If you play both re-entrant and linear

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Joyful Uke

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Just curious. If you play both re-entrant and linear, do you prefer to have one ukulele set up low g and another set up high g, so you don't need to swap out strings? If so, do you tend to have 2 of the same instrument, or do you use 2 different instruments, (one tenor and one concert, for example, or one Pono and one Kamaka, as a different example?)

Right now, I am fortunate enough to have more than one ukulele, so I don't need to swap out strings, but they have different necks, so sometimes I have to remind my fingers which ukulele they are playing. That makes me wonder if people prefer 2 of the same ukulele instead.

I do enjoy having different ukuleles to suit my mood, though!
 
I do have more than one ukulele........a few more than one. All my tenors are low G, my preferred sound. I have a mix of super concert, concert and sopranos in reentrant. It can be a bit of a challenge moving back and forth between all these instruments. There are also baritones in the mix which is a different animal altogether. But I enjoy all the different sounds so it is worth it
 
My Pono PC Tenor is linear, my Kala SMHC is reentrant.
When the Outdoor Soprano gets here, we'll see what it likes!
 
I have one uke that I could not bond with it.
Downupdave (not super_Dave BTW I like your screen name) has been bugging me to change it to low G but I kept fighting him for over a year. I finally gave in few months ago. What a difference it made.

Yes each uke has it's own voice. Not all are good in Low G and not all are meant for high G.
It all depend on the wood tone. In another word, do not give up or sell the uke. You will be amazed how a different set of strings or tuning can make a world of different. I am so glad I still own that uke.
 
You will likely only swap strings once or twice (ask me how I know). Every time you take a nylon or fluorocarbon string off it does it's best to revert to the original length, so you will spend a lot of time retuning that string until it settles again. No fun at all.
 
I keep one tenor semi-perminant low-g (spruce) and another more suited to high-g (koa). I'm not overly keen on the sound of low-g per-se, just that it suits the spruce, and my playing ability at the moment. It is a pleasure, and a luxury to have both options. I find Fremont Solist low-g, a happy medium between a thudding flourocarbon, and a squeaking wound string - actually like the squeak, just that they seem to go thread-bare quickly on me!?
 
Sopranos and concerts:
high G (one soprano ADF#B actually) (including concert banjo uke)

Tenors:
Fluke - low G,
Brueko tuned DGBE (high D),
6 string high G, hi/lo C, hi/lo A,
8 string - hi/lo G, CEA all in unison,
Risa solid Uke'Ellie dGBE like the Brueko.

Baritone: low D

Mulitiple ukes give mulitiple tuning options. Unlike steel strung guitars, it's generally not a good idea to keep retuning ukes as the strings will need time to settle and will eventually weaken and break. (I found that out by experience)
 
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I have 2 different ukuleles that I use the most: one soprano high GCEA and the tiny tenor Low GCEA. I use them differently so that determines when I play them. The way I prefer to play my TT is as an accompaniment to a baritone ukulele someone else plays. I use the soprano if I am the only one playing or for composing. There's no rules about that but that's how it has worked out so far for me. Using the soprano to accompany the baritone uke has been sort of *meh* for me.
Are you playing your uke solo or with others?

Since my ukes are different scales I do need to practice and warm up on the ukes I intend to perform with. No practicing on the TT if I am performing on the soprano or vice versa! That leads to disaster as I found out rather quickly.
 
One bari DGBE, another dGBE, & a tenor DGBE, two laminate electro acoustic concert & a long neck soprano are re entrant for strumming, all the others low G for picking & occasionally strumming. :)
 
I have two concert Fleas, one is high g, one is low g, they both have upgraded fretboards and tuners. I play them both daily. I find this easier than when I went back and forth between a Flea and a Pono.
 
I don't play low G, but I think that changing out the one string would be a supper pain in the rear. I mean, there are a lot of people who won't even play their ukulele if it isn't sitting out and in reach. I'm thinking that changing strings to play one or the other would be a much greater inconvenience than opening up a case.
 
