improving guitar is the one I would choose first I guess, though I love the sound of a mando in a group, and struggle with the tone of a uke. Are the chords formed and notes laid out differently on each?
Click to expand...

Guitar chords translate directly to a uke. Not so for a mandolin (usually). Think of a uke as a guitar capoed at the 5th fret and missing the two bass strings.
 
I got a mandolin for Father's Day, and I love it. It's great fun to play, and it opens up opportunities to play with others. The only downside is that playing it is addictive and it takes time away from playing guitar.
 
Tralfaz said:
Guitar chords translate directly to a uke. Not so for a mandolin (usually). Think of a uke as a guitar capoed at the 5th fret and missing the two bass strings.
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In a way, guitar chords do translate to mandolin; it's the bottom 4 strings strung in reverse. So you can take chord shapes and mirror-image them.
 
mattburnside said:
In a way, guitar chords do translate to mandolin; it's the bottom 4 strings strung in reverse. So you can take chord shapes and mirror-image them.
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I didn't realize that.

I've always wanted to play Mandolin but I really need to be focusing on getting better on my real instrument...if I bought one it would just end up sitting around more than anything else.
 
Mando is just different enough to be confusing, but it's a blast to play. I have to use a different picking grip, a different pick, and attack the strings differently. I didn't really start to progress until I stopped thinking of it as a baby guitar.

If you're in the market for one, as Andy mentioned, there are some decent PacRim starter instruments; if you have the green, get an old Flatiron pancake model from the '80s or '90s. They can usually be had for $300-$400. Flatiron was later acquired by Gibson, things predictably went to shit, and the original employees formed Weber, who currently make some really top-notch mandos. Here's an old Flatiron on the 'bay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Flatiron-Mo...804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c61b410fc
I have one from '85 that sat in my closet for about 20 years, where it developed a nice crack in the top. I never really believed that nonsense about instruments "opening up" by being played for a while, but holy crap it did when I brought it out and got serious. I have no plans to fix the crack because it sounds awesome. Toan is in teh cracks.

Also, the classifieds page on mandolincafe.com is a great place to drool and sometimes find a real bargain.
 
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Mark Wein said:
I didn't realize that.

I've always wanted to play Mandolin but I really need to be focusing on getting better on my real instrument...if I bought one it would just end up sitting around more than anything else.
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My current role is pretty good guitar player, and decent utility player on banjo and mandolin. A lot of our songs need some different shades and tonal variations and not necessarily a badass guitar part. I've accepted this.

Shit, I just bought a pedal steel.
 
mattburnside said:
Mando is just different enough to be confusing, but it's a blast to play. I have to use a different picking grip, a different pick, and attack the strings differently. I didn't really start to progress until I stopped thinking of it as a baby guitar.

If you're in the market for one, as Andy mentioned, there are some decent PacRim starter instruments; if you have the green, get an old Flatiron pancake model from the '80s or '90s. Flatiron was later acquired by Gibson, things predictably went to shit, and the original employees formed Weber, who currently make some really top-notch mandos. Here's an old Flatiron on the 'bay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Flatiron-Mo...804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c61b410fc
I have one from '85 that sat in my closet for about 20 years, where it developed a nice crack in the top. I never really believed that nonsense about instruments "opening up" by being played for a while, but holy crap it did when I brought it out and got serious. I have no plans to fix the crack because it sounds awesome. Toan is in teh cracks.
Click to expand...


You're not helping me. You're a reverse helperer.
 
mattburnside said:
My current role is pretty good guitar player, and decent utility player on banjo and mandolin. Shit, I just bought a pedal steel.
Click to expand...

I just don't have any call to play mandolin for anything I do work-wise unless I decided to work at being good enough to at least teach it. All of my gigs are electric guitar. Shit, other than a funeral last year even my steel string acoustic hasn't earned me money in about 2 years. :(
 
I could have a call to play mando in the acoustic jam I am in, but there is no real reason a uke couldn't fit too. My old instructor, who leads the jam, is a killer mando player. Based on watching him play, it is just different enough to confuse me. I need to reinforce what I am learning, not challenge it overly.

Based on the above, I would lean at this point more toward a decent budget uke since it can be thought of as a guitar without two bass strings capoed at the 5th fret. Based on that, I could use it still in conjunction with what I am working on in guitar classes with Mark. And using it to help out my rhythm and syncopation as Ker says would be good too. The rhythm side of stringed instruments is my New Year's project. If I get some lessons given to me (or even if I don't), I have some ideas for lessons I want to pursue.

No big hurry on a uke or mando anyway. Just came up because of all this uke coverage I was seeing. I have another yurt trip coming later in the winter. It would be fun to throw a Uke (or Mando) onto my pack. But I think Mando will come later as I will just confuse myself now.
 
I voted Uke. I have a mandolin and it is fun to play, but the frets are so close together add that the double strings, it makes it difficult for me to play sometimes. I would like to pick up a Uke or maybe ditch the doubled strings on the mando to see how it plays.
 
Kerouac said:
!!!!
:love:

Although I imagine it's a difficult instrument to learn without a teacher.
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I'm not doing too badly, I don't think. One of the guys who has played with our band off and on is one of the big youtube pedal steel gurus, and he gives me the occasional pointer, but I've played lap steel before, and the fingerpicks are familiar from banjo. The new stuff (pick blocking and palm blocking, etc) I'm picking up as I go.

I'll tell you this, it's a damn blast to play. Tuning it...not so much.
 
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