using a guitar like a uke?

ripock

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Will it harm a guitar to only string it up like a uke (i.e., only the first 4 strings)? I have an opportunity to have a B.C. Rich guitar (so deliciously 80's) but I have no interest in base strings and no gumption to learn anything new. I in essence want to make this my electric baritone uke.
 
There will be no harm to the guitar, but will be weird to have more than third of the fretboard empty. I like playing guitar and so carried some techniques over that are not really "needed" for ukulele such as using my thumb for the g-string and bar chords. I don't think that those techniques would work well with a partial fretboard, but many uke players don't use them. Also your neck and scale would be a lot longer than a baritone uke, which may impact playing comfort as well, and there's the change from soft synthetic strings to metal strings which will cut into your finger tips.
 
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Ripock and Merlin, how about using the "middle four" string slots for this? That way, you'd have relatively equal unused space on both sides of the fretboard. Still might feel a little "different", but might be something to consider...?
 
Thanks for the input.

I have a tenor guitar, so I'm used to metal strings
I never use my thumb, so that wouldn't be an issue.

I know it would look weird, but if Keith Richards can dispense with his E string I think I could take it a step further and get rid of the A string as well.

I was only worried that without the tension of the E and A strings the neck might warp or something. I have too much respect for instruments to wantonly harm one.
 
Ripock and Merlin, how about using the "middle four" string slots for this? That way, you'd have relatively equal unused space on both sides of the fretboard. Still might feel a little "different", but might be something to consider...?

Yes that might work, though might need some nut work. Saddle on electric is adjustable, so intonation wouldn't be a problem.
 
What's the advantage of removing the strings instead of just not playing the top two strings?

Another example of how different people label things in equally correct, but totally different ways. The words "top", "bottom", "up", "down", "high" and "low" can refer to gravity (distance from the floor) or pitch. I have to make it clear to my students that both ways are correct, but when I talk about the top or high strings, I'm talking about the first and second strings and when I talk about playing "up the neck" I mean closer to the bridge.
glennerd's "gravity"method is just as accurate as my "pitch" method, but it can become confusing if we don't make it clear which method we're using.
 
It will feel very, very weird to play with only four strings.

It will feel even worst if you restring omitting the 1st and 6th and just string the centre four.

Putting a new nut and bridge will make it feel far better.

Remember folks a guitar typically has a 41mm nut and hence the strings are way closer than on a uke.
 
The only thing harder than playing strings is not playing strings.

Good one! :D

Another example of how different people label things in equally correct, but totally different ways. The words "top", "bottom", "up", "down", "high" and "low" can refer to gravity (distance from the floor) or pitch. I have to make it clear to my students that both ways are correct, but when I talk about the top or high strings, I'm talking about the first and second strings and when I talk about playing "up the neck" I mean closer to the bridge.
glennerd's "gravity"method is just as accurate as my "pitch" method, but it can become confusing if we don't make it clear which method we're using.

Yup, I should have gone with 5th & 6th,although that's counter-intuitive to those who don't know string numbering (still kind of counter-intuitive to me too). I would never use high and low in a gravity sense, but I could see others doing it. How about the two strings closest to your eyeballs? There's probably an exception to that description too! :uhoh:
 
Been thinking about this myself, having sanded and shaped a new saddle i was wondering if i could take the nut off my guitar (43mm but would fit a 45mm) and put a bass nut on. Realised that the slots would be cut too wide and i was too callow to buy a blank and make my own slots (worried about the angles). Also realised the nut was glued in.
 
Been thinking about this myself, having sanded and shaped a new saddle i was wondering if i could take the nut off my guitar (43mm but would fit a 45mm) and put a bass nut on. Realised that the slots would be cut too wide and i was too callow to buy a blank and make my own slots (worried about the angles). Also realised the nut was glued in.

I am not sure about how a new nut with only four slots would work as you would still have six saddle pieces to match, so some of the string spacing might get uneven higher up the neck. I think the OP will find a good solution and hopefully show us some pictures of end result.
 
I myself suggest leaving the E and A strings out, and so using guitar/baritone ukulele tuning for 4 ..1 strings.

I think because guitar scale is larger, even acoustic one, it is best to string them as they normally are stringed, so leaving 6th and 5th "empty". To have the desired finger reach. We can of course play guitar well supported, so it helps with much larger scale too.

I use that stringing myself too on my classical guitar, because I don't have acquired a baritone (no UAS ). Some things we maybe do with ukulele, like left thumb muting, is not possible this way though.

On steel string guitar, the bridge is slanted and that demands also right size strings, to not have intonation problems.
 
I made my 6-string Washburn Rover with 43mm nut and 23.75" scale into a four string with wide spacing.

Kept the steel strings. So I think of it more as a tenor guitar than a ukulele. Currently it's set up with the middle four strings, but I intend to use the top four(tonally) eventually.

I used the outer two slots,
and cut two new slots for the middle strings. But will someday fashion a new nut for it, keeping the wide spacing.

Initially, I spaced the strings wide at the saddle. With the outside strings in the ouside pin holes, and the inner strings wrapped around the opposite pins to spread them slightly and give near even string spacing between the four. Which would've been fine for plucking if I was building a bass. But I then placed them in the center four pins which makes string spacing very slightly narrower than at the nut. I plan to put in a slotted saddle to space them a skosh wider.

It works for me, as I have a problem fretting strings cleanly that are narrowly spaced.
 

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Another option is to just leave all the strings in place and capo on 5. I do it all the time. It also mixes in well when playing with other instruments.
 
Take off the lowest strings (E and A). Put nylon strings on it. Put a capo at the 5th fret. That’s about it, but you can take it a step further by putting the same size string on the lowest string as you would the highest string and tune that to high G.
That’s how I learned before getting an actual ukulele.
 
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