6-string tenor problem

bellgamin

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I just received a 6-string tenor that I bought online. It's an acoustic/electric, mid-line Lanikai with solid spruce top, laminated hog back & sides, fitted with Aquila Lava Nylguts. A beautiful instrument to look at.

It's my first 6-stringer so I didn't know what to expect, sound-wise.

It came with a low, unwound G string, even though I didn't order it that way. It has a wound low A string.

Accordingly, I tuned it GcCEaA. The problem is this: when I strum, the low "A" string totally drowns out the high "a" string. This uke sounds lousy & imbalanced because of that. Matter of fact, it doesn't sound much like a uke at all. Blah!

Unless one of you folks can show me a possible way to fix this cacaphony, I'm going to remove the low "A" & try it that way.
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Added comments later on...

I just noticed that I have some D'Addario strings for a tenor sixer with high G. Their specs are at...
http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3769&productid=1000

Notice that their low A is not wound & is fairly low tension. That should make it play softer, shouldn't it?
 
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Mine is tuned CgGDAA. Had the aA, but it just sounded peculiar (to me, anyway) and difficult to pick. Going "high A" on both strings worked for me.
 
Doubled stringed instruments are more difficult to tune and sound out if not precisely tuned. I would check carefully with a tuner to see what's going on.

Is the high A string sitting lower than the low A? Maybe your not hitting it but then again they usually ring sympathetically.

Is the overal intonation poor which gives a poor sound?
 
If it’s your first 6, find a Kamaka 6 and play it so you can get a baseline of what a 6 sounds like in your hands. Lili’u tuning is different from any 4. I made a 6, but tuned it like an 8, minus 2 strings (no octave c, and single e). A friend played it and didn’t like it. He knows to play a 6 “differently”, so I told him to play it like he would play a 4. He liked it then.

Btw, Try the low A in the 2nd course, inboard from the high A. Since it’s currently the last string you it, it’ll naturally be dominant.
 
I'm going to re-string it with the D'Addarios mentioned in my 1st post. Then I plan to tune it gCcEAa, per Kekani's switch-the-low-strings suggestion. If that still sounds weird, I'll then try a unison on #1, per SteveZ's idea, & go to a low G to offset the extra treble.

Good grief, I wish I knew what I'm doing. :rolleyes:
 
I'm going to re-string it with the D'Addarios mentioned in my 1st post. Then I plan to tune it gCcEAa, per Kekani's switch-the-low-strings suggestion. If that still sounds weird, I'll then try a unison on #1, per SteveZ's idea, & go to a low G to offset the extra treble.

Good grief, I wish I knew what I'm doing. :rolleyes:

You know as much as the rest of us, maybe more.....

The experimentation seems to go with stringed instruments. Eventually we become reasonably satisfied, but never perfectly happy.
 
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I just noticed that I have some D'Addario strings for a tenor sixer with high G. Their specs are at...
http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3769&productid=1000

Notice that their low A is not wound & is fairly low tension. That should make it play softer, shouldn't it?
I have looked into this set as well and contacted d'Addario about it - they responded that the low A is definitely wound. So what kind of a low A was included with your set?

As I don't like wound strings, I have ordered an Aquila set that supposedly has a red low A included. But if your nyltech set worked out well I might try that as well.
 
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I have experimented extensively with my 6 string trying to find the sound I want. I have settled on octave A’s and high G. I found with low G & A it was too low sounding, low G and unison high A’s were ok and made melody playing a bit easier, but strumming had a voice I did not like. Low G & A are only 1 note apart and I believe the combination just overpowers the instrument.
 
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