5-String Tenor Ukes (Hi AND Lo G)?

[Tom Karol]

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!

[DownUpDave]

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.

[badhabits]

Ohana TK-35G-5

[merlin666]

They are common and Joe Souza can be seen playing a Kanile'a of that kind sometimes. Taimane is also well known performer with 5 string uke.

[gilles T]

Hello Tom Karol,

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

[Jerryc41]

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.

The Kmise ($58) has high and low-G.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlDug2Gq6i8

[Tom Karol]

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!

[Jerryc41]

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!

Right, the double strings are fretted just like single strings. No problem at all, but tuning takes some time and care.

[Tom Karol]

Well, I once owned a 12-string guitar …
Q: How long does it take to tune a 12-string guitar?
A: Nobody knows!

[Jerryc41]

Well, I once owned a 12-string guitar …
Q: How long does it take to tune a 12-string guitar?
A: Nobody knows!

Speaking of tuning - A banjo player spends 90% of his time tuning and the remaining 10% playing out of tune.