High G String or Low G String

G vs g

Shiite v Suni?
Protestant v Catholic
Muslim v Hindu
Ford v Chevy

I've had a low G on my fluke for a few years and I love it. I'm using the Worth fluorocarbon strings. They aren't wound so they don't trash my plastic fretboard.

I have a low G on my electric and that string has way more sustain than the others, and it tends to drone, and dominate the sound. I'll be switching it to high G one of these days.
 
WS64 said:
High G.
Low G is castrated guitar.
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agreed, you might as well just stick a capo on the fourth fret of your guitar....
I think high G is what makes a ukulele what it is (to me at least) its what separates it from the pack.
 
Well,, now I have both high and low G ukes, and I like each tuning. I find some pop songs and folk songs work much better in low G (especially when I want a bass run), while a lot of the stuff from the 1920s-40s is better high G. But overall, I like the high G better for most of what I play.

The solution seems to have both. Several of each, actually.
 
deach said:
Couldn't agree more.
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... and I couldn't agree less. If I were a Communist dictator, I'd give at least half a dozen ukuleles to each citizen :D, but, then again, that might contradict the ukulele's tradition of spreading joy.
 
I like the high G. Then again, the low G that came with my Pono was wound. Maybe once I try a nylgut low G I'll end up liking it. Til then, low G.
 
SuperSecretBETA said:
... and I couldn't agree less. If I were a Communist dictator, I'd give at least half a dozen ukuleles to each citizen :D, but, then again, that might contradict the ukulele's tradition of spreading joy.
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huh? :confused: ?
 
Today, out of curiosity, I placed a Low G string on my ukulele, and it only lasted a few hours. I thought I would like it at first (since I play guitar and bass), but for some reason... the chords didn't sound so "sweet", and I hated the drone of the low G. :eek:

I thought it would sound better... but it didn't, so when i got home, off came the string and I replaced it with the high G. :D

I am guessing that this thread can go on for a long time.... it's just a matter of preference with each musician then! :)
 
haha its weird, my dad's friend from work had this same question. He uses the low G because it sounds more like a guitar. I think i'm going to try out a low G.
 
DigableKid said:
I like the high G. Then again, the low G that came with my Pono was wound. Maybe once I try a nylgut low G I'll end up liking it. Til then, low G.
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The nylgut low g is wound as well. Worth low g is unwound though.
 
If available I'd have two types, One High G Uke and One Low G Uke, for me I need both because I play several styles of music some which require either.
 
aziandoll said:
Today, out of curiosity, I placed a Low G string on my ukulele, and it only lasted a few hours. I thought I would like it at first (since I play guitar and bass), but for some reason... the chords didn't sound so "sweet", and I hated the drone of the low G. :eek:

I thought it would sound better... but it didn't, so when i got home, off came the string and I replaced it with the high G. :D

I am guessing that this thread can go on for a long time.... it's just a matter of preference with each musician then! :)
Click to expand...


I tried Aquila low G on my Pono tenor a few months ago and had the same outcome as you (disliked). But, recently I replaced my strings and had a set of Ko'olau Mahana low g's. I didn't like them for the first few days, but I didn't have any high g's so I left them on. After the strings had "set" I was blown away by the new and glorious tones coming from my uke. I feel like the low g option has elevated my playing as well. I think I'm a low g convert, and will now have to get another uke to keep in high g as recemended in this thread!
 
With the type of music I play a low G is a must. I can see the use of high G if playing traditional Hawaiian music of just playing chords. i do more solo and lead playing though.
 
It's a personal sound choice. Some have both. I have low G on my tenor, but am getting high G on my new concert pineapple.

Yo, NukeDOC. Since I'm a trumpet player, I have to say that your avatar has caused me great angst even though I'm a uke beginner. I mean you could at least have used one of the woodwinds...:).
 
So far, my experiment with the guitalele tuned with a high and low g is working pretty well. I had to sacrifice the low A, so I occasionally have to come up with an alternative note when playing guitar music, but playing high g is straight forward, and when playing low g, i just skip the high g string. I have to add some fingerings for full chords, but i can just play the high g chords in a pinch, but I only have to add one extra finger for a nice full c chord.

take care,

Tom
 
mwalimu said:
I like low G when I pick. I like high G when I strum. I guess the solution is to have a few ukes strung differntly so you can play it the way you like it.

There, now I've rationalized everyone's UAS.
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This is so for me as well. Most tab that I have seen for picking is for low G. I find high G sounds to redundant for picking. Also, some instruments come alive with a low G string, especially those with larger bodies (take the Blackbird CF for example).
 
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