Do you use high-G/reentrant or low-G/linear tuning exclusively?

janeray1940 said:
Both - I divide my time pretty equally between the two and would have a hard time picking just one.
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I pretty much do the same. Depends on the song, I sing along with myself, usually find myself preferring, linear tuning. Again, as I said, it depends on the song.
 
I'd find it utterly impossible to ever wrap my brain around re-entrant tuning. It's like something from another universe to me. But I guess GDAE qualifies as "low G linear", right? (but on my baritone, it's lower than yours! LOL) I don't either strum or sing, but play mostly solo stuff.

bratsche
 
JJFN said:
I pretty much do the same. Depends on the song, I sing along with myself, usually find myself preferring, linear tuning. Again, as I said, it depends on the song.
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I love playing both High and Low G. As many have said, it depends of the song.

I like Low G for jazz and re entrant for popular songs for the most part ....

I like to noodle with both Low and High G, as well.
 
Re-entrant for my piccolo, soprano, concert, and tenor. Linear for my baritone and bass.
 
Makes for a good argument to have one Uke in each size, and then an additional one each of those strung in both high G/re-entrant, and Low G.
 
kypfer said:
I took up the ukulele because of the re-entrant tuning ... that's what "sounds like" a ukulele, to my mind, and my re-entrant tenor is my "go-to" ukulele.

However, being the adaptable little things that they are, I keep a concert tuned low-G for those tabs that are set out like that and both a soprano and baritone tuned in 5th's (an octave apart) as "quiet" alternatives to my mandolin and tenor banjo respectively.

Talking about alternative tunings ... has anyone tried "Nashville" tuning on a guitar. Retaining the EADGBE relationship, the lower four strings (EADG) are tuned an octave higher than "normal", effectively using the treble strings from the pairs of strings on a 12-string guitar. The net result is rather like a 6-string re-entrant instrument ... put a capo in the 5th fret and you've got a re-entrant guitarlele (almost) ... just waiting for my set of D'Addarrio strings to arrive and I'll set up me Washburn Rover small -body travel guitar with them. Should be interesting!

:music:
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My wife's first guitar, a Yamaha FG75, has been our house high strung guitar for the last 30 years. I used to buy individual strings, but now buy a twelve string set and use the high octave to string the Yamaha and the lower octave to string the O-18. It's great for when you have a jam with 3 or 4 guitars and you need a different sound.

Back to the uke - I definitely prefer re-entrant for strumming and certain fingerstyle tunes, but I'm really glad to have a linear strung uke for those times when I need some low notes.
 
I have tried both re-entrant and Low G and have settled
on re-entrant as my choice of 'what I like the sound of!'
 
Rllink said:
And then a spare of each of those, just in case.
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Absolutely! Never can be too safe when needing to reach for a particular instrument at any given time, and being sure it's there and ready to play! This theory should certainly help those sitting on the fence wondering if they should buy that next Uke or not... :p
 
UkerDanno said:
Only high G for 5 years! Although, after a friend showed me some slack key tuning, I considered putting low G on my Islander, but haven't gone to the dark side yet! :shaka:

Too busy with trying to learn bass and other things...
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Well, I've gone over to the Darkside! :biglaugh: Last night, I was changing strings on another uke and found a wound low G in my "collection" that I took off of another uke purchase from the past. I'd been considering Low G for a while since our club does play a lot of old rock songs and it probably does fit in a little better. So, I put Low G on my Islander, not sure if it will ever leave the house, but maybe at one of our jams focused on classic rock. :shaka:
 
With the advice of my first teacher who is a performer known for his singing, I started with low g and have stayed with it. Never tried reentrant except when I was a kid in Hawaii. I strum and sing exclusively. No desire to play instrumental numbers. Interesting that so many on this post sing with reentrant and play melody with linear. My singing uke group had 2 of us playing linear and 2 playing reentrant. Now we all play linear.
Should add that I also like linear for the rifts/ bass runs I throw in with strumming. I'm using the string sets that Chuck Moore recommends. Love, LOVE the sound.
 
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I have a low voice and I definitely like the re-entrant higher than my voice strumming when I sing with my ukulele. I don't want the my uke be a guitar, but an unique instrument on its own.

I have a classical guitar, but it suits only my singing if I fingerpick, not strumming as it is way too low for my voice. With strumming a guitar a steel string would work, but then I desire usually also a bit mellownes on higher strings that it does not have, my acoustic guitar. Sometimes it is good, but I don't much feel familiar with pick strumming and the index finger strum is more like what i like. I can do the pick strumming on guitar though even on classical. Just I feel it is an extra thing though. Never with uke to be used.

Also while I don't have a low G ukulele, this I feel: Many chords that sound nice with re-entrant uke would sound a bit unbalanced with low G. Like what is this fifth booming as so low or whatever note except the root? Just my opinion wanting to keep guitar and ukulele as different instruments.

I can understand the need for instrumental chord melody playing. For me I just strum ukulele and am not much interested in any solo playing. That is just me.
 
I see this is a much older thread but want to ask if I change the chord shapes when using low g? I'm just starting and wasn't finding an answer in the beginners forum. I'd really like to do fingerpicking mostly and haven't figured out how you match up strumming with what fingerpicking pattern, etc. I'm just trying to teach myself chord transitions right now. Not any songs, strumming patterns, etc. I am playing with fingerpicking patterns, but haven't figured out how you incorporate it all.

If my hands were big enough for a guitar, I'd probably play one. I have a Kala cedar top tenor that has a really deep sound to it.

Trying to figure out if starting with a low g is a good idea if I have to rechord everything.

Anyone have a place to send me to read up on it, or any ideas?

Thanks,
 
Croaky Keith said:
No, a D chord is still a D chord. :)
Low G is good for the extra notes it gives when picking a tune, nearly all my ukes are Low G or Low D.
(Some of the tunes I like often go below middle C.)
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Thanks. When I get beyond just chord transitions and can start coordinating picking that will help. I guess I need to learn some music theory as well
 
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