Not another post about low- vs high-g -- but I do have some low G questions

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JessicaM

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I put a low-G Aquila red on my concert uke that's strung with Aquila Nylagut. So far there's a lot I like about the liner tuning, but when I'm finger picking I find the low G to be very "boomy." I feel like it over dominates and it's a little droning. I find myself avoiding the string when picking.

This is a question for folks who don't just dismiss low-G out of hand: is there any way around this boominess while still playing with a low-G? A different brand? A different technique?
 
JessicaM said:
is there any way around this boominess while still playing with a low-G? A different brand? A different technique?
Click to expand...

I hated low G until I started using wound strings - non-wound low G strings all sounded boomy on my concert ukes. My current combo of choice is a Fremont Soloist low G with Martin M600 fluorocarbons for the rest; sometimes I use Aquila Nylguts with the Soloist and I like that too - you can hear the latter in the video link in my sig.
 
janeray1940 said:
I hated low G until I started using wound strings - non-wound low G strings all sounded boomy on my concert ukes. My current combo of choice is a Fremont Soloist low G with Martin M600 fluorocarbons for the rest; sometimes I use Aquila Nylguts with the Soloist and I like that too - you can hear the latter in the video link in my sig.
Click to expand...

But do you have to mess with the nut to fit the wound G?
 
JessicaM said:
But do you have to mess with the nut to fit the wound G?
Click to expand...

I didn't, but I guess it depends on the uke (mine are Kamakas, for what it's worth - I've put a low G on maybe a half-dozen different models as of now). The only uke I've encountered where a low-G string didn't fit in the nut as is was a Kiwaya, and that was when I tried a non-wound low G - the wound Fremont Soloist fit just fine.
 
janeray1940 said:
I didn't, but I guess it depends on the uke (mine are Kamakas, for what it's worth - I've put a low G on maybe a half-dozen different models as of now). The only uke I've encountered where a low-G string didn't fit in the nut as is was a Kiwaya, and that was when I tried a non-wound low G - the wound Fremont Soloist fit just fine.
Click to expand...

Ok. Cool. Thanks! Moving on to a Fremont Soloist, I guess!
 
southcoast strings have a good article on linear tuning, essentially the soprano and concert bodies are too small to handle low G, the concert needs to go to Eb before losing the boomy sound.

article here:

http://www.southcoastukes.com/006.htm

I have mine tuned like this, sounds great but I can't be bothered working the new chords out in my head so will go hack to high G tuning.

Cheers (and I hope that helps)

Cliff
 
JessicaM said:
But do you have to mess with the nut to fit the wound G?
Click to expand...

The unwound strings I've played are usually thicker than the wound ones. I've never had a problem with my tenor fitting any unwound string though.

My baritone, however, will not fit the D'Addario pro-arte strings. Too think for the nut and they made some gouges into my saddle. Aquila strings work well, but they tend to wear out quickly.
 
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anthonyg said:
I like a bit of boom. It helps to fill out the sound. It makes the instrument bigger.

To a certain extent its just a matter of coming to terms with a new sound.

Anthony
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My husband agrees with you! He plays the mandolin which has zero boom so it sounds kind of good when we're playing together. But it just sounds out of proportion to me.
 
I had the same problem with my Boat Paddle concert. I strung an Aquila red low g with Living Waters c e a. The Aquila was distractingly too loud. Switched back to a Living Waters low g, and problem solved. Fremont Soloist also works nicely. I just think that Aquila reds are particularly loud.
 
anthonyg said:
I like a bit of boom. It helps to fill out the sound. It makes the instrument bigger.

To a certain extent its just a matter of coming to terms with a new sound.

Anthony
Click to expand...

I just started playing Low G about 2 weeks ago. I hated it. It took a couple of good sessions, but I have come to terms with the "new sound". Now I struggle with high G. I did lighten my attack on the low G compared to high G and now muscle memory seems to have found the sweet spot. Good luck.
 
