Sopranino tuning

Doctroid

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I have a Caramel CP200 sopranino uke, and I'm trying to decide how to tune it.

C tuning (gCEa) I think is too low; the strings are too slack. D tuning (aDF#b) seems okay.

I've seen mention of F (cFad) and G (dGbe) tunings being used on sopraninos too. But I'm not clear on what strings people have used for those. My Caramel has Aquilas which look to be the same gauge as the Aquilas on my sopranos. A little math suggests to me they could go up to G with sopranino scale length without too much trouble but real world experience trumps my math any day.

Then there's the question: Which tunings play and sound best?

G tuning would have one advantage in that I already have a baritone, but if it's horrible to play or sounds terrible that would negate that advantage.

Ultimately I know I'll have to experiment and decide for myself, but I'd like some reports and opinions (preferably mentioning your instrument and strings) from other sopranino players first.
 
Doc, I've had good luck with the Martin M-600's tuned to aDF#B on the sopraninos. Nice strong tension level, but not tuned so high as to make the uke sound too "toyish".
 
D or even up to Eb worked when I had the Ohana. Felt right in terms of tension
 
I have mine tuned to aDF#B. I like that the best for my sopranino. I've also tried bbEbGC which sounded decent. I didn't like F or G tunings because it sounded too plinky and too much like a music box. Worth brown strings are currently on my Koaloha sopranino.
 
I use the logic that the sopranino is about three frets shorter than a soprano, so it's equivalent to a soprano with capo on third fret. That being the case, it should take strings for C tuning up to Eb if you want, or strings for D tuning up to F. Personally, I like CFAD, as it delivers more punch and gives a more distinctive sound. I have a Caramel Sopranino like yours and use Harley Benton (own brand of Thomann) strings.
 
As music instruments, C sounds best and G is next because key of C is still easy to play on G tuning. Hence normally we jump to G from C in either direction. Ukulele to sopranino is same shrink direction as viola to violin (figure below).

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We have various size of ukulele but we don't have in between tuning in ukulele.

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If you were lucky, you can have a good information about C or G tuning here. Good luck!
 
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iUke and Aquila make iUke mini, which is sopranino ukulele, together. Aquila offers extremely slim strings of GCEA. They are one octave higher than the normal GCEA but not too much tension because of extremely slim.

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We can see the contribution of Aquila inside of the iUke mini (figure above). We can hear the sound here.
 
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I'm interested in the sopranino tuning as well. I see that the aquila 94u gauge strings are for piccolo , but from amazon it states that it should not be used on scales over 10.25 inches. The caramel cp100 /200 is 11.25 inches I believe. Anyone know if these can be used on them or not?
 
I have a Rubin RP-100 and I found that Fremont makes a set of Blackline Hard tension strings for Sopranos/Concerts that work really well to give much better tension to the 11.25" scale for gCEA tuning. They sound nice and bright too.

When I saw that Caramel was offering the CP-100 I had an attack of UAS, as I have all the Cx-100s Tenor, Concert and Soprano plus an Rt-102 and a CB-103 glossy Tenor and Bari, all Zebra wood. I am resisting buying another Uke I'll probably never play, too small.
 
I've not tried the 94u strings, but would think they are simply too thin, and whether they are long enough is doubtful too. The Caramel sopranino is pretty quiet as it is; with strings that are that light, I estimate it would be nearly inaudible.
 
The caramel cp100 /200 is 11.25 inches I believe.

That's correct.

I have mine tuned to aDF#B. I like that the best for my sopranino. I've also tried bbEbGC which sounded decent. I didn't like F or G tunings because it sounded too plinky and too much like a music box. Worth brown strings are currently on my Koaloha sopranino.

I went up from D to E to F with much the same reaction — F sounded too much like a music box. E was okay, but who wants to play in E? (Though that's one way to make E chords easier ;).) I'm currently back in D and may stay there.

Edit to add:

And having said that I went back into F and listened again, particularly with the uke turned toward me, and decided it sounded good after all. So I'm still debating.
 
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Hi, Debussychopin!

If the 2nd and 3rd strings were too short you can tie them with old strings. You can see the method in fishing sites.

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Matt shows 94u's diameters as follows.
1st:0.0155inch/0.40mm
2nd:0.0220/0.56
3rd:0.0265/0.67
4th:0.0160/0.41
You can search fishing lines same diameter as 94u too.

If you want Low-G, you can use E strings of Aquila
4u, 5u (0.0315/0.80)
7u, 8u (0.0325/0.83)
10u, 15u (0.0335/0.85)
 
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The link zztush refers to talks about using 94U strings to achieve g'cea tuning (1 octave above standard gCEA) on a piccolo uke (iUke) or sopranino. If you're going for F or G tuning I'd think such thin strings might be overkill. Or underkill. Whatever. But maybe not?

My sopranino came with Aquilas, 4U or 33U I assume, and in F tuning they seem pretty tight to me. I hesitate to try G tuning. Hmm, I wouldn't be surprised if they were 4U in which case I probably should try 33U or something similar. I should try measuring them.
 
Hi, Doctroid! Thank you for the reply.

My sopranino came with Aquilas, 4U or 33U I assume, and in F tuning they seem pretty tight to me. I hesitate to try G tuning. Hmm, I wouldn't be surprised if they were 4U in which case I probably should try 33U or something similar. I should try measuring them.

Matt has Kala pocket ukulele. This ukulele is made for F tuning (CFAD). But F tuning is weird and everyone use it on C. He thought C sounds bad. He tried G tuning. He says it sounds great. But bridge has a bit of trouble (the bottom figure on his site). It is still ok and playable but he says just try it at your own risk.
 
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I just restrung my sopranino with Southcoast Extra Light Gauge strings and tuned it up to G tuning (octave above baritone). Looks viable, reasonable tension.
 
Sounds great, Doctroid.

If you still want lower tension, this method may work.

Ohta-san uses same gauge string on 1st to 3rd string in order to get even sound. We can use same light gauge strings, when too high tension.
 
I just restrung my sopranino with Southcoast Extra Light Gauge strings and tuned it up to G tuning (octave above baritone). Looks viable, reasonable tension.

If those are the Extra Light Linears (XLL) and you've got them at d' g' b' e" I'd imagine they are just a bit on the slack side. You may not have the greatest clarity on the 4th string either. If you're tuning to fixed notes, most people prefer to use them for one line octave G tuning on a true Soprano. If you're not in group play, however, just tune them up to where they feel right / sound right. I think you'll like them a little higher.

On the other hand, if you've got the Extra Light Ukulele set (XLU), those are very nice at d" g' b' e". That tuning is a natural for a Sopranino size, or as you could call them: the "Mini Reentrant Octave Baritones".
 
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