Pure Madness: Experiments tuning soprano to fBbDG, eAC#F#, dGBE

Sometimes I get bored practicing whatever it is I'm working on and start experimenting with strings and tunings just see what happens. When I do this I record a playing sample for myself to listen back to.

Today I pulled my C string off my soprano and replaced it with a fremount soloist. Then I put the C string in the E string slot, the E string in the G string spot, and the G string in the A string spot, and tuned the whole soprano down. Just kinda wanted to see what would happen by dropping the tuning various degrees on such a small instrument.

I've been trying to learn Music Box Waltz so I'm playing an excerpt from that here. I'm still working on it so please be kind regarding my flubs, buzzes, and shifting tempo. Also, just as a note, given the sudden shifts in tuning the strings do go a little out of tune while I'm playing and at times these tunings did introduce some buzzes here or there especially on the wound 3rd string.

Here are the results from low to high.

dGBE: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bUsNEEUFif36yGMP6

eAC#F#: https://photos.app.goo.gl/h5ttXW7emCXpkXhw8

fBbDG: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z5MxUNcg2ygMzEDr9

For dGBE the tension was okay with these strings and tonally it was interesting, but not suprisingly the little soprano body just doesn't resonate well at this pitch. Volume was pretty low. It's interesting to note that the lowest note here is the same note as you would have in linear GCEA. The reason I decided to try going this low is I actually think low g can sound pretty good on some sopranos. Yeah it doesn't resonate as much as on a large body but I find that because of that it is less likely to overpower the other strings. However, this IMO is , not suprisingly, to low overall for this instrument.

I was pleasantly suprised with eAC#F#. This instrument maybe sorta can pull it off. Worth noting here that the lowest note in this tuning is the same as the lowest note in linear ADF#B tuning. I think that low A is about as low as you can go in this instrument and still get pretty decent resonance. It's still a little flubby sounding at times, but I think with the string experimenting it could sound pretty good.

Less suprisingly fBbDG tuning sounded quite nice. Just a slightly lower and slightly warmer sounding than my typical C. Even though this tuning is often reccomended for concerts and tenors, I like it here and wouldn't mind keeping a soprano setup in this tuning.

I will say that if I were to keep a uke setup this way I would probably settle on a slightly different set of strings and I will probably experiment with ditching the wound third for a thicker flourcarbon string as the wound string can be a little overpowering at times. I have a set of Martin tenor strings around which have a fairly thick 3rd so I may swap out the wound for that shortly.

Overall pleasntly suprised by this experiment! I had been thinking of getting a concert to keep tuned a step or two down, but this has me rethinking that.

Thanks for posting the videos; and nice playing.
It's interesting to hear the different tunings back-to-back, especially on a soprano.

Thanks! Yeah, I really didn't know what to expect. I stuck a Martin tenor C string on instead of the wound and have been messing with that...I think I like it better than the wound for A and Bb tuning. More balanced than the wound with the other stringsI think.

Another thanks for posting. Your discovery answers some thoughts (basically how "low" you can tune a soprano and still have it play notes that sound good) I've had about trying on a soprano for some time. At about the same time you posted, I strung one of my sopranos low G and found out just why they usually come gCEA and not GCEA; same as you concluded, the low G sounds quieter than the rest, i.e. CEA. In fact, the low G sounded like a rubber band on my soprano to be brutally honest! Back to gCEA...

eternal tinkerer said:

Another thanks for posting. Your discovery answers some thoughts (basically how "low" you can tune a soprano and still have it play notes that sound good) I've had about trying on a soprano for some time. At about the same time you posted, I strung one of my sopranos low G and found out just why they usually come gCEA and not GCEA; same as you concluded, the low G sounds quieter than the rest, i.e. CEA. In fact, the low G sounded like a rubber band on my soprano to be brutally honest! Back to gCEA...

Click to expand...

My prefered uke to play is reentrant soprano and I don't mess with low G much since getting rid of my tenors and concerts. But just for fun I did put a the Fremount Soloist on the Pohaku in GCEA tuning just see how it sounded. It actually sounded quite good on this particular uke. It was a little lackluster finger picked but sounded really great strummed. I think what made it sound good strummed is the fact that the low pitch couldn't resonate too much on the smaller body, so it sorta filled in the low end but didn't overpower the other strings or overally take away from that quintisential soprano sound. Low G on sopranos is really hit or miss, it will sound good on some but many times it won't. I think the string matters that much more too. For me, a low G on a soprano really needs to be a decent smooth wound string like a Soloist. I have a https://ukesahawaii.com/product/ao-soprano-ukulele/ arriving today or tomorrow and I actually might keep this one setup tuned a step down or in low g if it will handle it. It has a spruce top and I think the lower bout is wider than on my mahogany sopranos so I think it may handle low g or fBbC#F# tuning well. Looking forward to trying it.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Yeah, I was about to mention looking for a wide lower bout before trying a low G string. Then you covered that point in your last sentence or so, ha! Agreed that strumming a quiet low G may add something desirable while picking it alone will not. That was in the back of my mind while I tried my 20 minute experiment.

Usually strumming with low G C6 tuning does not work in my opinion as well as re-entrant standard one. Except in some keys.
You will of course have almost all the common melodic female range covered with low G string.

So you tried from what I saw G6, it is way too low for a soprano body, but got your fingerings quite right with the sloppy strings
Then A6 and Bb6, all in re-entrant.

For me C6 is the lowest I'd use with soprano. The strings are more sloppy than also than with concert, strings depending of course.
The problem with D6 tuning is that it is harder if really learning the chord names in that, to play in flat keys like F/Dm, Bb/Gm or Eb/Cm.

Jarmo_S said:

Usually strumming with low G C6 tuning does not work in my opinion as well as re-entrant standard one. Except in some keys.
You will of course have almost all the common melodic female range covered with low G string.

So you tried from what I saw G6, it is way too low for a soprano body, but got your fingerings quite right with the sloppy strings
Then A6 and Bb6, all in re-entrant.

For me C6 is the lowest I'd use with soprano. The strings are more sloppy than also than with concert, strings depending of course.
The problem with D6 tuning is that it is harder if really learning the chord names in that, to play in flat keys like F/Dm, Bb/Gm or Eb/Cm.

Click to expand...

I mostly agree with you. I really just did this to satisfy my own curiosity. Though I was pleasantly surprised by Bb6 tuning and now think it can sound really good on some sopranos with the right strings. If I dedcided I really want to play in G6 I'll get a tenor again or even a baritone. I just love sopranos so much that I wanted to see for myself how they would sound tuned down.