Tuning a Baritone with AECG strings

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redpenner

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Hi - I have been playing a baritone ukulele with the standard DGBE tuning. I recently bought some Aquila Baritone AECG strings and I'm not sure I'm putting them on correctly. They seem very lax and floppy so I want to confirm I'm doing it right.

G = first string, second lowest pitch
C = second string, lowest pitch
E = second highest pitch
A = highest pitch

Is this correct? I don't want to break my uke!!
 
redpenner said:
Hi - I have been playing a baritone ukulele with the standard DGBE tuning. I recently bought some Aquila Baritone AECG strings and I'm not sure I'm putting them on correctly. They seem very lax and floppy so I want to confirm I'm doing it right.

G = first string, second lowest pitch
C = second string, lowest pitch
E = second highest pitch
A = highest pitch

Is this correct? I don't want to break my uke!!
Click to expand...

Nope, bass akwards. I don't know WHY Aquila labels this set AECG instead of GCEA. First string A, second string E, third string C, forth string G (R to L or bottom to top). I have a set on my baritone and like them allot. Baritones are made for higher tension strings so no worries.
 
Thank you Ahnko - a couple more questions?

I have switched the strings around (R to L) AECG. Is this tuning a re-entrant (my dog has fleas) or straight up the scale like the DGBE tuning? The second string is thicker than the first, so I assume it's AEcG they are intending.

Either way the strings still seemed very slack compared to my DGBE baritone. I tried tuning up one key to BF#dA, which would actually be very nice for me since I play in D most often, and the strings felt more like my regular DGBE tension. Does this sound reasonable?

I hope this makes sense. I am a beginner when it comes to the terminology! But I love the baritone sound. I play it in old-time fiddle jams.
 
I believe that you are confused,
when holding your ukulele, the "G" string should be closest to your chin, then the next down would be "C"
followed by the next down "E" and the last string closest to your feet would be the "A".
DGBE
GCEA
I hope this helps.....
 
The strings should correspond like this;
D = G
G = C
B = E
E = A

And remember, the "G" will be a high G.

I haven't tried the Aquila GCEA strings on a baritone uke before.
But it wouldn't be surprising if the tension was different to that of the DGBE strings..
 
Thanks kissing - the "high G" was what I was wondering about. I think I have it right now, but the A string is so slack it keeps coming out of its groove in the nut when I play. I'm going to keep it at ADF#B (or BF#DA or whatever!!) for awhile and try it that way. Maybe Aquila sent the wrong strings or something, who knows.

Thanks again!! & happy 4th :cool:
 
Hmmm something doesn't seem right. The A string should be the tautest and highest sounding of the 4.
I just brought out my baritone and played a couple songs reinforcing my love of this tuning in a baritone.
I guess it's possible that your strings were mislabeled.
 
Could you be tuning everything an octave low? The C string should be the same as the middle C on a piano. The G, E and A strings are the G, E and A just above middle C. Hope that helps....
 
Are you using a chromatic tuner or tuning by ear? If you haven't been playing long sometimes your ears can deceive you. Get a good tuner they're very affordable.
 
I suspect Mailman & mm stan may be right. I have a set of Aquila low g on one of my bari's and the tension feels about the same as the D'Addario's on my other one.
 
I just bought GCEA strings for the baritone and tuned it up. Tension is just about the same -- but as a noobie it was scary tuning it. It sounds really neat -- like a big Soprano. (Tony?) I now can complain about some chords which are a stretch. I used to complain about chords where I can't fit all my fat fingers in a small space. Use an online tuner and know that you are going to be retuning it every day for a while.

Have fun!
 
dave alexander said:
I just bought GCEA strings for the baritone and tuned it up. Tension is just about the same -- but as a noobie it was scary tuning it. It sounds really neat -- like a big Soprano
Click to expand...

Really? That sounds like it's awesome. Are you playing high G or low G, and why?

Thanks!
 
