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Old 12-28-2019, 08:42 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is online now
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Default Uke esoterica: low or high G string?

I was given a concert uke for Christmas and immediately did what I usually do: I began researching the instrument and looking into current practices. One of the first modern issues I came across was the question of a traditional high or modern low G string. I can see the benefits of both. Being a person who plays lots o' melodies I find myself banging up against the three-string limit of this re-entrant tuning. However, it does make for some unexpected, ethereal sounds when finger-picked and a lighter feel overall than low G.

So, what are you guys using? Anyone using low G? Are you seeing benefits?

Bob
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Old 12-28-2019, 09:45 AM
DungBeatle DungBeatle is offline
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I have two Romero Grand Tenor ukuleles that are in low 'G' tuning. One is spalted mango the other all koa. I like the deeper sound better. I do have other ukes in high tuning but they don't get much use. I both strum and use fingerstyle on these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_G4KK-9JM


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Old 12-28-2019, 10:52 AM
ifret ifret is offline
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I play a lot of fingerstyle, so my tenor has the low G. It is more versatile for me.
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Old 12-28-2019, 11:22 AM
Slammin Slammin is offline
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I play a lot of blues and pop, so prefer a tenor with low G (both fingerstyle and strum), but have and use both tunings as appropriate for the purpose.
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Old 12-28-2019, 12:56 PM
Ceabeceabe Ceabeceabe is offline
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I have one in low and the other in high G, and like ‘me both though I hedge toward the high G. For accompanying hula dancers I think the high G works better. I can see why people like the low G in terms of fingerstyle, but as you say, some unique sounds can come out of the high G.
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Old 12-28-2019, 02:41 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Our senior center's uke group has a couple of tenor players set up with low G, and since we have no baritones it adds some fullness to the overall sound - probably going to convert my wife's tenor to low G next string change (whenever that is - the OEM Aquila Nylguts seem to last forever)...
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Old 12-28-2019, 03:05 PM
J Patrick J Patrick is offline
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...in my opinion low G tuning compromises the classic uke sound....I tried it and although it is a bit more easier to transition from guitar playing to uke I just didn’t get the sound I wanted...

...of course that’s a personal preference and others may differ...I did find that when I became well versed in ukulele chord voicing everything sounded better...
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Old 12-28-2019, 04:30 PM
JLT JLT is offline
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One thing that hasn't been addressed is whether the nut slot for the G string can accommodate the thicker string used on a low G. You might have to take a nut file to it so that the G string sits more securely in the slot.

Once you do that, though, you can easily switch from a low string back to a high string, although that might not be the best solution from the standpoint of sound. Ideally, you should make separate nuts that can be switched in or out, or have a luthier do it.
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Old 12-29-2019, 08:21 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Reentrant tuning is what gives uke it's unique character. I play 5 string banjo and it's a bit of the same idea.

There are those that think the stretched membrane pot assembly is what automatically makes a banjo and pick up one of the "guitar banjos" so they don't have to re-learn fingerings or playing style. It's just not the same.
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Old 12-29-2019, 04:01 PM
jricc jricc is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DungBeatle View Post
I have two Romero Grand Tenor ukuleles that are in low 'G' tuning. One is spalted mango the other all koa. I like the deeper sound better. I do have other ukes in high tuning but they don't get much use. I both strum and use fingerstyle on these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_G4KK-9JM


~Bob
Same here, I like low G tuning. I love my Romero STConcert
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Old 12-29-2019, 05:13 PM
PHJim PHJim is offline
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I have a number of ukes. My reso-uke is often tuned GCEG with a low 4th string. I often use it for side and like the low 4th.
I have another tenor with a low G that I use for melody playing and finger-style.
My other ukes and banjoleles are tuned re-entrant. This can work well for finger-style as well as strumming or chord melody playing.

I know that if I were restricted to one ukulele, it would definitely be tuned re-entrant.
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Old 12-29-2019, 05:15 PM
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You already have a guitar, and it even has 6 strings, a very large soundboard, excellent volume, bass, treble and midrange. The uke isn’t a little guitar. But hey, whatever you want to do is perfectly acceptable, not that you needed anyone to state that...
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Old 12-29-2019, 05:39 PM
Ukulele_Eddie Ukulele_Eddie is offline
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I like to have at least one uke in re-entrant tuning ("High G") and one in linear tuning ("Low G"). While I have been liquidating my uke collection to fund GAS, I do intend to keep at least two for this reason.

Since you play guitar, if you have only one uke, I would say use re-entrant tuning so you have something altogether different.

BTW, if you end up trying a tenor scale (~17") uke, try tuning it two half-steps lower to Bb. I often find tenors often sound better in Bb because a tenor body often naturally resonates close to C, so better to tune under this. I find the uke sounds more full Bb.

Enjoy your uke journey!
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Old 12-29-2019, 05:57 PM
merlin666 merlin666 is offline
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I have several ukes. For performance I prefer tenor size where I have one in linear tuning that I use for songs with fingerstyle and songs that require a strong root, but the majority is played on a re-entrant six- string (Lili'u) that also has octave high C and low A strings. Ukuleles of smaller size I keep in re-entrant as their body size and scale is not well suited for lower frequencies and the playing experience and sound with a low G are not satisfactory to me. I know many people who are not as picky and who have smaller ukes with a low G. I also find that part of the unique uke sound comes from its re-entrant setup, which makes it more than just a mini guitar.
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Old 12-29-2019, 07:22 PM
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Default G vs g

Interesting topic.
I, too, had the same conundrum, so I had a uke made with BOTH 'G' strings - high and low.
Excellent for playing just the melody and offers some 'nuance' strumming.
Case closed (for me as least!)
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