FWIW, I didn’t limit the comparison to bluegrass and gospel, I didn’t call the ukulele a toy, and I didn’t brush anyone off. I enjoy the ukulele and the guitar and play both, but my point is that you simply lose depth when you remove two strings from a guitar. Looking at the three traits I mentioned (versatility, drive and expression), the guitar is simply much better suited for all these categories. That’s not to say that the uke doesn’t have its own advantages (portability and novelty, for instance).
The guitar is overall the more versatile instrument– that’s not to say that the ukulele isn’t versatile.
But just try getting this kind of drive from a uke:
Or this kind of presence, depth, and range:
One of the videos you posted was a ukulele version of “Man of Constant Sorrow”. It sounds great in its own right, but if you want very present rhythm to back up singing (not to mention amazing potential for solos), it’s quite hard to beat the guitar.
Those guys are getting that amount of depth and drive from just a pair of guitars and voices! That’s not happening with two ukes.
And the ukulele just isn’t designed for songs like this:
I said versatility, drive, and expression, NOT “best for bluegrass because bluegrass is the only good genre because it’s the one I listen to”, which is an easy way to take my statement.
There is no BEST instrument. I’m just suggesting that Mike’s friend will most likely have an easier time backing up group singing, etc. with a guitar rather than a ukulele. The guitar has more volume, etc.
Mike said his friend wasn’t planning to do flatpicking, but fingerstyle (and strumming).
Needless to say, the guitar is simply an amazing fingerstyle instrument:
I mean no disrespect to the ukulele. I’m just noting that the guitar will be better suited for Mike’s friend’s situation.