Vast musicians are unfamiliar with the Guitalele, although it is one of the most attractive musical instruments. It is a six-string instrument. Speaking of Guitalele, it is a hybrid of guitar and ukulele. Its size is about one-fourth of a guitar. The Best Guitalele is excellent for classical guitarists feeling uncomfortable carrying the guitar.
Plus, it’s a lovely choice for experienced ukulele players who want a spacious room to experiment with. In this review, we are about to talk about some of the best Guitaleles currently available.
Top 5 Best Guitaleles of the Best Brands
1. Yamaha GL1 Guitalele
One of the best Guitalele in the family of string instruments is the Yamaha GL1. While it is a mini instrument, it boasts a unique mini 6-string nylon design that does the job thoroughly.
The brand has designed this Yamaha Guitalele in the size of a baritone ukulele – accomplishing the job compactly. Despite the scale being 17 inches, this instrument is designed so players can perform it like a guitar.
Yamaha is a renowned brand in the world of instruments. On this basis, the GL1 Guitalele offers enjoyable fun. Also, you can perform it like a standard tuned guitar. It comes with a tuning, reaching the range of A.
The Yamaha GL1 Guitalele has a full-length fretboard, which performs beautifully and consistently with clear articulation. Its sound is comparatively higher than other expensive models.
Finally, if you want an inexpensive Gitall, this model may be your top consideration.
Benefits:
- Good construction accuracy
- Nice little device
- Balanced sound and tone
- Cheap reasonable price
Disadvantages:
- Sharp edges of frets
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2. Donner DGL-1 Guitalele
The Donner DGL-1 characterizes another super instrument worth buying as an instrument. It marks the closest-fitting size to a baritone ukulele. Plus, tuning machines and quality construction aid you in playing like a guitar.
The GL-1 Guitalele features a portable and lightweight instrument, making it a delight for players. It has steel tuning pegs that allow you to keep the strings in perfect position while tuning.
Craftsmanship is a crucial factor. The Donner instrument is renowned for its. This Guitalele has a spruce top, mahogany back, and sides to ensure durability. This type of construction undoubtedly produces a bright, sweet, and rich sound.
The DGL-1 surprisingly features 17 brass frets spread across the fretboard. Its eye-catching design makes it more attractive than other models in this price range. Also, it weighs only 4.24 pounds, which is easy to handle.
Finally, the package comes with a good quality carrying bag, which helps you transport this best Guitalele to the desired place. In addition, to add value to your purchase, it offers more accessories.
Benefits:
- A versatile tool
- Great tone, volume, and action
- Light, portable, and comfortable to play
- Many accessories included
Disadvantages:
- Some say the edges of the brawl are sharp
3. Gretsch G9126 Guitalele
Gretsch brings their dominance to the ukulele world with the G9126 Guitar-ukulele named Guitalele. Due to its solid mahogany wood construction, it is a unique instrument more than other Guitaleles in the market.
The G9126 Gretsch has a solid quarter-sawn mahogany top and laminated mahogany body, meaning it will run a long time. The fingerboard is made using Ovancol. Consequently, this beautiful 6-string uke offers a warm sound and a good feel.
This guitar ukulele features an oval bridge, pure bone nut, and saddle, creating even more resonance. It has a 17-inch scale length, which allows you to play this instrument with great fun.
This Guitalele comes with a die-cast tuner, which helps players having trouble tuning the instrument. It is worth mentioning that the model offers a deluxe gig bag, which helps to carry the instrument from one place to another.
The Gretsch G9126 becomes the best ukulele for musicians wanting to branch out into a new branch of music and explore more ukulele tones. On the contrary, it is a consistent option for those learning to play the guitar.
Benefits:
- Made from solid mahogany wood
- Offers a die-cast tuner
- Better action and playability
- Includes a deluxe gig bag
Disadvantages:
- There is no electrical facility
4. Vorson EGL-ST S-Style Guitalele
The Version EGL-ST, an outstanding instrument, resembles a mini-classic electric guitar. Musicians can tune it to the A-D-G-C-E-A. Also, it offers a much bigger tone and wide range.
The body is composed of basswood with a cutaway body. It has a 19-fret maple fingerboard that is comfortable enough to move your fingers over it. This tenor-sized Guitalele is available in colors like Gloss Black, Metallic Red, and Metallic Blue.
The EGL-ST features two SY-2 single-coil pickups, a three-way pickup selector switch, and Vorson’s SMD-1 active electronics so players can control the tone and enjoy high output.
The happy news is it supplies a carry-on gig bag for players wishing to travel with it. Plus, the brand provides a cable. You should have an amplifier to relish the best possible sound of the instrument.
Overall, we consider it one of the Best Electric Guitaleles for ease of play.
Benefits:
- Lovely electric guitar
- Higher tone and wide range
- Includes a gig bag and a cable
Disadvantages:
- There is no amplifier
- Eligible for electric play only
5. Caramel CB204G Guitalele
You long for the best ukulele, but it will be high quality. You won’t have no need a lot of money. We have included the Caramel ukulele that is perfect enough to meet your needs.
The Caramel CB204G uses all solid acacia wood, providing better sustain, resonance, and a purer tone. Also, Acacia Wood is perfect for creating a sweet, warm, and mellow sound.
This uke contains 18 frets, and the strings offer EADGBE (E to E) tuning. The fretboard and bridge come from walnut, and the nut and saddle are pure buffalo bone.
