Restring baritone for a piccolo bass?

ichadwick

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Anyone ever restrung a baritone uke to turn it into a piccolo bass? Use the last four strings from a guitar set instead of the first?

If so, what sort of strings did you use and could you just use the strings from a set or did you have to swap any or all?
 
Yes, I got a very inexpensive Rogue Baritone and a set of classical guitar strings (nylon with the E, A & D wound and the G not wound, can't remember the brand). I discarded the 2 high strings and just strung the low strings. It is alot of fun, of course it plays an octave higher than a standard bass but still sounds good when played with ukes. It's also a good short scale bass practice trainer, and my guitar playing friends get a kick out of it.

I'd say especially if you have a baritone, for the cost of a set of strings it's worth a try to see what you think.
 
I thought of doing the same thing,. I also have a Rogue baritone uke, but do not like it as a baritone uke. I thought it might be fun to convert to a bass, as you describe.

Of course the Kala U-Bass is on a baritone body, so one could even get the actual bass pitches (rather than an octave up) using the U-Bass strings. However, those would not fit on normal tuners and a normal bridge, so one would really have to modifythe instrument substantially, to be able to use the U-Bass strings with it. Also, the U-bass really needs amplification to be heard much.

But yes, I would think it easy to convert to a piccolo bass, one octave higher than a normal bass. I would suggest, however, not using the lowest four strings of a regular classical guitar set, as those would be very floppy on the smaller scale of a bari uke (compared to a full-size guitar). I think the bari uke scale is similar to that of a 3/4 size guitar. So, I think it would be better to buy a set of strings made for a 3/4 size guitar, and use the lower four strings of that set. As an alternative, one could try using an extra hard tension classical guitar set. But using strings from a normal tension CG set on a baritone uke, would result, I would think, in strings way too floppy.
 
OH my! now ya have me thinking , rouge baritone $40 or less delivered, K K pick up about $40 for . Now for the trick my roland bass rx cube has a mode called octave bass which drops the note an octave basically. Would it really sound like a bass ? decisions descsions,
 
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Well I would think that would depend on how well the effect on that amp tracks. I used to use a similar effect on my guitar from a Yamaha Magicstomp. I would roll the tone knob all of the way back. It actually sounded pretty decent. On the other hand, before that I tried it with an octave effect on a Digitech GNX-3, the results weren't as pleasing. It's all about the quality of the tracking.

I've been wanting to do something similar with a cheap bari. Never to seem to find the time or money, there's always something else that takes priority.
 
There are plug-ins for audio programs and separatre foot pedals that will lower the pitch and octave, and another one that doubles the note by adding either an octave above or below the played note. I believe the eBand amp has one of these mods built in.

Hmm. Now I have to experiment...
 
I didn't feel that the strings were too floppy---tension seems fine to me. I'd be interested to know if you feel differently.
 
Picked up a set of Augustine strings yesterday. Should be able to restring today or tomorrow. Will post results.
 
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