19" bari's 19" super tenors, strings and tunings

I have tried to read all I can on the subject but I guess I am looking for a new take on it. For those of you with 19" uke's which would you prefer in a re-entrant tuning hihg D or high G. Also what strings are you finding best suits the 19" tenor. Blessings, J.C. Bryant

If you want reentrant, I would strongly prefer high d since I can easily get high g in the shorter scales. I have a super tenor a step lower at cFAD with Southcoast strings but when I want to change, I will probably go to dGBE with Living Water

I agree with all that for linear tuning. My baritone is in Ab with baritone Living Water strings and I once had one in A with tenor Living Water strings.

I love baritones. I own 2 of them with a 3rd uke being drafted into my Bari brigade. None of them are 19' scale, so I can't address directly your question. However, I do have unusual strings on them and you may find it of interest.

Here's what I mean . . . I have a Pono Steel String Bari. Absolutely love it. The sustain and overtones are unreal. My wife plays double bass and the two instruments play off of each other well. It has Pyramid strings on it. I was not a believer until I gave it a try. Best Bari ever (imho).

Second, I have a mahogany Pono Bari and have it strung with Guadalupe low GCEA strings. This makes it a tenor but it's an octave lower. This is not everyone's cup of tea, but for dinking around on, its pure fun. I especially love, the rumble - when played, the uke resonants deep into your chest. It won't win any medals, but every time I pick it up I have a hard time putting it down. And when I do, I find myself smiling. Uke's are meant to do that, right?

Then for the third one, I have a solid spruce top/maple back and side tenor that I have some strings on from Pepe Romero Jr. purchased through Uke Like The Pros. Pepe recently began offering them. They are designed for tenor ukes, but allow them to be tuned DGBE like a Bari. I first put them on my KoAloha tenor. They sounded ok but the KoAloha is better suited as a tenor. Then I put them on the spruce top tenor and they are actually pretty good. Its a poor man/womans way to get a Bari sound without purchasing a Bari. If you happen to have an extra tenor, just put them on and Bob's (or Bari's) your uncle. Its not the world's best Bari, but I've heard a lot worse. The clarity of the spruce top comes through nicely with each string ringing clearly.

I own two baris - a Kala cedar top, & a Lani spruce top (with a slightly shorter scale, about 1/2" less) - the Kala is in linear D, the Lani is in re entrant D. :music:

I am reading and appreciating all you (ALL) have said. I like DGBE and I like dGBE as well. I also like tenro gCEA and GCEA. I am just wanting to make sure that I don't stress the tops on any uke by going to a higher tuning (i.e. gCEA on a 19") thanks to all. J.C.

I have a Kala super tenor (19" neck) and I like re-entrant high g tuning (gCEA). I find the re-entrant D tuning, often used for baritones, a bit too low sounding because I prefer a "ukulele" kind of tone. I sent an e-mail to Kala and they said that for high g tuning I can use ANY tenor strings...even if the super tenor 's neck is two inches longer. So I did it: I tried first with regular D'Addario tenor fluorocarbons, and I found that the tension was a bit too high...now, Kala says do not worry, but to me the higher tension was making the tone too bright. Then, I tried with regular D'Addario tenor nylon strings, because nylon strings have a lower tension. It worked well, the super tenor tuned gCEA with nylon sounded good, and sounded like an ukulele (which is what I like). But I am not a big fan of nylons....Currently, I am set on this solution: I use TENOR cGEA strings on my super tenor (any brand, including fluorocarbons, Aquilas etc...) but I tune the ukulele down one full step, i.e. f Bb D G. I love how it sounds, the tension is perfect (not too high, not to sloppy) and the sound is beautiful, with lot of sustain. And....if I want to play in cGEA, I just put a capo on the second fret ! I am liking this solution so much that I set my baritone the same way (i.e. using tenor strings and tuning it to f Bb D E). In fact, the main reason why I like super tenors and baritones is because I am 6ft tall and have big hands, and love the extra room of super tenors and baritone necks. But I love the re-entrant tuning because I want a "ukulele" sound. So my suggestion to you is: for high g tuning, use tenor nylon strings. Or, use any other kind of strings and tune down to f Bb D G. Try it !