To low G or not to low G

billcarr

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I have 2 tenors. One set up with Low G and the other with high G. I really like the low G sound but it does sound more guitar'ish than the high G set up. High G on the tenor still gives it a very ukulele character.

What do others think about the low G setup?

Its obvious that I am new to uke :)

Bill
 
You have the perfect set-up. Keep both of them and be able to handle any arrangement of lead melody or comping.
 
I love the low G. I'm more of a fingerstyle player, and so I need the more complete array of notes. I even have a low G soprano, although it came to me that way - I probably wouldn't have thought of doing that myself.
 
I was put off by the "boomy" sound when I first switched my tenor to low G, but I am used to it now and like it.
 
I came at this issue from the other direction. My first and only uke is a tenor that I had set up with a low G when I bought it. After trying several instruments with both tunings, I kept coming back to low G as my preferred sound.

Fast forward to three weeks later and I am now looking for a new tenor to string with high G. I think it might be related to the rash of high quality builds that provide such full and lush sounds with whatever way they are strung.
 
I have 3 tenors and 2 are strung low G. I am on a trip w my reentrant G and miss the low G sound. Can't wait to get back home.
 
Just to be difficult -- low G does not interest me at all.
 
I would have to agree with sukie however i do find a low g song every once in a while that I'd like to learn so if I were you I'd put high G on my favorite uke and low on my other one
 
Just to be difficult -- low G does not interest me at all.

If I played a sop or con regardless of neck length, I like it reentrant but for a tenor, I like low G. Based on body volume, David Hurd recommends certain tuning.
 
I currently have 2 of my tenors strung low G because there are lots of low G finger style tunes I like to play. I ordered another tenor low G and I'm loving it so much more after switching it to high g. My Glyph tenor will always be high g.

I strung one of my baritones with Southcoast linears tuned GCEA and absolutely love the sound of low G on it.

Have fun with the experiment. Find what sounds good to you.
 
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Low G is a great sound. It doesn't work for every uke---or for every player---but when it does work, it sounds so sweet. One of my soprano ukes sounded pretty thin and a little harsh until I strung it with low G; now it sounds mellow and sweet...

 
Just to be difficult -- low G does not interest me at all.

me neither...high G is what a ukulele is all about. I've messed around with friends' low G and it sounds like krap to me!
 
One of each is a good thing although I like the re-entrant tuning on the smaller ukes. I have my 8 string tuned FCFA and you get the best of both worlds.
 
IMO the tenor scale length is too short for a low G, far too unbalanced...
...I really wanted a low G, so got a Baritone and strung it GCEA. Simply stated, it works.
 
Sukie expressed my feelings well. It doesn't interest me. I had low G on my Sailor tenor and hated it. I took it back over to Uke Republic the other day and Sailor Jim restrung it with high G Fremonts. Now it sounds great. I couldn't care less about a low G uke, or a baritone either. But tastes change. I wasn't always comfortable playing my banjolele, and now I really enjoy it.
 
I agree with P. Dec and Captain below.
 
I used to play reentrant and tried low G it sounded weird to me. I played it a while then I tried going back to reentrant. It sounded like it was missing something. Went back to low G and happy ever since.
 
It's definitely a matter of personal preference. Like boxers or briefs. It's whatever's comfortable and works for you. I'm relatively new to the uke but prefer the re-entrant/high G. Low G is too boomy for me and not happy enough.
 
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