Jim Hanks
Well-known member
I thought it sounded weird, but folks try a lot of weird things around here.
Low eadg tuning on bari
- Thread starter bunnyf
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Croaky Keith
Well-known member
I'm just experimenting with a cheap set of classical guitar strings on my (Kala) tenor uke, & they went on without any problems at the nut.
I used the E-A-D-G as my G-C-E-A, which seems to have given me a low low C tuning.
Sounds something like a guitar, on a tenor uke!
I used the E-A-D-G as my G-C-E-A, which seems to have given me a low low C tuning.
Sounds something like a guitar, on a tenor uke!
I'm just experimenting with a cheap set of classical guitar strings on my (Kala) tenor uke, & they went on without any problems at the nut.
I used the E-A-D-G as my G-C-E-A, which seems to have given me a low low C tuning.
Sounds something like a guitar, on a tenor uke!
Keith - there was a pretty hot discussion about doing this on tenor and/or bari a few years back, in which UkuleleJay and Rick Turner went thru all kinds of tests on strings and such for proper tension, intonation and tone, and IIRC they went with the Savarez extra-high-tension classical stings, I forget if they were the 540J or 540R set, but if you search for 'octave uke' (or octave ukulele, not sure which search would work) as it was called here on the forum you will see the discussions.
Also, IIRC, Rick Turner and another luthier actually built a few bari-like instruments specifically designed to resonate best at the lower frequencies. On a 'modern' tenor you might find that notes lower than D3 have less volume, and that is due to reduced surface area of both the sound board (the top) and the size of the resonating chamber (i.e., the air volume inside the body of the uke) and that is why RIck and others were looking at the baritone-like size for the increased resonance at the lower frequencies.
I had decent intonation and tone with putting the Thomastik strings on a baritone for a re-entrant octave uke as thus:
G3-CF27 = 0.027"
C3-CF35 = 0.035"
E3-CF30 = 0.030"
A3-CF27 = 0.027"
I had originally tried to do linear with the Thomastik CF45 (0.045") as the low G string as G2, but found that on a 19" scale bari, the intonation was off by +15 cents no matter what I did to compensate the saddle, and also there was just not enough tension for a decent tone, and the string was both tubby sounding and quiet, but the high-G as in G3, using the CF27 as per above, the intonation was only about +5 cents at the 12th fret and only +2 cents at the nut after I lowered the nut slot as much as I felt comfortable, since the other strings were all +2 cents sharp at the nut, which most folks lack the hearing acuity to detect the difference (but I can and it bothers me).
My Fluke and Flea ukes have near-perfect intonation out of the box with the way they are made at the factory, and my ear has gotten used to this and now I am spoiled and have trouble with poor intonation. Most folks will not notice though. They are better off, as the saying goes, 'ignorance is bliss'...
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Croaky Keith
Well-known member
That probably covers me, I was always told I was tone deaf.
(Season 287 has me picking a tune on it.)
That probably covers me, I was always told I was tone deaf.
(Season 287 has me picking a tune on it.)
It's all good brother Keith.
What's most important is that you enjoy your ukes and they make you happy. :music:
Edspyhill05
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Following up to my previous post, I just used the tool at D'Addario (http://stringtensionpro.com/) to do some calculations.
Most normal DGBE baritone sets have a tension in the range from 51-58 lbs, and with the thicker strings (for the E2 and A2 strings, in the LINEAR tuning), you need a bit MORE tension in the lower pitch strings, and thus THICKER strings, otherwise it is nearly impossible to compensate the saddle enough to get anything usable for intonation (there's just not enough room on a 1/8" thick surface), nor can you slant the saddle like with the way other fretted instruments are made without serious modifications to the bridge (filling the saddle slot, and then routing a new one) or replacing the bridge.
For the re-entrant EADG strings/tuning, the existing saddle compensation (with the saddle parallel to the nut) should work since the pitches of the open strings are only 2 semitones apart.
Below are screen caps with the info.
This is for the re-entrant EADG, as in E3-A3-D3-G3:
and this is for the linear EADG, as in E2-A2-D3-G3:
Hope this helps!
Booli. Thanks for this. I'll need to be a bit more scientific. I measured the strings on the baritone (tuned D G B E). The G-string is 0.033, and the D-string is 0.028. The strings seem to be slightly different. I can't remember if they are Aquila or D'Addario strings.
I'll post my results. I'm thinking a normal set of classical guitar strings might work.
Ed
No worries. I'm glad to help.
One thing to note: When I've measured strings that are installed and under tension, with digital calipers, the diameters tend to manifest a but thinner than the rated spec as quoted by the string package.
E.g., IF an 0.035" once installed measures as an 0.033", and an 0.030" measures as an 0.028"
I suspect that this is due to the string stretching once tuned to pitch, and that the diameters given, are 'nominal' and not always made to an exact tolerance, as well as subject to user-error or variations in exactly how close to the ends of the 'fingers' of the caliper you measure (parallax being an issue) as well as how tightly one might have the caliper fingers against the material with possible compression of the string during when the caliper fingers are closed... and in my own experience, I've seen a variation of +/- 0.002 in subsequent measurements of the same string.
So one needs to account for 'tolerance' due to how the calipers and manipulated, for it is not exactly perfect each time, for me at least.
The takeaway is that strings can 'appear' thinner gauge once under tension, and the use of the calipers needs to be at a consistent, exact application depending upon the level of precision one wants or is capable of...
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Tootler
Well-known member
The strings will be thinner. When you tension the strings, you are stretching them, increasing them in length. The material has to come from somewhere so the strings get thinner.
if the strings have a nominal diameter, this implies some variation. In such a case, it's good practice to measure the diameter in several places along its length and take an average, quoting the variation as a +/- figure. That's something of a council of perfection but it is worth measuring the diameter in several places.
if the strings have a nominal diameter, this implies some variation. In such a case, it's good practice to measure the diameter in several places along its length and take an average, quoting the variation as a +/- figure. That's something of a council of perfection but it is worth measuring the diameter in several places.
