DGBE or GCEA

Which tuning do you guys think I should go for?

That choice is probably best made by you once you have experimented with all the options. If you want to play with others you will need to be in the same tuning, if you play alone you can tune any way you like.

My tenor is the one instrument that i have vacillated the most with on the tuning. I love my bari DGBE and tried DGBE and dGBE on my tenor, hoping for a more baritone sound. I was already familiar w/ G tuning from playing the baritone, so the adjustment wasn't hard but as much as I wanted to like it, I can't say that it improved the sound of the tenor. I am now in GCEA tuning w/ Living Water flourocarbons and like the linear C tuning on the tenor. I play with others often and don't mind moving mentally from G to C tuning, but don't want to do the mental gymnastics for any other alternate tunings. I know I could just capo, but I find it less comfortable to play capoed as I am often in first position.

VickS said:

Hey all,

I was wondering if I should keep my tenor at the reentrant GCEA or restring it to DGBE. What will sound better? I know that most arrangements are made for GCEA but will DGBE sound better? What are the pros and cons for each?

Thanks

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First, you'll have to get a set of special strings for the G tuning. Not a lot of companies sell them, but Southcoast might. C tuning is the standard (although some places still use the D tuning and consider we C tuners as heretics... ).

Second, the lower tension will mean less energy from the strings - it won't be as loud or have the full range of harmonic overtones. You won't be able to play along with other ukes as easily.

Third: why? Get a baritone instead and you'll have the benefit of both without the fuss. They are tuned DGBE (or even dGBE if you want reentrant tuning...).

Or put a low-G string on your tenor if you just want a lower note.

I have once tried re-entrant dGBE tuning on my tenor for a short period of time, sounds not very like a guitar, must be the high d. I was quite like it.

My understanding is, many tenor ukes are capable to fully resonance on and above the low G note (Ref: Click here). So either linear GCEA, or re-entrant dGBE, it will works just fine.

You may experience yourself to find out which one you prefer. Enjoy the experiments :music:

ichadwick said:

First, you'll have to get a set of special strings for the G tuning. Not a lot of companies sell them, but Southcoast might. .

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Aquila has a set, exactly for this purpose, see here: http://www.aquilacorde.com/produzione-monofilamenti-musicali-bulks/173/new-nylgut/?lang=en

You have to scroll down to the TENOR section and you will see a DGBE set #11U.

ichadwick said:

Second, the lower tension will mean less energy from the strings - it won't be as loud or have the full range of harmonic overtones.

Click to expand...

I can confirm this somewhat. I have been testing string sets on my recently acquired tenor Flea, and in order to get more sustain, had been evaluating tuning down a minor third, re-entrant, to E-A-C#-F#. I tried this with both Worth Brown (BL), and Oasis Bright High G sets. While I did get more sustain, and a sweeter tone, the volume was about 20% lower than with the same strings at GCEA tuning. I figure the main reason for the reduced volume is that the strings are not driving the top as much as they would be at higher tuning (and therefore higher tension). There is also less noticable 'bark' or 'honk' in the midrange frquencies when tuning down. Some may prefer this. I am not sure if I do, as I found it hard to adjust my fretting technique as per below, and play consistently.

Tuning down like this you have to be very careful of your string fretting pressure and to not BEND then notes when forming chords since you are working with lower tension, it is easier to make all your fretted notes go sharp (also by pressing down towards the fingerboard more easily), but the nice thing is that the significantly LOWER string tension lets you play with a very light touch on your fretting hand, which may be helpful if you have arthritis or similar problems in your hands.

Right now on the tenor Flea, I've got a set of Aquila Nylguts tuned to Bb tuning, and arriving in the mail today are a set of D'Addario J71 nylons (Jake's set) and a set of Jim Dunlop tenor strings, which I plan to try out as well. My tenor Fluke is very happy with the Aquila REDS re-entrant, in Bb tuning, and no REDS have popped since I strung it and tuned it this way like 2 months ago (now that I said that in public I am afraid that Murphy will intervene), but I wanted a different tone and feel on the Flea, so...

:shaka:

Just for your info, there is also a Living Water custom set for tenor dGBE tuning.

I'm liking re-entrant dGBE on my tenor. True, it's a little bit quieter but I like the tone. Not too quiet and nice to sing with.