Hah! No wonder I couldn't get the darn things to work right. I asked for a set of baritone strings, and forgot to specify I wanted guitar tuning. I couldn't figure em out either, although the package clearly had that weird labeling . I ended up just using the 3 nylguts from fat to skinny for the top three strings and put a wound guitar string on for the D. Of course if you actually wanted CGEA, I guess they work fine.

I have a low G on my soprano now, so it might be kinda weird having a high G on my baritone.
 
Aloha SweetWaterBlue,
I'm glad to hear that you figured things out and you've got it sounding the way you wanted.
How does it sound with the Aquilla's nylguts, I haven't tried it on my baritone as of yet. I
really enjoy mine tuned at DGBE....maybe the reason I havn't tried anything else... MM Stan..
 
mm stan said:
Aloha SweetWaterBlue,
I'm glad to hear that you figured things out and you've got it sounding the way you wanted.
How does it sound with the Aquilla's nylguts, I haven't tried it on my baritone as of yet. I
really enjoy mine tuned at DGBE....maybe the reason I havn't tried anything else... MM Stan..
Click to expand...

Except for the intonation problems caused by way too high a saddle (another thread), they sound ok, although I always want more volume. As soon as I get the intonation fixed by shaving down the saddle some, I will be able to judge it better. I will make some videos with it and maybe a comparison with my $10 makeshift baritone. I will put some other brand on the makeshift one to test them. For now, here is one of my first lame attempts at a Ricky Nelson song with it. The song, the uke, and me are all the same vintage ha ha. The bad intonation really comes out in the clip (its not out of tune), even with fairly low on the neck strums such as this song has.

http://www.box.net/shared/ee84zktscf
 
Last edited:
SweetWaterBlue said:
Except for the intonation problems caused by way too high a saddle (another thread), they sound ok, although I always want more volume. As soon as I get the intonation fixed by shaving down the saddle some, I will be able to judge it better. I will make some videos with it and maybe a comparison with my $10 makeshift baritone. I will put some other brand on the makeshift one to test them. For now, here is one of my first lame attempts at a Ricky Nelson song with it. The song, the uke, and me are all the same vintage ha ha. The bad intonation really comes out in the clip (its not out of tune), even with fairly low on the neck strums such as this song has.

http://www.box.net/shared/ee84zktscf
Click to expand...
Aloha SweetwaterBlue,
That was really nice, I enjoyed it but was too short...I'm feeling kinda old now....because i know the song well as well as Ricky Nelson...vintage like me..he he
What brand is your ten dollar baritone?? I got a $24.99 baritone I absoulely love...It's tuned DGBE, Well the strings actually are...
I've got actually adjusted tuning on mine....it's D-50, F#+30/+40, A#+40/+50, E-40/-50.....and I like it very much as the strings resonate very well.
Will be looking forward to your videos... MM Stan..
 
Last edited:
mm stan said:
Aloha SweetwaterBlue,
That was really nice, I enjoyed it but was too short...I'm feeling kinda old now....because i know the song well as well as Ricky Nelson...vintage like me..he he
What brand is your ten dollar baritone?? I got a $24.99 baritone I absoulely love...It's tuned DGBE, Well the strings actually are...
I've got actually adjusted tuning on mine....it's D-50, F#+30/+40, A#+40/+50, E-40/-50.....and I like it very much as the strings resonate very well.
Will be looking forward to your videos... MM Stan..
Click to expand...

The $10 one is a Harmony brand 1/4 scale guitar with some extra slots (to get proper 4 slot spacing) cut in the nut and refited with baritone strings.
 
Cletus -- My strings were ordered thru MusicGuyMike on ebay. I tune standard soprano tuning...gCEA. I started with ukes as a huge bari fan, (baritone uke, not bari manilow) and have gradually eased into soprano/standard tuning. My tenor has a nice, big fretboard compared to the sporanos, but boy does the baritone have room!

The sound is bright, but big. Imagine a huge tenor. (Pavaratti?)
 
Dave- Thanks for replying. "Bright, but big" is a great sound to look forward to.

And if I need to name my bari, it won't be "Mandy"!

Cheers!
 
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