Are there strings that can tune to DGBE one octave up?

kissing

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I don't know whether I'm the only one.. but I like DGBE tuning a lot better than GCEA tuning.

Over time, I find myself opting for my DGBE tuned baritone ukes when playing in a group, such as at church.
The chord shapes are easier on a wide range of songs, and it just blends better for some reason, to my ears.

But Baritone ukes are not without their limitations as "ukuleles".
For one, they sound a bit like guitar, so you don't get that high-pitched ukulele-effect. Secondly, they're a bit bigger to carry around.

So I've been wondering, are there strings that can tune a regular uke (such as a soprano) to high DGBE tuning?

I know that's how Kala's pocket ukes and some sopranino ukes are tuned.

It would be very useful for me to find a string set that could give me that tuning on a soprano.
And plus, I think I'll find playing in that higher register lots of fun!


edit: I'm sure someone's gonna suggest using a capo. Done that, but I don't find it ideal. Especially on such a short scaled instrument.
 
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You might want to try out one of these. It about the size of a tenor ukulele, tuned to ADGCEA The D and G are the same octave as a baritone, The C E A are the same as a C tuned Ukulele. It's tuned like a guitar with a capo at the 5th fret.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/yamaha-mini-6-string-nylon-guitarlele

It sounds good with other standard tuned ukuleles and does not overpower them. It reminds me of the Baritone tonally.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, but I really couldn't take the 6-strings.

And the reason I prefer DGBE is not so much its octave-range, but more so the shifted chord shapes.
I just find the DGBE chord shapes more convenient in the keys I commonly find myself playing in than GCEA (eg: In songs that have lots of E or Eb chords).

And I'm more accustomed at the key that the scales for playing solo's are in with DGBE than GCEA for some reason.
Not too sure why, but my fingers like it better.

So I'm looking for thinner, lighter strings that would tune a soprano uke up to DGBE, higher pitched than the normal GCEA.
 
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Hmm, well I just heard back from Rigk (of Risa ukuleles).
Apparently he had researched string tunings of high DGBE on a Soprano scale.

The result was that the E string would have to be very very thin, yet strong enough not to snap.
And even then, it does not sound nice..

So I guess the Nylon string option at soprano scale might be a pipe dream for now..


Although, I wonder whether this tuning would be possible on my Risa steel string LP soprano..
 
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If E is your problem, try tuning up one whole step ADF#B.
You would now use a "D" shape for "D" and "A" for a Bb.

On a GCEA tuning try 4447 for E and 3336 for Eb.
 
4447 and 3336 doesn't always sound right, depending on where the song needs to go, so I feel Kissing's pain there. Have you tried contacting Southcoast to see if they have anything on the stove that'd work?
 
Another option is to keep the standard baritone tuning, but go dGBE to get a more uke-like character. IE/ use a high d instead of a low D.
 
Just wanna update that I have succeeded in getting my Epiphone Mandobird (steel-string, shortscaled electric mandolin/uke) to the high-DGBE tuning using D'addario Extra-Super-Light Gauge strings (I used the DGBE strings and tuned them one octave high).

Here is how it sounds:


http://www.4shared.com/mp3/HCVT3fjo/epiphone_mandobird_dgbe_sample.html

I play some chords by hand first. Then with a pick.
And then I play a short finger-style tune.

Please don't mind my bad playing... partially due to not being used to this new gauge of strings :)
 
I did once tune a concert uke to DGBE but I did it by having TWO rentrant strings and rotating them ie:

A - not used
E - moves up to 1st string E
C - moves to second string B
G - moves up to 3rd string G

Extra E string - becomes the reantrant D (fourth string)

This works but of course give a different sound to the chords. It was interesting but I didn't keep it strung like that!

I guess if you used a low G string set and and extra E (for the reantrant D) you could get a normal sounding tuning.

Of course this means using fatter stings than normal in slots normally used for thinner ones so you might expect they would need filing. I didn't find this to be the case however.
 
I know this is bumping this thread up a lot, but YES you can tune a soprano uke to DGBE with that high E quite well, like a baritone up an octave (low D in the same fashion as low G) all plain strings. If you order the Aquila charango set it contains strings of all the necessary gauges to do this nicely. I keep one of my sopranos tuned to that DGBE tuning and the chords have a chimey sound that simulates charango in the mix -- exactly because of that very high E (same pitch as mandolin's E).

Basically, the D G & B strings are approximately the same gauges as the C G & A strings of a regular Aquila uke set and the high E string is the thinnest you can find in the charango set. There should be 2 or 3 of these strings since charango tuning typically has the high pair of strings tuned to that high E and one of its center pair strings tuned to the same high E. It helps to have a regular Aquila soprano set on hand to be able to compare string gauge sizes to the charango string gauge sizes so you can match them up nicely. And after you're done stringing that high E you have tons of other random gauged nylgut strings to play around with on 3rd, 4th, and 5th ukes in weird alternate tunings.

FYI, "DGBE" like a baritone an octave up is more similar to the "original" tuning of the uke's ancestors and the cavaquinho itself was strung DGBD/DGBE this way in gut to begin with as well. You'll notice in this tuning that there really is a sort of full, very Latin-sounding chimey effect especially if you fingerpick it fast next to other, lower-pitched instruments.
 
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