Low G

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dancingflee

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What does that tuning mean? My tenor ukulele is currently tuned to what may be the conventional GCEA and excuse my ignorance but is the C string the bass? What happens if switched the strings and tuning to CGEA, if there is such a thing.:(
 
Low G means the G string is tuned one octave lower than normal for an 'ukulele.

Normal 'ukulele tuning is re-entrant, in that the G string is actually the second highest note on the instrument, making the C the "bass" note (even though it's a middle-C) - so your assumption was correct.

However, using a low G brings the G as the lowest pitch, and provides a guitar-like linear tuning.

Both are good, and which you use depends on your preference. Many folks either switch back and forth or, like me, have one uke dedicated as linear and one as re-entrant.
 
Thank you for the quick reply and will I still be correct to guess that I must switch that 4th string to a normal guitar G string or are there ukulele G strings available in the market.

Yes, I guess I must explain myself for wanting to move to the Low G tuning. Currently I play the classical guitar and am so used to plucking the last string for bass. WOW! This is fun and thank you for taking time to share.
 
There are low-g strings for the 'ukulele available - either by themselves or in a set with the other three strings. They come either wound or unwound (I prefer unwound, but that's just me).

Also, you don't need to buy a low G set or string. You can actually use a regular string set and just be a bit creative:

Use the A string as normal
Use the normal G string in the E spot
Use the E string in the C spot
Use the C in the G spot

All you need to do is down-tune the E, C, and G strings to the appropriate pitch. The downside is there is less tension, so the strings may feel a little more sloshy and loose, but they will work.
 
You are awesome! Now I just have one silly question remaining....well in the meantime.

With the Low G, I am sure, almost sure that I will not be able to read the tabs the are written .... right? I guess something has to give.

Thank you so much for all the insights. I will give this change some thought and will definitely keep you posted on what I may decided on. Until then, thank you and have GREAT day.
 
Dancingflee
You are right about the tabs - for the most part, you will need different tabs for low-g and high-g/re-entrent tunings.

Check out Dominator's site (he has amazing stuff on there, btw). You can see in the song descriptions that some are written for high or low g.

This is one of the reasons (aside from UAS) that folks will have multiple ukes, one (or a couple) low g and one (or a bunch) high g.
 
dancingflee said:
With the Low G, I am sure, almost sure that I will not be able to read the tabs the are written .... right?
Click to expand...
The answer is yes... and no.

I have found that many tabs written for high G sound perfectly fine played with a low G. Others, not so much, such as high G tabs written in campanella style (a la John King).

Michael Parmenter has put out a ton of Renaissance/Classical tabs for uke, some high, some low, some both. (Keep going back thru older posts.) His PDFs are usually tab only, but he includes the TEF files. You can get the free TEF viewer and print out the tabs with standard notation.

http://ukeclassicaltabs.blogspot.com/

Chief Noda has a few nice low G tabs as well. His PDFs tend to be "large print" editions, but again, he also offers TEF files where you can adjust the number of staves per page to save on ink and page turns.

http://chiefnoda.com/ukulele/index.html

I recently bought Tony Mizen's new "Lute to Uke" book (which I highly recommend, BTW). It was written for high G, but just about everything it in sounds great with low G.

Like Jamie said, sooner or later you're going to want at least one uke in each tuning. :)
 
PoiDog said:
Also, you don't need to buy a low G set or string. You can actually use a regular string set and just be a bit creative:

Use the A string as normal
Use the normal G string in the E spot
Use the E string in the C spot
Use the C in the G spot

All you need to do is down-tune the E, C, and G strings to the appropriate pitch. The downside is there is less tension, so the strings may feel a little more sloshy and loose, but they will work.
Click to expand...
Will any of the nut slots need to be modified?
 
itsme said:
...sooner or later you're going to want at least one uke in each tuning. :)
Click to expand...
It took me two whole weeks to figure this out. I just placed an order for a low G Tenor last night. :D

Thanks for the links.
 
Drew Bear said:
It took me two whole weeks to figure this out. I just placed an order for a low G Tenor last night. :D

Thanks for the links.
Click to expand...
Ha! :p

Here's another one for ya:

http://pdfminstrel.wordpress.com/

Roger Ruthen's baritone tabs can be played on a low G, the only difference is you will be playing in a different key because of the different tuning. Also, he has a "tri-tabs" section that uses only the top 3 strings, so they are equally suited for high or low G.
 
Drew Bear said:
Will any of the nut slots need to be modified?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't think so. The only slot that would likely be affected would be the 4th for the G string, but on my linear uke I didn't widen it, and there isn't much problem. The low G string doesn't sit completely flush inside the slot, but there are only some minor intonation problems, and those tend to happen pretty high on the neck, at around the 8th fret. Even then, it's not something I notice. Anyway, I'd prefer to have some intonation fudge high on the neck than widen the nut slot, go back to a re-entrant G, and risk buzzing because the slot is now too wide.

Still, if it will be a dedicated low-G uke, I suppose widening the slot isn't a bad idea.
 
PoiDog said:
I wouldn't think so. The only slot that would likely be affected would be the 4th for the G string, but on my linear uke I didn't widen it, and there isn't much problem. The low G string doesn't sit completely flush inside the slot, but there are only some minor intonation problems, and those tend to happen pretty high on the neck, at around the 8th fret. Even then, it's not something I notice. Anyway, I'd prefer to have some intonation fudge high on the neck than widen the nut slot, go back to a re-entrant G, and risk buzzing because the slot is now too wide.

Still, if it will be a dedicated low-G uke, I suppose widening the slot isn't a bad idea.
Click to expand...
I'd say wait and see what you need to do. Some people have reported no need to widen nut slots with a turnaround. Try without, if the string slides out of the nut slot, consider widening it. But definitely give it a try without first. :)
 
Folks...I have been thinking and I am leaning more towards keeping my ukulele on high G and give myself plenty of time to learn to play it better. Unfortunately at this time my mindset is still on a guitar but I am all set to take this fun journey. At the same time during the learning process I will be able to decide on what my next uke will be....baritone or another tenor of cedar/rosewood. Right now I am still trying to find a comfortable sitting position and how to hug the ukulele properly so I may make it sing.
 
After typing out a reply last night I continued to sit around and review all the posts on this topic which got me going when I saw a youtube video showing a comparison between the two tunings methods. Excitement ran through my veins because I was not aware of all the potentials this small wonderful instrument is capable of. And...without all you feedbacks I might have jumped in the low G tuning without really knowing the ukulele better. Who'd think that sooner than later I might again be in the market for another tenor for an alternate tuning.

Thank you so much for sharing .....
 
dancingflee said:
After typing out a reply last night I continued to sit around and review all the posts on this topic which got me going when I saw a youtube video showing a comparison between the two tunings methods. Excitement ran through my veins because I was not aware of all the potentials this small wonderful instrument is capable of. And...without all you feedbacks I might have jumped in the low G tuning without really knowing the ukulele better. Who'd think that sooner than later I might again be in the market for another tenor for an alternate tuning.

Thank you so much for sharing .....
Click to expand...

When one stops to consider that the traditional 'ukulele is basically an all-treble instrument, the flexibility and versatility of it is really pretty amazing.

It's definitely a very cool thing. Have fun getting to know your uke. I'm sure you'll find that its a special thing and will captivate you before you know it.
 
PoiDog,

How true, the size of the uke is truly very deceiving. I can't even find a comfortable way of holding it. The challenge is too much to ignore but one of these days I will be able to find a comfortable way of not just hugging it but also playing.
 
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