Wow! Now I get why you love Low G.

I have been delaying putting low g strings on my tenor uke because I'm still in ukulele class, and I'm not sure our instructor will allow us to do so. I figure it would probably interfere with our finger picking exercises, etc.

Well today, I decided to take off my D'addario strings and try something new, so I put on a set of Fremont Flourocarbons for a change. Out of curiosity, I decided to put on the low g string instead of the regular G. Wow. What a difference it made. All of a sudden, there was such a fullness and richness to the sound. I was really impressed.

Of course, I don't know...maybe it is just that I like the sound of the Fremont strings. But now I'm convinced, I get why so many of you like the low g.

I still love the re-entrant high G tuning and I'll probably switch back and forth depending on my mood (before anyone suggests, nope, can't afford another uke right now). I still like the idea of the traditional high G, as well as its cheery tone. But for at least the moment, the low g sounds great to me!

Ha. As soon as I typed this, my class assignments didn't sound right (to my ears anyway) so I put the High G back on for now. But at least I know my options now, and I will probably revisit the low g in the future. Glad I learned the difference though, and I still see what some people see in it. Looks like my original post was premature for my purposes but still, it was a learning experience.

thats great that you've tried on the low G's. I've been playing for a while now and still havent strung them to low g. In the Future, then maybe. But thats awesome!

Thanks Grappler. Funny thing is, as soon as I put them on, my class assignments sounded all wrong (the finger picking exercises, etc.) to my ears. So I took it off again, and put a High G string on in its place. But I'm still really glad I tried it out...at least now I know the options available and I will probably revisit it in the future. For now, though I jumped the gun.

UAS to the rescue!

Get two similar ukuleles and string one high, one low. Bring both to class and switch over with a simple reach.

I love both and that's one reason why I have 2 of almost every uke I have.

Put on the Aquila Low G on my tenor and I like the sound when playing the chord apperegio (I think thats what its called when picking each string instead of strumming a chord) but its too over powering when strumming. after about a week, I had to take it off

generem said:

Put on the Aquila Low G on my tenor and I like the sound when playing the chord apperegio (I think thats what its called when picking each string instead of strumming a chord) but its too over powering when strumming. after about a week, I had to take it off

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I have Worths on my Kanile`a tenor and the low G was a little overpowering at first also. It seemed to mellow out after a few weeks but it could just be that I got used to it.

cpatch said:

I have Worths on my Kanile`a tenor and the low G was a little overpowering at first also. It seemed to mellow out after a few weeks but it could just be that I got used to it.

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or you learned not to put so much power behind that string.

cpatch said:

I have Worths on my Kanile`a tenor and the low G was a little overpowering at first also. It seemed to mellow out after a few weeks but it could just be that I got used to it.

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Are your Worths the clear or the browns?

When tuned to low G, you still play your chords the same way? Like its the same notes but it makes a different sound?
I was thinking of getting a fluke to compliment my flea & tune it low...
S.

I tried it once, and the string was wound so I instantly hated it. 1 wound string? It sucked. I'd love to try a nylon low G.

I think a preference for low-G is pretty much personal. I've bought ukes for the sole purpose of having a low-G uke and end up stringing them re-entrant. To me low-G does sound nice and full but it makes a Ko'olau sound about the same as a laminated Kala to my ears for some reason. I can't decipher sound quality when ukes are strung with low-G.

By the way, I still plan to acquire a uke in the future to be used as my low-G uke.

It's all just a preference I guess, because once I switched to low g, I was hooked. Every time I try to switch one of my tenors back to high g, it never lasts long. I have one uke that is a high g soprano flea, and I just can't get into playing it, no matter how many times I try.

sharp21 said:

When tuned to low G, you still play your chords the same way? Like its the same notes but it makes a different sound?
I was thinking of getting a fluke to compliment my flea & tune it low...
S.

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Yup. Same note, just one octave different.

deach said:

I love both and that's one reason why I have 2 of almost every uke I have.

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Excellent justification for having 2 of each. I guess you'll need to buy yourself a pineapple sunday after all, when/if George ends up giving you his one day.

I love low g. I love the full sound that it makes. I find it really helps me with singing too... the lower sound helps me pitch my voice better.

wickedwahine11 said:

I still love the re-entrant high G tuning and I'll probably switch back and forth depending on my mood (before anyone suggests, nope, can't afford another uke right now). I still like the idea of the traditional high G, as well as its cheery tone. But for at least the moment, the low g sounds great to me!

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Hi wickedwahine11,
We've just started experimenting with low G too for the first time...
We're thinking if 2 ukes play together, it'd be nice if one is low G and the other is high G - kind of giving more room for each uke to be distinct from the other...
So far so good, but it does mean we'll have to carry around 4 ukes instead of 2!

Oh, and have you seen THIS GUY? We met him in Japan, and he does a walking bass-line with his low g - his name is Gensblue - pretty amazing stuff!

I've tried it a few times too, and I always return to hi-G.. with the low-G, it a little bit too boomy for me, needs a sensitive touch, plus the lo-G string seems floppy. Its certainly due to the fact that I just dont spend enough time with it. But there are a few nice tunes I'd like to learn in lo-G.. "Pandanus" by Peter Moon is one of them.

Link said:

I tried it once, and the string was wound so I instantly hated it. 1 wound string? It sucked. I'd love to try a nylon low G.

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I totally agree. I don't like the wound low G at all. My Koaloha has the nylon low G and that sounds great, and matches the other strings perfectly. I did have a uke with a wound low G and didn't like the difference in sound of that string. It seemed to overpower the other strings, but the nylon one is perfect!

Link said:

I tried it once, and the string was wound so I instantly hated it. 1 wound string? It sucked. I'd love to try a nylon low G.

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Try Worth's. They have a nylon low g.

experimentjon said:

Excellent justification for having 2 of each. I guess you'll need to buy yourself a pineapple sunday after all, when/if George ends up giving you his one day.

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he will. i'm honing my Jedi mind tricks. it just takes time.