Low G Low G tuning for soprano?

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harry200577

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Hello all, I have a soprano ukulele, and really want to tune it to low g, as i just love the sound! Does anyone know of any low-g strings for a soprano?
 
Thanks, by that did your soprano ukulele player an re-entrant tuning? If not, could you write what each strings tuning was?
 
harry200577 said:
Thanks, by that did your soprano ukulele player an re-entrant tuning? If not, could you write what each strings tuning was?
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rentrant tuning is high g, GCEA
linear tuning is low g, GCEA
the only difference is the 4th string is an octave lower.
All you need to do is replace your high g with a low g and you are good to go.
Some folks do not care for low g sopranos. The longer tenor scale changes the low g sound significatly.
 
Just make sure your uke has a decent neck or the low G string may snap it :(
 
Thanks, would I play the same chords as a regular c tuned ukulele?
 
harry200577 said:
Thanks, would I play the same chords as a regular c tuned ukulele?
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You would play the same chords. The only thing that would be different is if you are playing the melody line from tab - in that case, you'd want to make sure you've got low G tab because the notes on the 4th string will be an octave lower with low G.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! Now, I am a bit short on money, and would like to be able to fit a low g string. I have a guitar, and I am sure that the d string of the guitar could be used to play low g on the ukulele. This is because when the fifth fret of the guitar is capoed, it plays the note g, 3rd octave, the same as a low g ukulele string. When I compare my ukulele scale length to my guitar scale length, my guitar scale length is only a bit longer than my ukulele meaning that if the guitar string was to be on my ukulele, it would just have less tension. Anyone think this idea would work?
 
Let me be the naysayer.

Your guess seems logical, but tension isn't a constant as scale length changes. The typical guitar 4th can give you a loose tension G on a 17" scale, but will be way too floppy for G on a soprano.

Also I wouldn't wouldn't expect the greatest sound out of a soprano with a linear tuning. If you just want to play around, you can make it work, but the high re-entrant key of C is pushing it on a soprano. It was designed to be played a step higher, in D tuning, and with the high re-entrant set-up. Dropping the 4th an octave puts a much deeper tone on the little body than it is comfortable with.

As I said, no reason you can't practice / play around with this set-up on a soprano, but to drop your 4th and get good sound, you'll be better off on a (much) larger instrument.
 
Yesterday I put a wound low G on my Kamaka soprano from the 90s. It's one of the original Kamaka low G soprano/concert set that you get for ~4$. It sounds special, I'm not sure if I'm gionna keep it. Warmer than high G, but also a bit dull. Not very good for chord solos, but for strumming simple chords it works. Gives a calming effect, my baby fell asleep after listening for 5 minutes.
 
Ernie Ball makes Low G Ukulele Strings w/ an 80/20 Bronze Wound Low G.
 
Michael_ said:
Yesterday I put a wound low G on my Kamaka soprano from the 90s. It's one of the original Kamaka low G soprano/concert set that you get for ~4$. It sounds special, I'm not sure if I'm gionna keep it. Warmer than high G, but also a bit dull. Not very good for chord solos, but for strumming simple chords it works. Gives a calming effect, my baby fell asleep after listening for 5 minutes.
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Don't tell Herb Ohta it doesn't work for chord solos.
 
kissing said:
Low G on Sopranos work just fine.
Sure it might not be the ideal body size, but if you slap one on and start playing you find that practicality-wise it works.

Low G strings designed for tenor or concert works just fine on Soprano. Classical Guitar's wound D string works just fine too.
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In fact a Nylon Guitar D String makes an amazing Alternative Low G Ukulele string too.
 
s11141827 said:
How about Ernie Ball Ball End Low G Ukulele strings? The 4th string is 80/20 Bronze wound which creates a special sound.
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I have not tried Ernie Ball uke strings, but when I played electric guitar years ago I had no issue with Ernie Ball strings.

I wrote an email to Joel recently at TUS as he is generally respected around here as a string genius. He creates custom sets for players. I’d recommend getting a hold of him, he can tell you exactly what you need, even if the strings come from 4 different makers.
 
donboody said:
I have not tried Ernie Ball uke strings, but when I played electric guitar years ago I had no issue with Ernie Ball strings.

I wrote an email to Joel recently at TUS as he is generally respected around here as a string genius. He creates custom sets for players. I’d recommend getting a hold of him, he can tell you exactly what you need, even if the strings come from 4 different makers.
Click to expand...

​

81tTsADSl2L._AC_SX569_.jpg
Found them, these are Ernie Ball 2330 Ball End Low G Tuning Clear Nylon Ukulele Strings. The 4th String is Wound in 80/20 Bronze which gives the Low notes more clarity. The Ball Ends make restringing a snap because you load the strings into the bridge, & it also increases the break angle of the strings over the saddle for more volume.
 
donboody said:
I like uke logic smooth wound gold low G on a soprano.
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I have not tried Uke Logic strings, but in another thread someone said that Uke Logic uses a La Bella guitar string for their wound low-G. Same as Romero and Fremont. Two big advantages of La Bella strings is that they are cheap and easy to buy from local guitar stores (in the USA).
 
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