Low G sliding Off fretboard.

I just restrung my new Pono MT-E with worth clear low g and I notice when I go to finger the g string it wants to slide upward and to the edge of the fretboard which is a problem. It was strung up with high g and had no problems then till I changed it. I don't know for sure but my guess is that the nut is cut for high g and the low g is fatter and doesn't fit as well. Im guessing im going to have to take it to a luthier and do some work on the nut. What are some of your thoughts on this? I was planning on keeping this one the low g as all my other tenors are strung up with high g so I thought I would use the Pono for that. Thanks for any help.

Your suspicion is probably correct about the low g string not fitting in the nut. Have you looked at it? If the string looks like it's just sitting on top of the nut then you need to get it widened. The danger is that the wider slot may result in regular g strings buzzing. If this is your permanent low g, no problem with that. If not, they you may need to have two nuts for this uke: one linear and one re-entrant.

If the nut slot is cut properly, with a nice rounded bottom, then very often a slot cut for low G will also be fine and buzz-free with a re-entrant G. If the slot is flat bottomed (like you'd get with most cheap files) the buzzing is quite likely.

The idea of having 2 nuts is perfectly feasible. swapping them takes just a few minutes.

Aloha Mark, I had exactly the same problem. Kala acacia tenor with the nut set up for the low G.
Decided the problem wasn't the uke, it was me. Worked on my technique.
Push the string straight down, as close to the fret as possible, using only enough pressure to get it to the fret, not the fretboard. The low G, being under less tension, is much easier to push up off the fretboard.
I also experimented with tuning all strings up a half or even a whole step up for increased tension. That helped too. D tuning used to be common back in the day (see vintage sheet music).
I've since gone to high G re-entrant with no buzz issues.
Also consider using your widest neck tenor for that linear tuning.
Plus, I think both you and I are dealing with the Worth low g ct strings. I've read good things about their hd strings on the forum.
I very much enjoyed your YT channel and envy your uke collection.

Thanks for the info Geetee, I'm glad you told me about the pronunciation on the Ko Aloha I was wondering if I was saying it right and figured I wasn't so definitely thanks there and on the sceptre so I'm pronouncing it wrong. So it's Scep tre said really fast. Thats funny. I think also I'm just going back to the high g on it so I won't have to mess with it. Thanks for the help.

I had the exact same problem once. Turned out I had slid the nut up, moving all the strings toward the cieling. Simple fix was lower tension, slide nut back into original position and tune. Hint for goofs like me: If you slide the nut too far the other way, the A string will have the same problem.

Hi Mark

If you plan on swapping a few sets to low G, then I would recommend getting a nut file as they are only $20 on Stew Mac. I know it's the only one for now but you might continually buy and sell like the rest of us. If this is the only uke, then it doesn't hurt taking it to a luthier.

I had the problem with the G and C slots as classical guitar strings are pretty thick and didn't fit well. Good luck

If you want to file the slot, I have used an emery board. I split it into two thin files, one course (of course) and one fine. You can file one side very easily with the smooth side facing the side you don't want to file. It cuts more slowly than the nut file, but you will have control and won't deepen the slot. That would be undesirable. Unless you have experience you want to go slow. This simple tool will help you do just that.