Tenor scale Uke with large body tuned DGBE: Closest to a ‘guitar sound’?

I have a tenor Fluke tuned linear DGBE and an 8 string tenor tuned DGBE which has high/low D strings. I have both strung with Worth CF ("Fats") These are specified as high tension strings for GCEA and I find they work well for DGBE on a tenor. I find the tension OK and they work well for me. I recently tried tuning the 8 string up to Bb but wasn't happy with the result and put it back to DGBE.

I have a standard tenor ohana with solid mahogany top, laminate back and sides. Low D was possible but did not sound good. High d dGBE is good and sounds pretty guitar-ish to me, personally i do not hear much difference between linear and re-entrant tuning (i prefer linear in general but also wanted dgbe).

The five string/4 courses with high and low d on one course sounds like it may work as you could get the low note but also the good tone with the high d.

Could OP do linear DGBE with an electric/solid body tenor uke?

I f you want guitar sound then that is generated by the two additional strings and there is no way around to getting a guitar. I also have very small hands for an adult and I have a jumbo guitar with extra long scale and it is just a matter of getting used to it. Yes there are some songs that require spanning the hand across four or more frets, and I have tried and can't do it. But it's not a big deal I just done pick songs like that to learn and play as for every sone I can't play there 300 that are easy to play even with wide fret spaces. And if you want to stick with four strings instead of trying to invent a new instrument or trying to modify an instrument into something it's not designed for, there are much easier ways like just use a capo at the 2nd or 3rd fret where you maintain a full sound but scale is drastically reduced. Even famous musicians like Gordon Lightfoot are known to do this.

Who or what is OP?

Have Mele jumbo, Romero creations grand tenor, or Ohana BKT-70G tuned low or high G?

Or another tenor with a large body?
(SORRY, I meant low or high D!)

Plan to experiment with a capo on my baritone to see how it sounds compared to a guitar.
I would consider getting a good quality small, short scale guitar with a narrower neck except I might have the same problem of distance between one fret wire and the next.

SORRY, regarding the above tenors, I meant low or high D.

I believe that it's a matter of physics that the longer the scale, the more sustain you are likely to get. Playing a D note, for example, is likely to produce the same tone on a 17" scale tenor as on a 20" scale baritone or a 24" scale guitar. However, some of the sound qualities, like sustain, are going to be affected by different scale lengths. I play a lot of baritone ukulele, and to my admittedly subjective ear, a tenor ukulele sounds more percussive (i.e., less sustain) than a baritone ukulele, which sounds more percussive than a 23" scale tenor guitar with nylon strings, which in turn sounds more percussive than a full-scale nylon string guitar.

I also have a steel string tenor ukulele, a steel string baritone ukulele, and some steel string tenor guitars. These instruments sound, to me, somewhat more like guitars because I tend to think of steel string acoustic guitars when I think of guitars, possibly because I grew up listening to 60s and 70s pop music, much of which favored steel string acoustic guitars, rather than classical guitar music. One possible option for a guitar-like sound, given your decision to limit scale length, would be to find or custom order a steel string tenor ukulele tuned DGBE.

Mezcalero said:

I Have an 18" scale tenor Ono that I used to keep tuned DGBE using single strings from Strings by Mail ~ Thomastik CF35 & CF30, and Savarez 543R & 542R. This is an old sound sample, but you can judge for yourself whether it sounds guitar-like enough for your taste.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/habryvhe7omfhbl/Ono Bastogne DGBE.wav?dl=0

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Wow this is exactly the sound and information I’ve been looking all day for. My scale is 17” but hopefully I can achieve similar results. Thank you!

Gypsyuke said:

To answer your question Merlin666: I was initially drawn to Baritone (DGBE tuning) because it sounds more like a guitar at least my Ohana BK-70R with Spruce top and Rosewood body does! That’s what I’m after; a more (than GCEA tuning) guitar-like sound. HOWEVER the frets closest to the nut (distance from one fret marking to the next) especially the first 3 are too far apart for me to form cords like Dm and Bb and especially the F cord (remember my hands are quite old and relatively small).
I would even be interested in a small Tenor Guitar (12 frets to the body & 23” scale) tuned DGBE if the frets weren’t so far apart! Of course most have an extremely narrow neck.
I have wondered about a tenor electric guitar tuned DGBE like the Tenorcaster; of course I would be giving up the accoustic sound): any thoughts?
I’ve even thought about a small accoustic guitar (cordoba cadete etc.), removing the low E and A having the nut and bridge replaced!

Click to expand...

I just picked up a Tenorcaster and it’s an amazing little instrument.

Gypsyuke said:

Who or what is OP?

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Original Poster - going back to the question/statement that started the thread.

Mezcalero said:

I Have an 18" scale tenor Ono that I used to keep tuned DGBE using single strings from Strings by Mail ~ Thomastik CF35 & CF30, and Savarez 543R & 542R. This is an old sound sample, but you can judge for yourself whether it sounds guitar-like enough for your taste.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/habryvhe7omfhbl/Ono Bastogne DGBE.wav?dl=0

Click to expand...

Kevin has done quite bit of experimentation with strings to suit various tunings. So often, that is key to arriving at a timbre that suits a player's style and ear. Another factor, of course, the way a body is configured. Kevin's 18" tenor has my original body style, which is based upon the classic Martin shape. Over the past couple of years of years, I've developed a more contemporary body that puts more top area to work and places the bridge where it should be for both a 17" scale with 14 frets to the body and an 18" scale with 15 frets to the body. The point of this design is to have more volume and put it to good use at both scales. It's been my impression that the new body is more resonant than the old at the 18" scale. I haven't got an 18" on hand right now but I'm anxious to try Kevin's string set in DGBE. It sounds as if he's on to something.

Thinking about putting Kevin’s strings on a Ohana BKT-70G (tenor scale with baritone body) which I have yet to purchase.
I have the CF30 for G on a Kala tenor tuned DGBE. Though it seems much easier to use a High d on a tenor, I keep trying to create one that sounds good with the low D.

A sublime day: would you share with me the following specs of your Tenorcaster:

Distance from The nut to the first fret wire, then from that to the second fret wire,
Width of the nut,
Scale length.

Would like to put his strings on the 2019 Kanilea Super tenor (17” scale) or Romero creations Grand Tenor but such experimentation would be quite expensive compared to the Ohana tenor scale baritone Body one.
And yet I’m wondering how they would sound?
Actually what’s holding me back is not so much the expense as it is the lack of space: I live in a motorhome and I already have 4 Uke’s and one tenor guitar (which I need to let go).

If you want a guitar sound, why not get a guitar?