Trader Todd said:
I just started playing Low G about 2 weeks ago. I hated it. It took a couple of good sessions, but I have come to terms with the "new sound". Now I struggle with high G. I did lighten my attack on the low G compared to high G and now muscle memory seems to have found the sweet spot. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I think that is something to strive for, but that kind of control is tough. It is probably how a pro gets beautiful sounds out of so-so instruments. A booming G or even a C can really screw up a recording.

JessicaM, I have had some success in controlling the too-loud-and-long sustain (boom) by tying ~4" piece of yarn onto the string at the saddle. Sliding the knot up the string adjusts the deadening effect. I've used it on Aquila Reds and Fremont Soloists.
 
I agree with the sentiment that there can be a bit of a brain adjustment involved when switching from high-G to low-G - a mental 'settling in' period where perceived boominess might be as much to do with getting used to the change in overall sound as anything else.

FYI: I am not suggesting that everyone who has experienced boominess is just imagining it :) (Keep Calm and Carry a Ukulele.)

Anyway, I really like the Fremont Soloist and I'm glad to hear that the OP is giving low-G a second try.
 
I changed my low G ukes to Southcoast ML-WB strings and really like the balance of 2 wound strings and 2 flouro trebles.
 
Although.. there are certainly some strings that are boomy, I think alot of times, when you first switch to low g... you're ear hears 2 things.
1) You're brain tends to focus on the low stuff, because it's something it's not used to hearing when you play
2) Bass strings are louder. They have more mass because they have to in order to make the low tones, and that more mass drives the sound board more.

When you first change.. give it a little time. What might sound boomy right away may not sound boomy as you get more used to it.
Or.. it could just be boomy.

The Thomastik-infelds... are pretty not boomy for wounds, which is part of why I've been liking them alot.
 
One more thing about initially disliking low G: if you're playing standard first-position uke chords, especially in a group with mostly reentrant players, this might sound off to your ear. It certainly did - and does - to mine. I'm not a big theory person but I know that this is because playing reentrant-designed chords on low G causes them to become inversions, and often the lowest note of the chord ends up being whatever is being played on the low G string rather than the root. It's not wrong, necessarily, but doesn't always work best. I only use my low G uke for arrangements specifically designed for low G - I still can't stand how it sounds while strumming chords in a group.
 
One of the weird quirks about low g voicing is that the way chords are voiced in high g end up being inverted in some weird ways of played the same. Take a basic C chord voiced 0003. Sounds just fine on high g uke because that g note is buried in the heart of the chord, but played on a low g uke the low g ends up being the bottom of the chord thus appearing to be the loudest. I find the 5433 voicing to sound more like a "normal" c chord on low g compared to high g. However, a G chord 0232 sounds awesome on low g because you get all that bass and it's the root of the chord.

You don't have to completely revoice all your low g chords but a few here and there can make a difference.
 
I have a Living Water Low G set on a concert and like others, I didn't really like it at first but I was determined to give it a fair trial. I find now, some songs seem to work really well with the low G and others are better on high G. Low G works well for finger picking. With some songs I like the drone effect you get with the low G string but I am a folk musician and drones are part of the style.

Like others I noticed a boominess at first and I get a similar effect with my Fluke which is tuned DGBE - so the G is the same pitch as the low G of my concert. However, I've had several people say how they like the sound of my Fluke and I recently was listening to the play back of a recording I had made with the Fluke and the boominess was nowhere near as obvious as it is to me when I am playing. That has led me to think that we as the players notice the boominess of the bottom strings far more than people listening to our playing and maybe it's not as much of a problem as we think. Something to do with the way the sound is transmitted to us and the way we perceive the sound of our own instruments.

The Fluke has a Worth Fat set on rather than Living Water but I find there is little or no difference between different makes of fluorocarbon strings, especially if the gauge of the strings is pretty much the same for those tuned to the same pitch.
 
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