I like listening to low-G, but not playing with it.

Mivo

Mivo

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I've always felt a bit indecisive and torn about low-G, and just the other day I think it dawned on me what the reason is:

I like listening to someone else playing on a low-G ukulele (Daniel Ho's Polani album being a great example, which I favor over any high-G ukulele album I've heard), but when I play a low-G ukulele myself, I don't enjoy the experience. It sounds good then too, but the "right feeling", the fun just isn't there.

So, my Barron River tenor is back in high-G, and it feels good!

Anyone else made this observation about themselves?
 
No. :)

But I do have some high G ukes as well as my main low G ukes. ;)

Still thinking I might try campanella at some time, but I've still got a lot of other things to learn & improve on first. :cool:
 
I've moved my ukes to low G, other than my soprano. I realized that my high G ukulele doesn't get as much play. I like high G, but am working through Polani, among other low G arrangements, so right now, high G isn't an every day thing for me.
 
Interesting Mivo. I went the opposite path. I strung my KoAloha Opio ukulele with worth low g strings and I enjoy it more than the high g that I ordered it with. I just prefer the fuller sound and those extra notes for scales. But both are great :)
 
Mivo you could be describing me. My low G ukes are "special occasion" only. I have to have a particular reason to play a low G arrangement. Day in, day out the ukes that make me smile are all strung up re-entrant.

Sidenote: When my custom was strung up high G at my request, the luthier remarked how good it sounded and how easy it was to get that "ukulele sound". It had been a long time since he'd done a re-entrant uke.
 
I know exactly what you mean. I bought a baritone as an experiment and it just felt wrong, not unpleasant but just unfulfilling. Then as an experiment I bought a Living Water high D set and immediately it just sounded fun like my smaller re-entrant gCEA ukes always have.
 
I've found some of my ukes are better in either low g or high g. My KoaWorks tenor arrived with high g tuning, and I liked it. Switched to low g, where it sounded good, but like you said it didn't feel right.
 
I agree with Hodge.

I have some Ukes with low G and others with High G. I prefer jazz standards with low at and popular or current songs with re entrant.
 
I don't think of low G as an all-purpose ukulele - I think of it as a specific sound for specific situations (in my case, most often as counterpoint to the melody played by the reentrant folks in my ensemble - or for solo bossa nova, jazz and some classical). And I'm sure I've said it before elsewhere, but I disliked playing low G with a passion until I discovered wound strings. To this day, I can't stand the sound of a low G unwound string.

I think if you string a uke low G, and then play off-the-shelf music from non-low-G-specific songbooks, more often than not you'll wind up disappointed. Everything I use my low G uke for was arranged specifically for that instrument (and, conversely, would not sound right on a reentrant uke).
 
I completely agree, Mivo.

I actually prefer the sound of low g, I love the deeper tones, but playing low g always feels more serious somehow. Everything about my re-entrant soprano lifts my spirits, I play it all the time because it's just so much fun.

Sadly, I'm coming to the conclusion that I should probably sell my beloved Ohta San, I just don't play it enough to justify keeping it :(
 
I think that low g does not sound like an ukulele. There is something about the high g which gives it that unique sound.
However, I do have a low g to play some pieces which need a longer range. I like them both, but prefer high g.
 
I partly agree, Mivo. ;-)

First point of agreement is on Daniel Ho's Polani. Best uke album I've heard by a long shot.

For a long time, I didn't enjoy playing linear tuning as much because I didn't really know songs that were written for linear. However, a few months ago I started focusing on a linear song. That has helped a lot. I do love, love, love reentrant tuning as well. So like some others have pointed out, I have some ukes tuned linear and others tuned re-entrant.
 
I've tried low G a number of times and have never been able to embrace it to the same extent as re-entrant. I do enjoy the sound, but like Mivo, my ukuleles end up back to re-entrant or they are not played much.

For me I think it is a combination of two things. The number of bass strings are too limited compared to a guitar. I rarely even play guitar any more, but a guitar does allow for 3 note chords and a bass root note. I find myself missing that root note with linear tuning.

The low G makes a terrible drone note. When playing a finger style instrumental, those semi open chords up the neck with an open g string seem to add just the right amount of chime (major 7th-ish/sparkle sound) that I can't get with low g. Covering those drone g notes in linear loses the effect and in some ways if I wanted to that sound I'd go back to guitar.

John
 
When I'm strumming chords I like the sound of a re-entrant tuned uke. A lot of finger-style uke works well with a re-entrant as well, but there are times when I really wish I could get below that 3rd string C note. It often means transposing to an unsingable key to get the proper melody note or else modifying the melody so it doesn't go below C. I don't have a low G tuned ukulele at this time.
 
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I use both high and low-G tuned instruments for different purposes and enjoy them all for their capabilities.

High-G for campanella and clawhammer, low-G for the extended range when playing melodies that require it, though admittedly I'm probably more likely to revert to a 5th's-tuned instrument for this purpose unless it's a ukulele-specific tab arrangement for low-G.

For that ukulele "sparkle" when strumming along behind a song it's difficult to beat a re-entrant strung instrument :music:
 
I think it takes as long to learn appreciation for low G as it does to learn to play the ukulele.
If I were in your position, Mivo, I too would string my Barron River re-entrant. But I would string a cheap Kala or something with a low G and practice with it a little every day. May take years, but with time...
 
I prefer Low G only on picking instrumental arrangements.. re entrants will always be my strummers... I have specific ukes for low G and only a couple of them now...probably three....
However my koa works remain hi G :)
 
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Doc_J said:
I've found some of my ukes are better in either low g or high g. My KoaWorks tenor arrived with high g tuning, and I liked it. Switched to low g, where it sounded good, but like you said it didn't feel right.
Click to expand...

I'm smiling Hodge: just recently I have been thinking of changing my KoaWorks tenor to high g as well. I love the size and depth of the low g on it, but it occurred to me that this would make it an excellent candidate to balance out the higher tones. : )
 
There is also something to be said for not doing regular "up/down" strumming on a low g. Try plucking 3 or 4 strings at once to replace a strum. Lots of possibilities there and really brings out variety. Just a suggestion.
 
Mivo said:
I've always felt a bit indecisive and torn about low-G, and just the other day I think it dawned on me what the reason is: the "right feeling", the fun just isn't there.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't mind when other people are playing it, but when I strum their uke, it's just like you say, the right sound and the fun just isn't there!!!
 
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