Anybody try low G and not like it?

With my experience of a few years of playing an uke I feel I still don't know much. My concert is re-entrant, one tenor is re-entrant, and one tenor is low g. I really like the sound from the low g tenor with the blues, folk, rock style music I like to play. Once in a while I find a song that just doesn't sound right but I'm sure there are more left hand positions that would make song playable. I may try low g on my other tenor one of these days. I have strings just haven't make the switch yet.
 
With my experience of a few years of playing an uke I feel I still don't know much. My concert is re-entrant, one tenor is re-entrant, and one tenor is low g. I really like the sound from the low g tenor with the blues, folk, rock style music I like to play. Once in a while I find a song that just doesn't sound right but I'm sure there are more left hand positions that would make song playable. I may try low g on my other tenor one of these days. I have strings just haven't make the switch yet.

For me a lot has to do with the key you play in. Blues in A (same as E on a guitar) is easy to play and always sounds good because the simple open chords cover the g string regardless if it is low g or high g. Playing in G requires covering the low g string because the simple chord forms of G-C-D leaves the G string open too much. It never bothered me on a guitar because the E and A bass strings are used, even without barre chords.

John
 
I don’t make the choice, the tabs if is in low g then I have to do it in low g. Currently I’m doing low g on my concert, but I still prefer the soprano scale. Time to get a soprano just for low g.
 
on a tenor yes sometimes, on a soprano no
 
I’ve tried low g a few times but it has never worked out. I do strictly fingerstyle/strum melodies. For how I play, low g requires too much covering of the notes on the g string or completely muting the string at times. Leaving a low g string open too much just doesn’t sound right. This also makes playing up the neck, especially with some stretches, beyond what I want (able) to do.

If I change my style, I might re-visit the tuning.

John


I was unaware you need to mute or leave the Low G open quite a bit for certain styles. Don’t like the sound of that too much. I have yet to try a low g, but it’s coming on my Clara in a week or so. I came from guitar and am not looking for that sound, but I do like the idea of more range.
 
I'm sure that the answer to this question is, "Yes." I really, really want to like it, but I just strung up my uke a couple of weeks ago to be low G (for the first time) and I just don't care for it very much. Additionally, not having access to that high G string removes some of the ring when I alternate between the high G and the E string.

Anybody else try it and decide that it wasn't for them?

Listen to as much great low G plays as you can and enjoy them. Listen to Ohta san and Iz.

 
I did.
I don't like it. I don't care for the way it sounds strummed at all.
I only pick one song with lo G, that's Foggy Dew.
I would not want my only uke to be strung that way.
I much prefer to play hi g, that's the way an ukulele is supposed to sound, I feel, and you can't really play Baroque in lo G.
I have a friend who just bought a 5 string uke, and he loves it. I played a 5 string once and found it kinda tricky.
 
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Huh.
I didn't realize that there was so much dislike for low g.

I've got Daniel Ho's music playing right now, (low g), and it's lovely.
Maybe it's all about what type of music you like to play and listen to?

The cool thing is that we have the choice, (and in my case, I choose to have both linear and reentrant ukuleles at hand - I'm lucky that I can have more than one ukulele, I know), and enjoy ukulele in many sizes, tunings, and styles. (And woods, and builders, and on and on. Lots of variety.)

So whatever your preference, enjoy!
 
I've got Daniel Ho's music playing right now, (low g), and it's lovely.

Agreed! I love me some Pineapple Mango, both the fruit and the song. It’s impossible to listen to and not smile. Seriously couldn’t imagine it with a high g. Then again, most people wouldn’t want to imagine me playing it with a low g either.
 
Agreed! I love me some Pineapple Mango, both the fruit and the song. It’s impossible to listen to and not smile. Seriously couldn’t imagine it with a high g. Then again, most people wouldn’t want to imagine me playing it with a low g either.

I'd probably enjoy listening to you play it with a low g. I just don't like listening to myself play with low g. It's just a personal thing, but I feel like I've sucked the personality out of my ukulele when I string a low g. I don't think this thread was meant to discourage people who like low g. You should always go for what makes you happy. It's more of a discussion for those of us who had misfortune with the low g experience.
 
