Thoughts on Ukuleles with More than 4 Strings

Had a Kanilea 6-string and a custom 5-string from Jack Clark. Both were excellent instruments, and had a unique and beautiful sound. They were richer and fuller in sound. The 6-string didn't sound great on every song, but had killer overtones, seriously beautiful sound. I thought it sounded best strummed. The 5- string was more normal sounding with the added richness of both high and low G. In the end I decided that I was a four string guy, and sold both of them.
 
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I traded my koa 8 string for a 1923 T-18 Martin with 2-3-3-2 stringing. With the Adirondack spruce top, it is really mellow. It is strung Dd GgG BbB Ee. It strums and picks easily. The fretting is the difference between walking in deep snow with boots to wearing snow shoes. It actually lessens the tracks in the fingers. Others who have played it have been surprised at how easy it is on the fingers. The Yasuma all mahogany is strung the same way, but the sound is much brighter. Moving the cupped hand up and down over the hole makes it sound as though it has a whammy bar.
Flat back mandolins double strung with GCEA tuning gives a nice sound. A banjo mandolin strung double as GCEA is a sound monster! The songs on the 8 strings are well done. Thank you!!
 
Love my 6-string and my 5-string. On the 5 string, sometimes the spacing is a bit wider so it feels very strange under your fingers but you get used to it. In my case I had a custom nut width and spacing because I knew what worked for me, so you can always adjust that on any instrument. For the 6 string you have the versatility of finger style and strumming and also using doubles of the same octave to get a very cool harmonic vibrato effect.

Here is a sound sample of the 5 string:

https://soundcloud.com/ukulele-jay/anakoneke-shark-uke-fast-strumming-ukulele-jay

This is my 6-string, but I have changed the octave strings for Spanish style chord progression and playing which doesn't work as well with the octave courses. However I just change 1 string and I'm back in business with a 6-string sound most are used to hearing. Thus, I love the versatility of the instrument and all the different sounds you can get out of it.

 
I think they can sound really awesome, but I don't think they're right for me. I'd have to try it myself before I decide.

Lots of great examples of some fine uke playing on this thread, though! Thanks to everyone who shared!
 
I kept wavering back and forth on getting a 6 or 8 string, mostly because I think I got a bad impression when I played them when I was first starting - cheap models plus my amateur technique plus shops not keeping them in tune and I was convinced that I like the idea of them more than actually playing one.

Fast forward to now when I finally played a Kamaka 8 string in tune, and for a Hawaiian like me it was a hit in the gut of nostalgia and good times so I bought it. Now I also have a six string KoAloha on the way and I can't be more excited. I don't really like tenors in general, but the 6/8 stringers are so much fun to play.
 
A 6 string tenor was the uke that hooked me, and another 6 string is my go to uke. I think the 6 string gives most of the fullness of an 8 string, but it's not quite as shimmery. I do have an 8 string and a few 4 strings, which do sound better sometimes, but still, my 6 string is right by my side.
 
My Lanikai O-8E has been my go-to instrument for about eight years now. When I play a four-string it's usually my banjo-uke. I like fingerpicking on both.

Here's a fingerpicking example on my 8-string:



8-stringers are certainly not for everyone. One of the reasons I like it is that it sounds good when paired with acoustic guitars. It also sounds fuller when just accompanying myself on the folk and rock stuff that I like to play. Tin Pan Alley stuff tends to sound better on 4-string ukes.

- FiL
 
brand-new to 6-string ukes

Hi -- I'm new here at UU. I've fingerpicked guitars for a half century and applied mostly the same techniques to a soprano uke (Kohala KT-SPTU) for almost two years. (I've been flatpicking mandolins intermittently for a couple decades and fingerpicking mandos seriously for a few months. I fingerpick my Ovation 12-string, too, so I'm no stranger to multi-course axes.) My big fingers have a hard time at that soprano's first fret. :(

I've a multi-course uke-like instrument, a cheap cuarto-menor I bought in Paracho, Michoacan. (I wanted a guitar but my car was stuffed to the roof; the mandolin-sized cuarto was all that would fit for the drive home across Mexico.) It's like a fat flatback mandolin with four 3-string courses which I tune in Taro Patch. VERY rich sound, VERY easy on the fingers, and only slightly bitchy to keep in tune. Sounds great with a slide, too.