I have one linear uke, a tenor with a cedar top. The rest of my ukes are re-entrant tuned. It depends entirely on what I am playing whether I prefer linear or re-entrant. A few tunes, Pete Seeger's Living In The Country, for instance, are finger-picked and some of the melody comes from the high G string. This can't be played on my low G uke. Likewise, clawhammer ukulele requires a high G string.
If I'm playing a single string melody like Red Haired Boy or Blackberry Blossom, I need those low notes on the 4th string, so I use my linear tune uke. Some finger-style tunes sound nice on a low G uke as well.
If I'm strumming chords, I like the close voicings of a high G ukulele.
My friend, Reg, and I get together on Tuesdays to work out ukulele duets and lately we've been playing an old ragtime tune called St. Louis Tickle. I learned it on guitar when I was a kid from a Dave Van Ronk record and when we do it on ukes, it takes a low G uke for the bass line and a high G uke for the melody line.
 
I sometimes like to tune my low G uke to GCEG and play it using a slide. I have a nice light ceramic slide that seems to work well on the uke. I also use it on the banjo tuned gDGBD, relatively the same tuning, but in G instead of C.
 
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Definately separate ukes for low and high-five G.

I only play low G when I need to low notes for a particular melodi. If I should change strings for that, they wouldnt have settled in before I moved back to high-g.

I have a low G tenor and a high g concert, that I play regularly.
 
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I have 1 set to low and 1 set to high... I have a lot of guitars in different tunings though... Lol
 
I bought low G strings on a whim and had no idea which of my three ukes it would go on. I have a Fender, Oscar Schmidt and Ibanez all tenors. On my Fender, I noticed that the G string nut had a much wider dip than the original G string. I was pleasantly surprised Fender allows for either string set without having to file anything down. My OS and Ibanez would require filing the nut so the low G string would fit without buzzing. And it actually turned out quite well as the Fender sounds awesome strung in low G. I have an Enya tenor coming this week and I already ordered some Low G Lava strings just in case. Definitely take your time deciding which uke to set at low G and once you do, you'll have a blast. Some songs sound absolutely amazing in Low G.
 
Camsuke said:
Most here would have more than one ukulele, so having dedicated ukes for high & Low G is probably the most practical approach. Generally I'll find which instrument is best suited to which tuning and go from there, some instruments are not well suited to high g and vise versa, so it's best to do some testing to determine which way go. :D
Click to expand...
I agree with Campbell, and tend to keep each either reentrant or linear.
 
Forgot to mention what I play on my low g Flea. The music of Daniel Ho! I love his music and thankfully, he sells tabs of it. I've got 6 out of 13 songs from Polani done (poorly).

If you're not familiar with his playing, check him out on Youtube. He's amazing. And I think all of his music is for low g.
 
Right now I have a KoAloha concert strung up for low G and 4 other ukes (two sopranos, a concert, and a tenor) strung up re-entrant.

I generally use the linear tuning when I want to play a specific repertoire... there is a good portion of ukulele cannon that requires it. Right now I am tacking some Daniel Ho and Lyle Ritz arrangements. Re-entrant just won't do for those.

If I am strumming chords or just noodling around, I am more prone to grab one of the re-entrants. For some reason the low G seems to drone on and detract from my auditory experience in those scenarios.
 
TobyDog said:
Forgot to mention what I play on my low g Flea. The music of Daniel Ho! I love his music and thankfully, he sells tabs of it. I've got 6 out of 13 songs from Polani done (poorly).

If you're not familiar with his playing, check him out on Youtube. He's amazing. And I think all of his music is for low g.
Click to expand...

:cheers:Cheers, TobyDog! I am playing a bit of Daniel Ho as well! I just had to learn "Hana Mālie" as soon as I got myself strung up linear.
 
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