New Strum Tests

http://soundcloud.com/pdxuke/sets/uke-sound-tests-1/

Added: Kamaka Pineapple--D Tuning
Ohana TK 35G --Low G "Linear" Tuning

I've never had a low g instrument---LOVE!:music:

pdxuke said:

http://soundcloud.com/pdxuke/sets/uke-sound-tests-1/

Added: Kamaka Pineapple--D Tuning
Ohana TK 35G --Low G "Linear" Tuning

I've never had a low g instrument---LOVE!:music:

Click to expand...

Wait till you try a Low G on a soprano.

Yes, I know and understand all the arguments about how the body is too small to handle a Low G, or how it overpowers the instrument. Some of that is simply a matter of adjusting how you play, and some is just a thing you have to put up (or even embrace, as Ohta San did) for the joy of having 4 more notes and a bass line on chords if you want it.

I have a tenor. I have a classic (neck on my Flea). I have a baritone.... but there is just nothing quite like being able to finger pick a full range of notes on the soprano. Its just more fun to me than playing my tenor. It makes it a different instrument. Sometimes I even like the fact that the Low G on a soprano is brash and overpowering - there are some songs where its just the right mood. Those of us that have more than one of any size uke have the luxury of having the best of both worlds. Its not something I can really describe - I can only feel it when I play.

I like both! I prefer the sound of your low G uke to mine - is the Aquila low G a wound string?

janeray1940 said:

I like both! I prefer the sound of your low G uke to mine - is the Aquila low G a wound string?

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Hi Jane:

Yes. I may try Dirks unwound set, but I'd need to tune to D.

Altho, I just bought this( just got it in last day of my buying season HAHA!):

http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2011/03/c1955-harmony-baritone-ukulele.html

..so I can use the linear treble set with all unwound strings in C.

Sweetwater: What string do you use for low G on soprano, and same question for you Janeray on the concert?

pdxuke said:

Hi Jane:

Yes. I may try Dirks unwound set, but I'd need to tune to D.

Altho, I just bought this( just got it in last day of my buying season HAHA!):

http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2011/03/c1955-harmony-baritone-ukulele.html

..so I can use the linear treble set with all unwound strings in C.

Sweetwater: What string do you use for low G on soprano, and same question for you Janeray on the concert?

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So with the purchase of the bari, that gives you (at least) one uke in each size... including sopranino, pineapple, and banjo uke... what next?

I've got a non-wound Fremont Blackline low G on the concert. I find it... overpowering, but maybe I'm still getting used to it.

pdxuke said:

Sweetwater: What string do you use for low G on soprano, and same question for you Janeray on the concert?

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I use an Aquila wound, but I would love to find an acceptable non-wound one, if one exists. It definitely can be over powering, so it requires a lighter touch, unless its one of those times where it is the sound you want.

janeray1940 said:

So with the purchase of the bari, that gives you (at least) one uke in each size... including sopranino, pineapple, and banjo uke... what next?
.

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What's next is a summer long exploration of what I like, then the thinning of the herd. I would like to retain at least one in every size. I like playing a wide variety, but I'm quite certain that some will be heading out the door come fall. It may be a re-calibration of brands-- afterall, Kamaka makes a tenor and a baritone ...

janeray1940 said:

I've got a non-wound Fremont Blackline low G on the concert. I find it... overpowering, but maybe I'm still getting used to it.

Click to expand...

Do you have a strum test of that? I can't remember--I know you added some...

pdxuke said:

Do you have a strum test of that? I can't remember--I know you added some...

Click to expand...

Right here. It sounds so... guitar-ish.

janeray1940 said:

Right here. It sounds so... guitar-ish.

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I kind of like it. It sounds less ukey than a soprano, but it still sounds ukey enough. I really liked the tenor sound with those base lines I had missed. I'm working on a track of WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN which is not done, my daughters, son and wife need to add back ups, but it gives an idea of that base that is nice to have sometimes. Wait until you hear the Barry tuned linear!

janeray1940 said:

Right here. It sounds so... guitar-ish.

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Jane. I think yours still sounds uke'ish. One with a full tone and bass, for sure, but still a uke. I don't think traditional uke-type strumming is the best use of a small uke with a Low-G. I mostly do a sort of "pluck the base string and strum the rest," or just plain old finger picking on mine most of the time. When I want to strum a 30's tune, or most Hawaiin, I reach for the High G. I really think of them as two different instruments.

SweetWaterBlue said:

When I want to strum a 30's tune, or most Hawaiin, I reach for the High G.

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Oddly enough, most of the Hawaiian players I've been around prefer low G. Go figure!

The reason I added a low G to my collection was for fingerpicking, and I agree with you - I think it's best for that.

pdxuke said:

I kind of like it. It sounds less ukey than a soprano, but it still sounds ukey enough. I really liked the tenor sound with those base lines I had missed. I'm working on a track of WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN which is not done, my daughters, son and wife need to add back ups, but it gives an idea of that base that is nice to have sometimes. Wait until you hear the Barry tuned linear!

Click to expand...

I was just listening to your "first draft" of the Circle. It sounds good. Glad to see you getting into multi-tracking. Its so much easier to find a partner you can sing and play with that way.