I bought a Kala KA-6 six-string uke a few days ago and immediately hit a snag: the top course had the low octave on the outside. Fine for strumming, lousy for fingering melodies. I swapped the strings, with the high A on the outside. I pick right near the bridge to minimize the low octave when needed. My index fingertip is growing a nice callous. Ouch.

How have other fingerpickers here adapted guitar or banjo right-hand techniques to 6-string ukes? Am I only only one to swap strings in the top course?
 
Hmm ,have to tread careful.

In the wrong hands a Lanakai 8 string can sound loud and obnoxious.

Just Saying .

Chris.
 
Would I be a heretic if I went the Mandolele route? Maybe one of those cheap US$45 Rogue mandos from Musician's Friend, restrung linear? Or is that just laziness? Sure, I'll eventually work out techniques for the Kala KA-6. But I'm old and impatient. An easy-to-play mandolele would nicely match a cheap Kohala soprano restrung to mando tuning, a ukelin. Think of them as hybrids, not bastards.
 
k0k0peli said:
Would I be a heretic if I went the Mandolele route? Maybe one of those cheap US$45 Rogue mandos from Musician's Friend, restrung linear? Or is that just laziness? Sure, I'll eventually work out techniques for the Kala KA-6. But I'm old and impatient. An easy-to-play mandolele would nicely match a cheap Kohala soprano restrung to mando tuning, a ukelin. Think of them as hybrids, not bastards.
Click to expand...

I posted this link on a thread about 5 strings the other day (having recently picked up a Kala ATP5 which I'm loving the full sound of - but I play rhythm & only pick it occasionally..) : http://joaofrazao.net/?c=6&id=1 It might be of interest to you k0k0peli.
 
wayward said:
I posted this link on a thread about 5 strings the other day (having recently picked up a Kala ATP5 which I'm loving the full sound of - but I play rhythm & only pick it occasionally..) : http://joaofrazao.net/?c=6&id=1 It might be of interest to you k0k0peli.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's an interesting axe. I might go in that direction when my budget catches up with me.

I'll repeat my question about the Kala KA-6 and similar 6-strings with the A doubled at octaves and the bass string on top when shipped from the factory. Does anyone else flip the strings in that course? For strumming, that's not really important, but for fingerpicking, it's A Big Thing to me.
 
I love love love my Luna 8 string. I love the way it sounds, playing it, and the strong vibrations it gives off. I strum and sing and have found it great for that, no trouble with chording including bars. Don't do any picking so can't speak to that. The doubled strings are pretty close together though
 
I love the sound of a 6-string uke, but I don't like playing it. I guess I like to keep it simple when I'm doing the strumming!
 
I own 3 ukes: a 4 string, a 6 string, and an 8 string.
I play the 6 string the most. I just like the overall vibe the best. The sound is fuller and has a chime-like quality that I just love. A regular 4-string sounds small and thin by comparison.

Finger-picking is definitely going to be trickier with any doubled strings, however...
I find that plain old strumming is actually EASIER when you have more than 4 strings. The strings feel closer together (actually, the spaces between courses feel narrower), so the strumming finger(s) glide across them with less resistance or 'bumpiness'.
As for fretting chords, it stands to reason that it would take more pressure than with 4 strings, but I have big hands, so I don't perceive it as being substantially more difficult. I just have to be mindful whenever a barre is involved.
Fretting the common shapes is absolutely no different than with a 4 string. Restringing is no hassle at all. The sound is worth it.

So I'm definitely in the narrow niche of uke folks who prefers having more than 4 strings.
Sometimes I think I want an Ohana Tiple (10 string), but at that point, restringing becomes a 'resource management project'. ;)

All that said, I like having different instrument configurations for different applications. There is no one-size-fits-all uke for me.
 
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