Not a fan of the Low G on my Fender Nohea Tenor

yookalaylee

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I installed my first set of new strings, after nine months. I used the Aquilla low G set on my Fender Nohea. The first thing I noticed after getting all strings close enough in tune to strum was the overwhelming "house bass" sound the low G brings to this instrument. I was shocked because I also play bass and thought the addition of the lower octave would somehow unlock Metallica "Fade to Black" and the low G of "Careless Whisper." Having my cake but not eating it sums it up. I really enjoy the banjo pluck feel of the high G but thought I could somehow sacrifice it for the low and maintain the instruments vibe. Not so unfortunately in my case. It is a representation of the instrument as well, and that's fine for me. I had decided that it was time for my first addition and upgrade to my uke family prior to this revelation, so I'm not bothered. I'll just go back to the high G and play it the way I like. Lastly, having only changed out guitar and bass strings for the past 3 decades, I've discovered that old strings feel like stale fishing line, and new strings feel like Twizzlers.
 
Maybe try some different strings? I'm not a big fan of Aquila in general though I have never tried low g. Maybe try a set of Worth clears, Oasis brights, or Southcoast LMU-NW
http://www.southcoastukes.com/uku-nw.htm
 
I'm fine with Aquilla for now. I was just surprised at how different the instrument sounded with the low G. High G, at least on this instrument, is where it'll have to be and I'm quite okay with it.
 
I have a Kala concert and I restrung with low G Aquila a few months ago. I was disappointed too. It turned out that the wound G string was a piece of crap. It got totally chewed up in a couple of weeks. Big dents where it hit the frets. The guys at he shop replaced it with a classical guitar D string and it sounds great. Two months later and the string is still in great shape. I'll never get a wound Aquila again.
 
I really like the wound low G, I feel it sounds low but not thudding like a fluorocarbon low G. I agree the Aquila wound low G does start to look shabby quite quickly, but that's the only issue I have with them.

Any recommendations for another brand of wound low G for tenor?
 
I would think low G might sound best on a solid body use, but I would only be guessing. It could also be the nut on my Fender Nohea isn't wide enough to accept the low G, although before I strung it up I laid it down in the groove and it was able to ,over back and forth with a little resistance from the string winding.
 
Hi yookalaylee

You were using a wound or unwound low G? Since you are a bass player, you might find a wound low G more to you liking. It makes a big difference.
 
It's a wound string. I use flat wound bass strings. It's my belief that my preference, as well as the instrument itself, just aren't setup for the low G and that's okay!��
 
My experience with strings is that you can't generalize experiences with one product, even between the same materials. On my Barron River tenor, the low-G string that had the least boom and fit with the trebles the best is the Fremont Soloist. It's a single low-G string, sold individually (eBay is a good source). It's by far the most pleasant low-G strong on my instrument. I also liked the Thomastik-Ineld CF30 guitar string, but it stood out a bit more. Aquila's low-G wound RED string also worked. Everything else I tried was definitely not working for me.

But I understand not liking low-G. I like it some days and other days I don't (and start thinking about getting a guitar). If I only had one ukulele, it would be high-G (my sopranos are all re-entrant, and one tenor in high-G and one in low-G). The "typical ukulele sound" is lost for me with a low-G, but it nevertheless sounds beautiful (but like a different type of instrument). Ultimately, I prefer re-entrant tuning with a high 4th string (either G or an A, when using D tuning).
 
My experience with strings is that you can't generalize experiences with one product, even between the same materials. On my Barron River tenor, the low-G string that had the least boom and fit with the trebles the best is the Fremont Soloist. It's a single low-G string, sold individually (eBay is a good source). It's by far the most pleasant low-G strong on my instrument. I also liked the Thomastik-Ineld CF30 guitar string, but it stood out a bit more. Aquila's low-G wound RED string also worked. Everything else I tried was definitely not working for me.

But I understand not liking low-G. I like it some days and other days I don't (and start thinking about getting a guitar). If I only had one ukulele, it would be high-G (my sopranos are all re-entrant, and one tenor in high-G and one in low-G). The "typical ukulele sound" is lost for me with a low-G, but it nevertheless sounds beautiful (but like a different type of instrument). Ultimately, I prefer re-entrant tuning with a high 4th string (either G or an A, when using D tuning).

The best way to learn strumming is learning with a teacher. If you see good strumming in front of you, you can learn it very fast. You can see the technique and he can indicate the sound difference. It is hard to learn it alone with books or even videos. Skills affect much more than strings.
 
Assuming identical skill, the material (choice of woods, strings, etc.) matters, though. Yes, with enough skill you may be able to compensate for a sound you may not like initially, but you can also just get strings that sound good to you right away. Chances are you'll continue to like them better as your skill increases.
 
I'm not a fan of low G on anything...I like the ukulele sound! When I strum a friends instrument with low G, it sounds thuddy...
 
I'd try an unwound low G string before turning away from low G completely.

I have not yet found a well-balanced set of strings where wound strings were included, the wound ones always (IMHO) overpower the rest.
(In case you don't have quick access to a plain low G set you could as well try to tune down a C string)
 
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Update: I may have been a bit hasty.

I'm not a fan of low G on anything...I like the ukulele sound! When I strum a friends instrument with low G, it sounds thuddy...

That being said, once I got it in tune enough to hold for about a songs worth, I decided that I have to have another uke strung high and reentrant. No other way. My reasoning is this, playing tunes like "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters requires that low B of the G/B chord, among others that might not be as crucial. You can always "get away" with what you've got and rock it the best you can, but certain notes are necessary in my opinion. Even in my recent season #249 entry video I jumped to conclusions about the low G. I'm never too old to learn, and better for it!
 
I decided that I have to have another uke strung high and reentrant. No other way.
Yep, that's the way to go. From time to time you need a low G - but not always.


PS: Here are the specs of my favourite ukulele strings (clear FCs, shipping anywhere outside Germany available on request but might cost more than the strings) - maybe you can find a suitable low G replacement in the guitar department

Tenor
G​
C​
E​
A​
tension
high G0.57mm0.84mm0.68mm0.52mm~5.5kg
low G0.91mm0.84mm0.68mm0.52mm~5.5kg
 
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