where to buy Gcea strings for a baritone uke?

bellgamin

bellgamin

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I already bought a southcoast set that is listed as okay for linear c tuning of a 19" ( baritone). They are expensive, plus I go through a set of strings rather quickly. So I am looking for baritone linear Gcea (low G) at a lower price.

Aquila has a bari gcea set (reentry).

Q1-- what single string should I get to use for bari low G to use with the Aquila gcea set?

Q2-- does anyone know a source for a Gcea string set for a bari?

Q3-- if I wanted to assemble, string by string, a bari Gcea set from various commonly available string sets, what would you suggest?

In case you haven't already noticed, I am pretty much clueless about string "technicalities".Ergo, any help or comments will be greatly appreciated.
 
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Just FYI, I'm pretty sure Ken does one as a custom set, just in case you want to try them next. I could be wrong but I kinda remember having a set, but then I changed strings a lot and my memory isn't what it used to be.
 
bellgamin said:
Don't feel like an orphan-- I sometimes have to look at my driver's licence in order to remember my name.
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I have 2 sets of low G sets on order from Living Strings. I know what you mean, I am amazed that I am still allowed out by myself!
 
vcs700s said:
They do. Here is a link to my review- https://youtu.be/81SDPvpj0xA
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I viewed the link. I was startled that the Gcea-strung bari sounded a lot like the tenor. Too much like a tenor IMO.

The southcoast set I ordered has a wound G. Hopefully that will give it a bit more fullness than LS's unwound #4. One of my other options is to use regular DGBE bari strings and tune it to EAC#F#. At those times when I want Gcea, I'll put a capo on fret #3. Or is that an altogether dumb idea?
 
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Early on, I experimented with various gcea sets on my baris, in an effort to concentrate my chord learning to just one tuning (switching back and forth between ukes of different sizes). I quickly learned that I just don't like gcea on my baris and went back to dgbe. I just have, over time, learned to sort the different chord names in my mind.
 
bellgamin said:
One of my other options is to use regular DGBE bari strings and tune it to EAC#F#. At those times when I want Gcea, I'll put a capo on fret #3. Or is that an altogether dumb idea?
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Not a dumb idea. You may want a "specialized" string for the A (or could go up to Bb) tuning if the tension is too much with your standard G tuning strings. I had A tuning on a 19" scale bari and it worked well. I don't recall if I ever capoed up to 3. I will say that at that point you're into tenor scale territory so if you have a low G tenor, you might as well play that. But it will work if you didn't want to switch ukes for whatever reason.
 
I have a friend who used a set of D'Addario Cuatro strings and a classical guitar string to tune his baritone GCEA. Here is what he used:

G - D'Addario nylon guitar G string
C - D'Addario Cuatro A string
E - D'Addario Cuatro B string
A - D'Addario Cuatro F# string

He really liked tension (not too floppy or hard) and sound. While it sounded nice, like another poster mentioned, it sounded too much like a tenor for me, but to each their own.

The other option is Mainland Ukes. They sell Guadalupe strings in GCEA (http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=85&categoryId=2)
 
WCBarnes said:
.......The other option is Mainland Ukes. They sell Guadalupe strings in GCEA (http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=85&categoryId=2)
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Yessss!!! I think these are exactly what I have been seeking.

I tried to order them but Mainland's website wanted to charge me over $40 to send strings to Hawaii. USPS 1st class mail can handle a measly set of uke strings, & that certainly doesn't cost anywhere near $40. I sent Mike a message. I hope he fixes that snafu so I can order those strings from him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Added info as of several hours later)

I heard back from Mike later this same day & the shipping costs have been squared away. I bought the Guadalupe strings and am eagerly awaiting the chance to try them out. :drool:
 
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Were you happy with these strings?

bellgamin said:
Yessss!!! I think these are exactly what I have been seeking.

Hello there. I am helping a fairly new ukulele player who is moving to baritone because it fits his hand better than his original uke, a tenor.

He prefers (low) GCEA tuning and has entrusted me to find a great-sounding string set for his Pono Acacia Baritone. He bought it used locally with DGBE strings.

So I wonder, bellgamin were you happy with those strings? Have you found some you like better? Is there someone/ somewhere else you would refer me?

Thanks for your time, and I hope you are very happy with your bari!

D
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