6 string ukulele tuning variations?

strumsilly

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My Lanikai LU- 8 string seems to be self destructing, the top is pulling up below the bridge and sinking above. Kind of sad because this is really a nice playing and sounding uke. the top is laminate, but very thin and resonant. anyway

I have been searching for a replacement, and I came across a few 6 strings that looked interesting. I've never seen or played one, so I set up my 8 like a 6, gCceAa. Wow, what a nice melodic sound when strummed, similar to the 8 but less jangly . So I found a Mele in my budget range on the bay[the seller happened to live in my town so I saved on shipping. I heard a lot of horror stories about the Meles cracking, but this appears to be an older one , and no cracks. Sounds and looks good too. very nice grain on the hog,

to make this long story short, it came G cC e aa. This gives the low G advantages, being able to play a bass line , etc. to my ears it loses the melodic effect you get from the octive A set up and high g. good grief, do I now need high and a low g 6 stringer. I'd like you more experienced 6 stringer's thoughts.
 
I bought a Southcoast 8 string set just so I could have the cC. I prefer a 6 string to an 8 string and believe this setup gives it a fuller sound, with more "chime."
 
Yes Andy I prefer in octaves rather than unison in the C and A... high C and low A congrats on your new mele man...:)
 
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I have experimented with my Mya-Moe six string trying to find the mix I liked.
Having octave C's & A's gives a nice full sound when strumming, but I struggled with melody fills on the A's.
I tried octave C's and unison A's, the melody notes were fine, but it lacked any depth in strumming.
I then tried a low G and that was the voice for me. I have a nice full voice when strumming and can pick some melody on the E & A strings.
Also, changing the order of the octave strings can alter the voice.
Congrats on the new uke and don't be afraid to try alternate tunings to find what you are looking for.
 
So, SaliningUke, would you mind sharing a diagram (upper-case for low G and low C) so we can
visualize your set up? [eg: Gg, C, e, aa - etc]

Mahalo, and keep uke'in',
 
thanks for all the feedback. The tenor Hilo low G string sets that came with my 6 are this config. GcCeaa. I think I'll use this set ,use one a for the g, then cC, e , and use the low G for the A. so gCceaA. I think this is the traditional set up, though I may have the octaves backward? the nut slots should tell me, no?
 
Also, changing the order of the octave strings can alter the voice.

I use octaves on the A string, but found that I really prefer the high A at the top. It matches my strumming approach - on the upstroke, I can get the high A to ring out. I tried restringing the A with the lower one on the top, and it was almost like the high A disappeared in the mix.

I have them the opposite way on the C, but that seems OK to me.

Love my Lanikai 6-strings.
 
I like gCceaa, it works out well for finger picking.
 
update: tuned it gcCeaA. really liked how it sounded strummed, but not finger picked. I don't have a low G uke at the moment, and needed one for this song, so I went back to how it was tuned when I got it. GcCeaa.
http://youtu.be/gRO04QbyeTk
 
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