Low G on a concert

dwf1967

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OK, I have a Kala KA-S soprano and an Ohana CK-50GS concert. I want a low G uke. I love everything about sopranos; size, easy to play scale length, sound, even the tiny fretboard, but I hate my 12 fret neck. For my next uke do I go Kala SMHT tenor (with the new slotted headstock) and go low G, or do I get the Moku MS-60S soprano (with a 16 fret neck) and put a low G on my concert??
Everyone seems to put low G on tenors, and I wouldn't mind rounding out the collection with a tenor, but my wife and daughter are also learning (and I have small hands) so the tenor might be too much.
Maybe I need them both...
 
I've got little hands and can't really play tenors comfortably, but I play low G on a Kamaka concert uke, and it sounds great. I'm not much of a fan of low G on sopranos (but it can be done too!), but on a concert uke it can work really well. You might have to play around with different strings until you hit on the combination that sounds right - for mine, I like high tension fluorocarbons and a wound low G string.

Can't advise you on the uke choices since I'm not familiar with those models. But yeah, you might need them both :)
 
I usually play low G (or low F in my case) on tenors but I have low G on a couple of concert scale instruments and the low G works fine on them too. String changes are simple. Just put a low G on the concert you have now and see what you think.

Anthony
 
I have done extensive testing of over 2 dozen brands of strings on soprano, concert and tenor scale ukes and found so far that every single unwound low-g string aside from the Aquila REDS is way too floppy with too low tension and dead sounding on concert scale (for MY taste - YMMV).

There is a great and very lengthy discussion over in this thread.

The problem with Aquila REDS is breakage due to many things, most of which are improper installation and use.

The only solution I found that I was satisfied with for the low-g on concert scale is the wound Fremont soloist 'squeakless' polished low-g string which I found at HMS for $7 for a single string.

This Fremont polished, and other 'flatwound' strings will not have the squeaky string noise if/when your finger runs along the length of the string.

A fellow UU brother John (OldePhart) has been talking about the Thomastik-Infeld (T-I) flatwound 'chrome' classical guitar strings that he has been using for wound uke strings. T-I has 4 gauges of FLATWOUND string: CF-27, CF-30, CF-35, CF-45, and they offer 2 full sets called CF127 (3 wound/3 nylon) and CF128 (4 wound/2 nylon). I plan to try these next for wound low-g.

They are not cheap though, prices for single strings are anywhere from $5-$8 EACH and for the CF127/CF128 sets are anywhere from $17-$29 EACH SET depending upon where you buy them from.

Good sources that I know of for strings are:

Just Strings
Strings And Beyond
Strings By Mail
Elderly Music
Uke Republic
Hawaii Music Supply (HMS)

I have bought most of my strings from Strings and Beyond or HMS.
 
Get a Kala Cedar top with acacia and put a low g on that. Not expensive. Sounds great.
 
I have a dedicated low G concert ukulele. I recommend putting a D'Addario nyl026w on your concert (about 2 bucks, no need to buy a complete set of very expensive guitar strings to replace your G) and giving it a try before you spend the money on a new instrument. You may love it. (might not) You decide.
 
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I think my Luna Concert with LowG Aquilla's nylgut sounds great. Had those strings on for some time now, a year perhaps, and they are due for a change. I'm going to get some Ken Middleton strings next. They make everything sound wonderful to me :) You can find many videos on my YT with me playing this uke. Off the top of my head I can remember doing a tutorial of "Spooky". You can look me up as tippytoetoli on YT.
 
I think my Luna Concert with LowG Aquilla's nylgut sounds great. Had those strings on for some time now, a year perhaps, and they are due for a change. I'm going to get some Ken Middleton strings next. They make everything sound wonderful to me :) You can find many videos on my YT with me playing this uke. Off the top of my head I can remember doing a tutorial of "Spooky". You can look me up as tippytoetoli on YT.
I swear by Ken Middleton's Living Water Strings. I have 3 concert ukes, wirh low G on one, and low G on a tenor I had specifically for the purpose. I must say I prefer the low G on a tenor, but it's marginal, and very, very subjective. My advice would be to experiment with brands of low G string until you find one you like, and then try one on a tenor if you are really tempted to. Living Waters by Ken Middleton are beautiful sounding strings.
 
+1 for Living Waters, great strings and worth every cent.

In general low G fits very well on a concert size, I've had it on the Flea and still have it on the Mainland. But be warned: there are days for low g and days for high g - you might need a dedicated uke for each....
 
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