I was was thinking that a Tenor Uke with a double 4th 'string' comprised of both Hi and Lo G strings could be an enticing proposition! There must be something like this available. Does anyone know of/have experience with such a beast? Thanks!
Yes I owned a Compass Rose 5 string tenor and it was very nice. I had it set up with Low G on the 5th position and high G on the 4th. It had a wonderful chimey, shimmering sound to it.
As said above, 5 string ukes are common, just a regular uke with a "course" (double string) as the lower string, 2 g's set an octave apart, fretted by the same finger.
But if I'm not mistaken, you are searching for an instrument with 5 separate strings which would let you play alternatively with hi g and low g, are you ?
If so, i've got good news for you : such an instrument indeed exists, it's a called a " canarian timple", basically a 5 string tenor uke used in folk music in the canaries islands. The original tuning is re-entrant, but of course you can tune it anyway you want. I've got mine strung g-G-c-e-a and nicknamed it "omni-tenor".
The truth is you get best of both worlds and this enables you to play regular low g repertoire with the addition of nice campanella effect thrown here and there.
You might also consider the baritone version of this instrument, which is called a Rajao. All these are not widespread, but not impossible to purchase online, for a reasonable price.
Hope this helps, regards.
Gilles
I was was thinking that a Tenor Uke with a double 4th 'string' comprised of both Hi and Lo G strings could be an enticing proposition! There must be something like this available. Does anyone know of/have experience with such a beast? Thanks!
I have a Kmise 5-string and a Cocobolo 5-string, both tenors. Very nice sound. I don't recall if the G-strings are high or high/low. Adding strings to a uke produces a very nice sound. I have 4, 5, 6, and 8-string ukes. More is better.
No, I was just wondering about, "... just a regular uke with a 'course' (double string) as the lower string, 2 g's set an octave apart, fretted by the same finger." I now see that they are readily available. Thanks!
No, I was just wondering about, "... just a regular uke with a 'course' (double string) as the lower string, 2 g's set an octave apart, fretted by the same finger." I now see that they are readily available. Thanks!
