tenor guitar with uke tuning?

rudeuke

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i have been tinkering around with the idea of buying a tenor guitar and tuning it like a uke. i have a few questions about this and they are as follows


1. has any one on here done this?
2. what strings could i use? think normal tenor strings would be long enough?
3. any one have a video or mp3 of a tenor guitar with the GCEA tuning?



thanks in advanced,
guy
 
Tenor guitars use steel strings. Are you intending to use Steel strings or nylons on your tenor guitar?

If you're using nylon, I guess baritone ukulele strings may work. Aquila has baritone strings for GCEA or DGBE.
 
i would prefer to use nylon for my fingers sake
just doing some googling i found that the average for scale length for a baratone is 19 and a scale lenth for a tenor guitar is 21 to 23
do you think thats to large of a diffrence ?
 
Why not use the G B and E strings from a classic guitar set for your G C and E (4, 3 and2) strings and then find a string to use for the A (1) string. Maybe a lighter gauge E string that could be tuned up to A? Or a nylon banjo string, yep a nylon banjo G string should work. A banjo has a 26 ½" scale and Aquilla makes a fine set of banjo strings.

Jude
 
Banjo Ukuleles, or "Banjoleles" are 4-stringed nylon Banjos tuned like ukes :D
 
If you are old enough to remember the Kingston Trio. There was a tenor guitar capoed at the fifth fret. He was a uke player and they did not think a uke would fit in the trio.
 
There is no reason that you cannot set up a tenor guitar with "Chicago tuning", DGBE, just like a baritone uke and the top 4 strings of a guitar. I did this with a tenor banjo so I could switch between the baritone and a banjo w/o any problems. This tuning makes it easy to use in jam sessions too for you can watch the fingering of the guitar players in the group and follow them if you are not really familiar with the tune.

I know one baritone player who got a tenor guitar just so that he felt more comfortable in a local jam group.

Use the steel strings. Millions of other string instrument players use steel strings, so can you (and so can I)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenor_guitar
 
I saw a street performer in Waikiki the other week playing an acoustic guitar with only 4 strings as a faux ukulele. He had changed the grooves on the nut so that the 4 strings were evenly spaced across the fretboard rather than just the bottom 4 strings and then had it tuned to high G with nylon strings. The guitar was old and beat up as was the performer himself (actually looked homeless). It appeared he had come across an old guitar and felt he could make a few tips playing it as an ukulele for the tourists. It looked odd with the strings spread so far apart, but sounded okay.
 
I play a tenor guitar tuned like a baritone uke... "Chicago strung" like the top four strings of a guitar. DGBE.

Here's a video
And another

Works great. No mystery or magic. Play it just like a uke. Just regular guitar strings. Nylon will not work.

If you want a nylon strung tenor guitar - just use a baritone uke. You can tune a baritone DGBE as well as GCEA with the right strings. Remember, DGBE uses exactly the same fingering as GCEA - only the key changes. Nothing new to learn.
 
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I've had the same questions about a tenor guitar. I strummed one in a guitar store yesterday and it sounded beautiful. But as a novice uke player, I'm quite intimidated about the prospect of learning new and different chord shapes. And while I love the sound of the steel strings, I'm also intimidated about learning to play with a pick.

I think I may put off buying a tenor guitar until I feel more confident. I just wish I could have that tenor guitar sound in a ukulele.
 
I've had the same questions about a tenor guitar. I strummed one in a guitar store yesterday and it sounded beautiful. But as a novice uke player, I'm quite intimidated about the prospect of learning new and different chord shapes. And while I love the sound of the steel strings, I'm also intimidated about learning to play with a pick.

I think I may put off buying a tenor guitar until I feel more confident. I just wish I could have that tenor guitar sound in a ukulele.

Aquilla makes a DGBE set for tenors. These would give you a lower voice between a uke and tenor guitar. Again the chord shapes are the same, but the name is different (key)
The "F" shape on a GCEA uke is a "C" on DGBE.

To get the higher GCEA tuning on a tenor guitar the high four from a requinto set may work.
Requintos are tuned ADGCEA.
 
if you want something with the resonance of a tenor guitar but a more uke-y sound, why not buy a baritone uke and tune it GCEA? it'd be cheaper to get a good baritone uke than a good tenor guitar, and as has already been pointed out, ukes are designed for nylon strings, so your sound quality'd be better too.
 
How to make a tenor guitar out of a baritone ukulele

attachment.php


This used to be my Pono mahagony baritone ukulele. Now it's a tenor guitar! How often have I read on forums: "Never put steel strings on your uke!!" However, I did it! And (so far) it works and sounds marvellous.

Upfront I carefully calculated the string tension to be about 6 kg (13.2 lb) per string and for "Chicago tuning" which is DGBE, the string diameters I used are (in inch): .023w(D), .017(G), .014(B), .010(E).

Now I'll just have to learn how to play with a pic (or can you play steel strings with your nails, too?)

So, what do you think? Any comments? I'll soon make a vid with these strings and post it here!
 
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attachment.php


This used to be my Pono mahagony baritone ukulele. Now it's a tenor guitar! How often have I read on forums: "Never put steel strings on your uke!!" However, I did it! And (so far) it works and sounds marvellous.

Upfront I carefully calculated the string tension to be about 6 kg (13.2 lb) per string and for "Chicago tuning" which is DGBE (the 4 upper strings of a guitar) the string diameters I used are (in inch): 0.32w(D), 0.24w(G), 0.16(B), 0.14(E).

Now I'll just have to learn how to play with a pic (or can you play steel strings with your nails, too?)

So, what do you think? Any comments? I'll soon make a vid with these strings and post it here!

This will eventually either pull off the bridge, twist the neck, change the neck angle, or belly the top. It may take a while but over time it will damage the uke.
 
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