There is Nothing Called the Ukulele Guitar but there is a Close One: Guitalele

Firstly, a guitar is a guitar and an ukulele, nothing but an ukulele so if you have come here searching for the term ‘Ukulele Guitar’, chances are you are either mistaking the ukulele as a type of guitar, which let me tell you already, is not in anyway a type of guitar (but an unique instrument with its own history and capabilities), or you are looking for an instrument that is a little bit of both.

And, if you are looking for the latter, you have come to the right place.Such an instrument exists, and it is known as the Guitalele. 

So, What is a Guitalele?

The Guitalele, often referred to as a Guitarlele or Guilele, is a Guitar + Ukulele hybrid (pretty sure the name gave it away). And to call it a ukulele guitar would definitely be a misnomer.

To put it in another way, it is the child that the classical guitar and the tenor ukulele (they are the bigger-sized ukuleles, find more about them here: types of ukulele) never had.

And thus, the guitalele has the traits of both a guitar and a ukulele. It is portable like the ukulele, while also offering a wide range of chord possibilities like the guitar does.

Now, you may ask, ukuleles have lesser (4) strings than a guitar (6) does, so..

How many strings does a Guitalele have?

Well, guitaleles, much like guitars, have 6 strings but they are usually made of nylon, a material more commonly used in ukuleles (rather than the steel strings used in a Guitar). 

Now, let’s talk about the

Tuning of a guitalele

The Guitalele strings are tuned to ADGCEA, and if you are familiar with the ukulele’s standard tuning, you will notice that it is the same as that (GCEA) but with 6 strings (2 extra bass strings ) instead of 4 strings in the ukulele.

And for the Guitar players, you can achieve the Guitalele’s tuning by simply placing the capo on the 5th fret of your guitar. But remember, that since the guitalele strings are transposed to ‘A’, all your guitar chords will be two and a half steps higher.

If you’ve made it till here, I am guessing you are intrigued by this part ukulele, part guitar instrument, so we will answer the most natural question that follows:

Should you buy the Guitalele?

One word. Absolutely!

I mean- why not? If you can get the benefits of two instruments in one? That’s a real bargain, if you ask me.

Here’s why Guitalele a good choice:

It can be played exactly like a ukulele, if you refrain from using the two lowest strings; this is because the other 4 strings of the guitalele are tuned like the ukulele’s standard tuning GCEA.

Alternatively, you can also tune the guitalele like a guitar and play it like one. Thanks to the existence of 6 strings.

So, with this instrument, you get the ease of carrying a ukulele plus its sweet sound, paired with the capabilities of a guitar. All that for the price of one.

Now what are you waiting for? Go check out this: Guitalele from India’s most loved ukulele brand Kadence.