Low G on a soprano

I have a low G string and I have tried low G several times on my soprano. I used to think that low G string did not sound good with other strings. But now I am thinking different way. It still doesn't harmonize well with other strings. But I think low G string sounds much better than CE and A strings on my soprano. It sounds loud and has much sustain. And I think I should not remove low G string this time.

Low G string gives me another 5 good tones. Hence I need not use 5 shrill tones on up the neck when I transpose the key 5 steps down. And there low 5 tones allow me to transpose more chance to key of C F or G when I arrange chord solo.

I don't like shrill sounds and low G gives more chance to use low position for me on my soprano.

Cool.

While there is an inverse relationship between short scale length and low g efficiency, my philosophy is if you like it, go for it.

zztush said:

Low G string gives me another 5 good tones. Hence I need not use 5 shrill tones on up the neck when I transpose the key 5 steps down. And there low 5 tones allow me to transpose more chance to key of C F or G when I arrange chord solo.

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Yeah, this is right, But it only works with five more notes. I play low G a lot but still, it's only 5 more notes.

I have a low-G soprano, and I like it very much when I'm just playing alone. It sounds weird when I play with others, so I don't use that particular instrument then.

Ohta-San used a Low G on his soprano and it worked out for him too.

It does not work for me on a soprano.That's a matter of personal choice of course,
but I have used LowG on Tenor and loved it.Just not (for me) on my beloved sops!

Re-entrant tunings come from the renaissance and baroque eras when gut strings were terrible at low frequencies. They were big and floppy, and lacked any upper harmonics. Hence the two main solutions to the problem were to either eliminate them altogether and create a thin string only treble instrument, or pair a thin string with the low string in an octave tuned "course". The renaissance guitar was four courses tuned GCEA (sound familiar?!), with the "low G" being an octave pair. So they had both G notes available, but IME the bass note dominates.

Point being that re-entrant tuning was a solution to a historical technical problem that no longer exists. Modern overwound plated strings are thin in diameter, stable, correct tension, and rich in harmonics. And the body size argument doesn't particularly hold water to me. Violins are close in size to ukes, and their lowest note is also G3.

I'm also a fan of using a wound C. I'm in the process of cutting a new nut to accommodate one for my Kiwaya. It's a tiny .020 diameter, so the stock C-string nut slot isn't usable.

I actually have my D'Angelico archtop soprano strung with South Coast classical metals (linear/low g). It works great. I would prefer a slightly higher tension though.

Wicked said:

I actually have my D'Angelico archtop soprano strung with South Coast classical metals (linear/low g). It works great. I would prefer a slightly higher tension though.

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If you want to increase tension, then you need to use a string with a higher Unit Weight. Diameter is irrelevant.
D'Addario has a pdf on their site with the UW of nearly every string they make, and the tension formula. Sadly uke strings are not in the document, but you can derive their UW using the stated tensions at 13" scale length.

A typical classical guitar 0.028 D string will have about 7.5 lbs of tension on a soprano ukulele.

Thanks. The problem is the metal strings. South Coast designed the set with a 17 inch scale length in mind. If I tune the uke up a few half tones, the tension is perfect, but I want to keep it in C.

There is a XS soprano model by Romero Creations that comes with low G (originally with LaBella Pro strings). It's a small and very portable uke. A review of XS soprano
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?101589-Review-of-my-Romero-Creations-XS-Soprano

I have low G on all of my Ukes as I play rock music and I love the warm balance it brings.

I've tried almost all the Low Gs they will have different textures and tones but in the end it's what you want to hear.

there is no right or wrong, if it floats your boat go for it, its not my bag because I love the sound of a soprano uke as it should sound, I regularly play my flue in low g and it sounds lovely, but I tend to keep my soprano's in re entrant tuning