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Original Post By:
musicguymic
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Date: 3/6/2010 10:43:06 PM |
| Gibson ukuleles have sopranos and tenors but no concerts Anybody out there know why they never made concert size? |
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Posted By:
looney tunes
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Date: 3/6/2010 11:04:18 PM |
| No
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Posted By:
Diego
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Date: 3/6/2010 11:55:34 PM |
They made bari's out of them.
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Posted By:
Ukester Brown
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Date: 3/7/2010 12:18:42 AM |
Same reason Fender is only making Tenors? Or..........
"to get to the other side?"
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Posted By:
bassfiddlesteve
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Date: 3/7/2010 1:21:57 AM
(Updated: 3/7/2010 1:35:31 AM)
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Here's my theory: today we are used to having ukuleles fall into the recognized quartet of soprano, concert, tenor and baritone with most manufactureres offering all four sizes. However, this was not the case during the period when Gibson entered the ukulele market. Most manufactures did not offer a wide variety of sizes, and what was around was not yet standardized (i.e. Harmony's "tenor" ukuleles are actually concert size by today's standards).
Martin introduced the "concert" ukulele a few years before the tenor, but it was a somewhat dubious invention since they had already been offering the same instrument as a four-string taropatch. The bracing pattern on the concert uke was even a hold over from the eight-stringed instrument. It's also important to note that both Martin and Gibson intended their tenor ukuleles to be tuned much lower than the soprano, giving the instrument a different range, wheras the concert was tuned the same. Martin also produced very few concert ukes as compared to the soprano and tenor sizes and they discontinued the concert several decades before the other models. When you consider these facts, one can imagine that Gibson never felt they needed to produce a concert sized ukulele to remain competitive.
- Steve
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Posted By:
mLKauai
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Date: 3/7/2010 1:50:15 AM |
| too bad; it must be as Steve says, and I've only seen short board Martin concerts (fretboard doesn't go down to the soundhole) while eventually the sopranos had some long boards.
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Posted By:
urcuzzn
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Date: 3/7/2010 1:53:48 AM |
| maybe they forgot.
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Posted By:
Craig
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Date: 3/7/2010 8:20:05 AM |
| ..the concert size wasn't as popular as the soprano and baritone models...you know, Capitalism, etc.
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Posted By:
rbeetsme
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Date: 3/7/2010 8:31:14 AM |
| I like Steves theory. They only made 2 sizes but they made them well! My tenor is my favorite.
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Posted By:
Ukester Brown
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Date: 3/7/2010 8:43:58 AM |
| Yeah- profit margin I think....
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Posted By:
musicguymic
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Date: 3/7/2010 4:32:12 PM |
| ACTUALLY Gibson made two proto concerts and two proto baritones....
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Posted By:
Jim T.
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Date: 3/7/2010 7:20:56 PM |
| Gibson was so wedded to the mandolin that it didn't produce its first ukulele until 1924, and that was a banjo uke that retailed for $30 -- clearly not aimed at the mass market. Steve is right, though -- matters were still quite fluid in the 20s. Lyon & Healy introduced what it called a tenor ukulele in 1923, and Schulz & Moenning, a Chicago wholesaling firm, introduced what it called a concert size ukulele in 1925. It wasn't until the following year that the National Association of Musical Instrument and Accessories Manufacturers adopted a set of standard string lengths: 13-13.75 inches for a standard (soprano) ukulele, 13.75-14.5 inches for a concert, and 14.5-15.75 inches for a tenor. The baritone ukulele didn't make an appearance until after World War II, although Buegeleisen & Jacobson, the New York jobbing firm, introduced something call the bass ukulele in 1926. Even with the adoption of the association's standards, it's not clear how widely they were used. The desire for greater volume was generally behind efforts to produce larger ukuleles. Jim T.
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Posted By:
ToeBone
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Date: 3/8/2010 1:15:15 AM |
| Jim, you've been sandbagging! I knew you had more than just early Hawaiian history rattling around in that erudite head of yours!
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Posted By:
musicguymic
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Date: 3/10/2010 7:45:25 PM |
Here is my GIBSON #1 prototype concert made in Bozeman Montana....ha ha
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/musicguymic/uke-top2.jpg
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Posted By:
Uncle Rufus
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Date: 3/11/2010 6:54:24 AM
(Updated: 3/11/2010 6:55:00 AM)
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Let's not forget the Gibson baritones made from the late fifties to early sixties (and, contrary to widely spread rumour, they WERE listed in an early sixties Gibson catalogue...). Nice plain and simple looks; nice open book headstock...
Still too big for me, though.
Good to see your famous concert prototype, MGM - shame it never made it into production.
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Posted By:
Craig
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Date: 3/11/2010 8:35:57 AM |
| Cool uke Mike!
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Posted By:
bassfiddlesteve
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Date: 3/11/2010 1:47:40 PM
(Updated: 3/11/2010 1:47:55 PM)
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That's pretty sneaky Mike, in a good way.
I'm looking forward to the thread where you ask "Why didn't Martin make a style 4?" and then you show up with one in a video.
- Steve
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Posted By:
musicguymic
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Date: 3/11/2010 9:30:29 PM |
| How about the style 6?
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Posted By:
bassfiddlesteve
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Date: 3/11/2010 11:23:23 PM |
Is it just me, or do the frets at the upper end of the fingerbaord look strange, like the spacing is way off. I'm also surprised to see a pin bridge. When was this uke made?
- Steve
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Posted By:
counterbug
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Date: 3/12/2010 2:35:26 PM
(Updated: 3/12/2010 2:36:01 PM)
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| 1924 Gibson "Trapdoor" was a concert. I have one.
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