I've tried low G many times thinking it would give more depth to my sound - and a few more notes to add to what is the fairly limited range of the uke. But it didn't work for me. I find that the low G asserts itself too much into proceedings; I prefer the delicious ambiguity of the high G string notes as a mysterious, subtle element. Plus I like the right hand feel of arpeggiating without having to always account too much for that low note (musical laziness??)
Without that low G the low note is the C - which, in an esoteric way, seems to feel right with the heart feel of the uke. Also - strumming starts with a high note for both up and down strokes which again suits the light hearted nature of the uke.
I thought that a low G would give me a bigger sound, but the price of squeezing out a few more notes wasn't worth it to me. The uke has limitations (everything does) I have found a great deal of joy within them.
 
I'd probably enjoy listening to you play it with a low g. I just don't like listening to myself play with low g. It's just a personal thing, but I feel like I've sucked the personality out of my ukulele when I string a low g. I don't think this thread was meant to discourage people who like low g. You should always go for what makes you happy. It's more of a discussion for those of us who had misfortune with the low g experience.

I hear you Glenn. I have no argument with that. I had an earlier post in this thread stating that my first experience with low g was so bad that I took the thing off after one song. After trying it again, though, I learned to love it. Some never will, and that’s cool with me. Heck, my 7 year old son doesn’t like chocolate. To each their own, right? Play what puts joy in your heart, and enjoy the journey. Whether you take the low road or the high road, it’s all good.

Anyway, I would just suggest for those that have only taken the low road once and didn’t like the trip, try it at least one more time, maybe with a different string set, or maybe with a different uke. You may just find that you like the scenery better the second time around.
 
No hate for low g. I really like the sound of low g and have heard some great arrangements played in low g. For me, I’m probably too lazy right now to change the way I put together arrangements.

It really is a style approach. The easiest way to explain the difficulty is using Guitar Gently Weeps as an example. The well known Jake version is unplayable with low g tuning.

John
 
I played only high G and only sopranos for quite a few years. Then, because I joined the Luongo workshops here in BC, I was propelled into low G (which also sent me to the tenor size ukes). I gradually became comfortable with the more booming sound of that low G bad boy.
Now, after the dust is settling, though I have become quite fond of the tenor size, I still quite often miss that whimsical high G sound. So, logically, I am looking to add a high G tenor to my herd.
 
Anyway, I would just suggest for those that have only taken the low road once and didn’t like the trip, try it at least one more time, maybe with a different string set, or maybe with a different uke. You may just find that you like the scenery better the second time around.

Who knows? I’ll probably try again someday. One of those flat-wound squeakless strings maybe. I didn’t like the unwound sound nearly as much as wound, but didn’t like the feel or squeak of wound strings so that style seems interesting.
 
Who knows? I’ll probably try again someday. One of those flat-wound squeakless strings maybe. I didn’t like the unwound sound nearly as much as wound, but didn’t like the feel or squeak of wound strings so that style seems interesting.
Glenn,
If you ever give low G another try, do go with the Fremont Soloist, a polished wound low G string that doesn't squeak. I found it to be a huge improvement over the various boomy-sounding unwound low G's that I first tried. The Fremont seems to blend much better with the remaining fluorocarbons on my uke.
Jan D.
 
I have tried Low G several times and each time at the end I have let down.
I also play guitar and I do not find any interest to play a low G ukulele. It sounds to me like a guitar with 2 broken strings.
Same feeling with baritone ukulele. I only like baritone uke when tuned re-entrant.
 
I have tried Low G several times and each time at the end I have let down.
I also play guitar and I do not find any interest to play a low G ukulele. It sounds to me like a guitar with 2 broken strings.
Same feeling with baritone ukulele. I only like baritone uke when tuned re-entrant.

I have my baritone tuned re-entrant - so I do have a low G uke!!!
 
I'd probably enjoy listening to you play it with a low g. I just don't like listening to myself play with low g. It's just a personal thing, but I feel like I've sucked the personality out of my ukulele when I string a low g. I don't think this thread was meant to discourage people who like low g. You should always go for what makes you happy. It's more of a discussion for those of us who had misfortune with the low g experience.
My opinion too. I also think it has a lot to do with how you identify yourself as a ukulele player.
 
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