Low GCEA strings for baritone? Recommendations please...

Griffis

Griffis

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Folks, I really did do a search on this topic but didn't find much. I did see a thread in which someone suggested putting a low G tenor set on a bari.

Not sure I should even mess with it. I like the slightly lower range of DGBE, I'm just getting too old to transpose on the fly when I go from smaller ukes' tunings then switch to baritone.

Thanks for any advice!
 
I have had good luck with both Oasis warm Low G and South Coast HML-WB strings on a Kinnard baritone tuned GCEA. Any tenor sized low G string will work. The tension might feel a little high under your fingers if you are use to a standard baritone of soprano, both low tension instruments.

You could use a concert gauge string set with a Fremont Soloist low G wound for even lower tension but I have not tried that.
 
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I've tried that tuning on a few baritones but always changed back to low g tuning pretty quickly. The resonance and thin sound is lost because that tuning on a barii doesn't drive the soundboard well enough.

I suggest going to the Southcoast string website and read Dirk's explanation on the differences with tuning to certain keys and size of the instrument.
 
stay with DGBE. You have the fingering memory down already -- just need to rename them when playing the baritone.

Or get a set of Southcoast strings. I sold a solid mahogany baritone with GCEA strings from Southcoast and the sound was SUPER. *

Ralph

* tuned GCEA so he could more easily learn to play the uke when in a group beginner class
 
You DONT want to tune your baritone to GCEA. I had the exact same idea in mind. I recently got a baritone. WEll, as recent as yesterday. I tried various ways to get it tuned to GCEA. I had custom strings made, i ordered single strings, theres also a GCEA set from aquila. BUT. At the end of the day, the relative pitch of having your baritone tuned to GCEA is so terribly low that the tone and the resonance of the instrument is almost a cacophony. PLEASE head my words and just suck it up and stick with DGBE, its just a wonderful tone. Im having to transpose everything as well. Believe me its not as easy as everyone exclaims, but its worth it.
 
ukuleric said:
You DONT want to tune your baritone to GCEA. I had the exact same idea in mind. I recently got a baritone. WEll, as recent as yesterday. I tried various ways to get it tuned to GCEA. I had custom strings made, i ordered single strings, theres also a GCEA set from aquila. BUT. At the end of the day, the relative pitch of having your baritone tuned to GCEA is so terribly low that the tone and the resonance of the instrument is almost a cacophony. PLEASE head my words and just suck it up and stick with DGBE, its just a wonderful tone. Im having to transpose everything as well. Believe me its not as easy as everyone exclaims, but its worth it.
Click to expand...

I appreciate this, and believe I'll go with this. I wanna thank everyone who offered suggestions. I'm a soprano and concert player mostly, but have played baris off and on for 15 years. There are times I think I could make a baritone my #1 but regardless...

...at this time my sole baritone is a Woods brand, just an $80 Chinese uke, but it's a nice player that sounds really decent (I don't believe the brand exists any longer.)

The bari was a gift from a friend. I pulled it out to play it recently and somehow the G string was broken. Was just considering trying GCEA on it. But it does sound and play well at DGBE, and that's the only baritone tuning I've ever used, so it will be fine.

I guess now I'd be open to suggestions on a good set of DGBE bari strings if anyone cares to offer their $.02!
 
I've tried Southcoast and they were fine but I did wind up going right back to DGBE. Just missed that deeper sound.
 
My memory just gets worse and worse! At the last workshop I went to with Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel I could 'swear' that they had just made a new set of Bari strings that are GCEA. Whether they are Bari or Tenor IKD but I have them on my Rocking R Ranch Bari and have had for quite some time now, tuned low G then CEA. I love the sound of them. It's like having a bass. Sounds best when picked so I add it to my songs on occasion in Garage Band. You can contact them and ask. lol I'll be in trouble when I need a new set!

I wish that uke strings came with a tiny sticker that you could put somewhere on or inside a uke for I can never remember which strings are on what uke!

http://www.cheemaisel.com/signature-strings/ghs-signature-string-sets
 
bonesigh said:
I wish that uke strings came with a tiny sticker that you could put somewhere on or inside a uke for I can never remember which strings are on what uke!
Click to expand...

Either write the name of the uke on the string packet & file it away, or write the details on a sticky label & stick it to the back of the headstock. :)

I don't have that kind of problem, as I use Living Water on those that I change from Aquila. ;)
 
I have a simple little translator that shows what a chord shape is in an adgcea tuned instrument and an eadgbe tuned instrument. On a six string eadgbe the person who is familiar with only four steps has no idea of wht to do with the two lower strings. If I had your email address I would send you a copy. The outer ring has the name of the chord for E-E the next ring in is A-A for the chord shape; the next ring in has the lower two strings and the center ring shows for four strings. If I knew where to send it on this site, I would do it. It takes the mystery out of going from one to the other.
 
bonesigh said:
My memory just gets worse and worse!
Click to expand...

Bonesigh, you are not alone. And I have a theory about this. My father--still kicking butt at 82!--often complains about his memory. He says things like "I think I have halfheimers disease."

But I believe it has to do with the fact that when you reach a certain age, your brain just gets full. After a lifetime of taking in facts, ideas, general knowledge, personal information, there's just less room for.new input.

My daughters often want to tell me about something they learned or something about some YouTube video or something. I always have to ask them "Now, how important is this info gonna be to me? Is it going to enrich my life? Because if I have to take in something new, I'm going to have to jettison some old math or something out of my head. Otherwise I'll never remember!"
 
Perhaps, perhaps Griffis :) But IDK, what about those people that can remember every day in detail since their memories began. They can tell you what happen to them 25 years ago, say, on April 1st. I think our minds have much more capacity than we can imagine. We humans don't know diddily, if you ask me. Oh, wait, you didn't ask did you....I forgot. LOL. Just babbling. Have a great day :)
 
I've not tried "low-G" tuning on a baritone, probably one of the few size/tuning combinations I haven't tried over the years, but looking at the basic arithmetic of it all, if the original bass D string is removed, the G B & E all "moved over one", retune the B up to C, all you need is a suitably thin string for your treble A ... I'd probably try a guitar E string in the first instance, but a slightly thinner string may be more suitable in the long term.

Good luck :)
 
Southcoast has a couple sets that will work.

I have a Kala Spruce bari that sounds very sweet up there, but I keep it in A most of the time...
 
Try cuatro tuning-gcea. Nice and low with all the familiar chord shapes.
 
Griffis said:
Folks, I really did do a search on this topic but didn't find much. I did see a thread in which someone suggested putting a low G tenor set on a bari.

Not sure I should even mess with it. I like the slightly lower range of DGBE, I'm just getting too old to transpose on the fly when I go from smaller ukes' tunings then switch to baritone.

Thanks for any advice!
Click to expand...

Guadalupe Strings makes a really nice set of baritone strings in GCEA.
http://thegcs.co/ukulele-1/
 
Colonel Uke said:
Guadalupe Strings makes a really nice set of baritone strings in GCEA.
http://thegcs.co/ukulele-1/
Click to expand...

Wow. Bet those are nice! Now I'm on the fence. Great price for handwound strings. Man, what to do?

I do like having a few deeper notes with DGBE and do have concerns about the tension, potential tuning issues with GCEA, but I expect this string co. knows what they are doing.

Plus, my main interest is just not having to think about switching keys in my head on the fly...
 
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