You too can have a $45 tenor
A few years ago I bought a Rogue baritone guitar for my daughter. It sat in a corner for three years and came back to me. I have a nice Kala already so I decided to 'modify' it. I put a tailpiece on it (yes, there's a tailblock), removed the bridge and made a floating one, and just for the heck of it cut the ukulele-style peak off the headstock. I also painted (crudely) over the scar from the bridge. Then I put D'Addario octave mandolin strings on it.
The Rogue is all plywood, with a weird finish that tends to scratch off. It sounded dull as a baritone uke. (But I don't knock these starter instruments, especially for people on a tight budget.) So I thought it would stand up to the steel strings. The scale length is only 19 1/2 so there isn't a big tension anyway. Well, it tunes up and plays decently, both lead picking and chords, and is really fun. I like it. Might try a heavier E and possibly G string but these work. If it was a better quality uke it would sound much better still (and some ukes, like my Kala, have 20" or greater scale lengths) but I'm less certain a more delicate instrument would stand up. Plus I wouldn't really want to sacrifice something nice (but maybe a step up?) Also, the Kala's neck is heavier and a bit wider than most. It's not bowing at all and i don't think it will but lighter one might. Maybe I'll try one day. The Rogue costs $40 these days and a tailpiece 5.
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Originally Posted by Cary Fagan
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