Because this model is electric, it has a 3-band built-in tuner, complete with an equalizer, ready to connect to an amp and play. In addition, this starter bundle provides all the essentials, so you don’t have to buy them.
Benefits:
- All solid acacia wood
- High quality at a low price
- Stable sound and authentic tone
- Necessary accessories included
Disadvantages:
- Not suitable for players with small hands
What Is A Guitalele?
As its name suggests, the Guitalele features a guitar-ukulele hybrid. It is much smaller than a standard acoustic guitar and heavier than a standard ukulele with six strings.
While the Guitalele name is new, many are currently shopping for it as a travel guitar option for its easy portability. You can also think of it as a ukulele-sized guitar.
Reasons to buy a Guitalele
The truth is that many guitarists prefer to play guitars because of the ukulele-like sound and smaller size. Plus, it has six strings, like a standard guitar.
Many guitarists intend to travel with their guitars. Indeed, It’s much easier to move around with Guitaleles than with guitars, so they like it.
Moreover, many children are earnest in learning to play the guitar but cannot do so due to their little hands and fingers. So, they can opt for Guitaleles instead of a heavy guitar.
Follow These 3 Rules Of Pitch Precision
Intonation becomes a critical issue, even for the best Guitaleles. It refers to how out of tune the same note sounds at different positions on the fretboard. Follow three methods to verify the accuracy of your instrument.
Method A: Use a tuner
Grabbing a tuner and kicking the guitar back into tune is a cumbersome and fast fix for getting your tone right. Next, you play the open strings separately. Next, check how precise the open positions are with the 12th fret for each string.
Method B: Verify action
According to the fingerboard, action refers to the height of the string. If the saddle and nut fail to hold each string at the correct height, you run into a delicate issue. As a result, the notes will be flat or sharp. However, you can optimize the action by sanding the saddle or bridge.
Procedure C: Truss Rod Adjustment
The truss rod extends along the neck gut. It’s a material used to customize the stiffness of the neck for string tension. You can use a wrench to adjust the truss rod to get a remedy for a bent neck, a straightforward culprit in faulty tone.
The Best Guitalele Buying Guide
There are certain things to consider when buying the best Guitalele.
Size
You wish to shop for a Guitalele because of the small size. There is not much variation in Guitalele size. Most Guitaleles range in length from 27 to 28 inches.
It’s actually like an oversized ukulele and perfect for players who like to travel. Honestly, size isn’t an issue.
Type of wood
Guitalel is made using different types of wood. Each type of wood provides specific characteristics and sound qualities.
1. Mahogany
Mahogany is a well-known wood not only for making Guitaleles but also for making various musical instruments. Now, it’s a question of why different manufacturers utilize mahogany wood. The reason is that they want to strike a balance between quality and affordability.
Mahogany makes the instrument hard and strong as it has medium to heavy density. Also, it maintains a nice balance between sound and tone.
2. Cedar
Cedar is a wood type used to build instruments for a warm and controlled volume with a deep tone. Although Guitaleles made of cedar do not sound as crisp as instruments made of spruce, cedar Guitaleles are an excellent choice for finger stylists.
3. Rosewood
Rosewood is a widely used wood for making musical instruments. Rosewood Guitalele produces a clear tonal sound. Rosewood Guitalele produces a clear tonal sound.
It allows you to pronounce high and low sounds. So, if you are looking for a bright tonal guitar, Rosewood Guitar will be the best.
4. Spruce
Spruce Guitalele creates an accent of crisp notes. Players interested in bass notes may choose the spruce Guitalele because it is well-suited to enable a rich and inspiring low-note sound quality.
5. Koa
Koa wood uke produces a warm sound and sounds sweet but less sturdy. Koa Guitaleles have a distinct sound quality ranging from medium to high quality.
6. Ovangkol
Ovangkol and rosewood have many similarities, for example, a midrange sound quality. Ovangkol Guitalele is the perfect choice for musicians who want to play stylish instruments.
Fretboard And Frets
A crucial part of the musical instrument is the fingerboard. It’s a long strip of wood attached to the neck and placed behind the strings. The longer the length of the Guitalele, the higher the fret numbers on the fretboard. The higher the number of frets on the Guitalele, the more notes you can play.
Generally, the number of frets in different guitars is about the same. But there are some variations that you should remember.
Strings
Typically, Guitaleles come with nylon strings that sound like a guitar-style sound. Now, you are wondering if it’s possible to use guitar strings in Guitaleles. Yes, it is possible.
If you use steel strings on the Guitalele, the steel strings make the Guitalele from a mini classical guitar to a mini acoustic guitar. Undoubtedly, nylon strings are best suited for producing the best quality sound for guitars.
Finding the best nylon strings for Guitalele is not too difficult. Visit local music stores or search online.
Accessories
Accessories add extra convenience to your musical instrument purchase. Many Guitaleles offer an electronic tuner as built-in, which helps you speed up the tuning process.
Some Guitaleles incorporate a case or gig bag to carry the instrument. Again, some provide a port to connect an amplifier.
Warranty
You will find Guitaleles, with various warranty offers, ranging from one-year to lifetime contracts. As a buyer, protecting your device is crucial if the manufacturer provides a long-term warranty contract for the products.
Price
In general, Guitaleles are available at reasonable prices. Most Guitaleles range in price from $75-$300. It’s great for those interested in getting a smaller instrument or wanting to inspire kids to learn guitar.
The final word
Choosing the best Guitalele can be a somewhat tedious and confusing process. However, after reading the article, we think that finding the best one can be helpful to you. We recommend you take the time and try to pick the perfect one.
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