High G String or Low G String

I have a question ,maybe not the same subject but here it is. I have a tenor ukulele and an intelli 500 chromatic tuner, I believe the strings are aquilla with the 4th string a wound string,Now when I pluck the strings I get F# B D# G# .Is this a low G? On my concert which is high g I get GCEA. So I think the tuner is ok,but I need some info about my tenor readings. MAHALO
 
Big Bob said:
I have a question ,maybe not the same subject but here it is. I have a tenor ukulele and an intelli 500 chromatic tuner, I believe the strings are aquilla with the 4th string a wound string,Now when I pluck the strings I get F# B D# G# .Is this a low G? On my concert which is high g I get GCEA. So I think the tuner is ok,but I need some info about my tenor readings. MAHALO
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Not sure if I understand you correctly, but your uke is tuned down one half step from GCEA. Some people call that concert tuning in the guitar world. You're in Low G tuned down one semi-tone. Just crank up the tuners until the intelli reads GCEA.
 
We are never to old to learn ..Ha. Thank you so much for the info .You were right on.This is my first tenor ,I just got it last week and that was the tuning I got when I used the tuner,it sounded great .Again many thanks.
 
brokenwing said:
Not sure if I understand you correctly, but your uke is tuned down one half step from GCEA. Some people call that concert tuning in the guitar world. You're in Low G tuned down one semi-tone. Just crank up the tuners until the intelli reads GCEA.
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I was pondering the post and thinking the same thing you had said, but then I told myself, nah, cannot be that simple of an answer. hahahahahaha
 
Hey Dino I'm glad you got a good laugh.Remember to be good to your seniors we did not have all those fancy things like chromatic tuners in our time so what did we do ?Our generation invented them for you. Ha Ha
 
Big Bob said:
Hey Dino I'm glad you got a good laugh.Remember to be good to your seniors we did not have all those fancy things like chromatic tuners in our time so what did we do ?Our generation invented them for you. Ha Ha
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Some of us still don't have them. That's what tuning forks are for.

But you can use get-tuned.com in a pinch.
 
I would like to invest in a few 6 string ukes where the G and C are doubled up and set at octaves, and the bottom 2 strings would be single for picking!

Some tunes just need that low in it and I think that the octave double string notes would be perfect. You get your highs and lows!

especially in a jam session with other uke players... when someone hits that low G... there's an extra warmth to the overall sound.

pretty sweet!


werd? word!!

keep the peace! LOL
 
I have my pono strung with the low-G right now and I've been very comfortable with it, strumming or picking-wise. I actually got more conscious of when I strum all the strings of just some of them since the low G might not fit in all situations. Overall, I learned to adjust when necessary over time.

I have some vids on my YouTube account that are in Low-G and High-G.
 
Personal preference is for high G on the concert KoAloha. Tried low G Aquila (wound low G) and Worth Brown med low G. Both sounded clunky, thunky. In my case the instrument more or less determined the tuning.
 
Honestly Umagrama, it completely depends on what type of music you're into.
I have both, and I swap around all the time for different songs (for instance, Tears in Heaven sounds terrible on a high-g uke, just as While My Guitar Gently Weeps sounds not so good on a low-g uke).
I would recommend trying both at a good music store and seeing which one you like more.

A good rule of thumb is that low-g's usually have a fuller sound and sound fantastic when strummed, but high-g's are brighter, and keep the playful sound that has made uke so popular.

Don't let anyone tell you what is right or wrong.

Rob :D
 
I always recommend re-entrant tuning, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I consider the sound part of the charm of the ukulele.

However...

rclifford13 said:
Don't let anyone tell you what is right or wrong.
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...rclifford is entirely correct here.

I'll keep repeating this until people start throwing elderly tomatos at me (and maybe even after)...

If it's making the sounds you want, you're doing it right.
 
How can I tell if my Lanikai Tenor is High or Low G? They have the same strings they had when I bought it. I think they are GHS. THe 3rd (C) string is wound. But I don't know if it's high or low g. Also, I'm thinking of getting new strings but I don't know if I should stay with the wound C or not. Any advice?
 
FrankNoCal said:
How can I tell if my Lanikai Tenor is High or Low G? THe 3rd (C) string is wound. But I don't know if it's high or low g. Also, I'm thinking of getting new strings but I don't know if I should stay with the wound C or not. Any advice?
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The fourth string (G) is high if the pitch of it is higher than the E string. If the sound of the G-string is noticeably lower than the wound G string, then it's a low G.

Another way to tell is if the actual build of the G string has the thickest diameter than all of the other strings on the Uke. If it does, that is also a way to tell that it is low G.

Last time I bought a Lanikai uke, they were all tuned to High-G strings. As for sticking with the wound string, after putting on all nylon strings I realized that the old Wound C that I used to have on it would seem to resonate a lot longer and seem a bit overpowering compared to the other strings. But thats just IMO
 
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I found that the wound c string wore through pretty fast and had to be replaced. I agree that it sounded a bit out of place, also. I tried my tenor with a low G and after playing gCEA for over a year, the low G made my ukulele sound like it had a broken leg. I've also tried the aquila DGBE strings on my tenor and I enjoyed that for awhile, but switched back so that I could play all of the songs I'd learned in gCEA.

Sometimes we tune no particular way but our own, right?
 
vcowman said:
i just picked up a 6 string uke. The lowest note I can get right now is a Low A right now right since its strung with a high G? (open note low a string)

I guess then if I look the high G off and put a low g, the lowest note would be a low G (open note low g string). But would that put too much pressure on my bridge? to have the low a and low g?

Gratzi!
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kinda off topic...but do you play a 6string ukulele like a guitar but different tuning? i've always wondered about that
 
uke079 said:
kinda off topic...but do you play a 6string ukulele like a guitar but different tuning? i've always wondered about that
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I think its tuned like so

g cC e Aa (the "cC" means its a Low-C and a High-C / "aA" = Low A, High A)

or

g cC e aa (the A strings are paired to the same High-A)


The extra two strings on a 6 string uke aren't spaced the same from the other strings like a regular 4-string uke. the extra 2 strings are closer to their neighbors.
 
Four of my ukes are all high-G, but because I wanted to try one, I bought a low-G (my latest, the Pono). I really like it! There are simply some pieces that sound better with a low-G note, and you can extend some of your runs to the fourth string that was unavailable with a high-G.

Yes, it's more guitar-like, but so what? It's more flexible when trying to translate from some guitar tabs. There are songs I prefer with high, others I prefer with low G.

It's a matter of personal style and taste, of course, but it also extends your range of music to have one.

My advice: have one (or more) of each.
 
Pono

Ian, what was the final outcome on that new Pono? Maybe this isn't the thread to ask you, but I'm curious how it all turned out. Sounds like you are enjoying it.
 
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