Tenor owners: Tuning: Low G, Reentrant, or both?

What tuning is on your tenor(s)?


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Doc_J

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With the addition of 2nd tenor (KoAloha) I thought I would have a low G and a standard tuning tenor, but my tenors both sound so good in low G. I can't seem to force one into being reentrant (Maybe I need a 3rd tenor).;)

So, what do you have on your tenor(s)?

[Yes, I realize there is at least one existing poll, but it did not have 3 choices, only 2.]
 
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I don't tend to deviate from whatever tuning was on the uke when I purchased it. I'm of the opinion that a ukulele is meant to be played and heard as the maker intended; low g, high g, strings, et al. Believe me, I know I'm in the minority around here. I just don't have the time or patience to try and get the best out of something in an altered state, but that's just me. I don't like fussing with stuff. I have a KoAloha tenor that I wouldn't even dream putting a high g string on, and similarly a Maui Music tenor that doesn't need a low g trial, because it's perfect as is. To each their own...
 
Recently, I've been preferring low g. I have two Kamaka HF3 tenors, and I was using the one with reentrant tuning almost all the time because I use it to play Hawaiian music in my two Hawaiian music classes. When one of my instructors said that he preferred low g (he plays an 8-string) for Hawaiian music, I began using my low g Kamaka tenor for Hawaiian music as well. I have a Mya-Moe tenor that's strung low g because I use it almost exclusively for non-Hawaiian music.

Having said all that, I believe that this is all a matter of personal preference and taste, and I wouldn't swap out the low g string of an ukulele if I was really enjoying the low g sound simply because a majority or plurality of people voting in a UU poll said they preferred reentrant tuning. If I were in your position, I'd definitely keep the Compass Rose low g, and if I wanted a reentrant tenor I'd use the KoAloha for that, because to my ear KoAloha tenors generally have a brighter sound than CR tenors, and I find that the brighter sound may be better suited to reentrant tuning. Or, if I really liked the way they both sounded as low g tenors, I'd just leave them that way because I think KoAlohas and Compass Roses sound different enough that your two tenors will sound different even with both of them strung for low g tuning.
 
I have a linear (low) G and a rentrant (hi G) tenors . To make it interesting I tune the hi G to a Bb key. F,Bb,D,G. I like it much better than tuned to rentrant C.
 
I keep a Koaloha in low-G and play that mainly for solo finger style arrangements. I keep a Lanikai maple model in high G which is use if strumming or for some arrangements (mainly classical and baroque) which are fingerstyle, but require that tuning.

Jon
 
Tenor Flea, tuned low g. Initially I hated low g (bought a pre-owned soprano Flea that came with one), but really grew to like it after I decided it wasn't a betrayal to "uke sound". :eek: Now I compose specifically using the low g and never play reentrant anything, but I do like to listen to reentrant ukes.
 
Of my four tenor ukes, three are low g and one is re-entrant, but I never play the high g so they might as well all be low g. I do think some songs sound better high g, but I do almost all fingerpicking, and I like the low g for the extra notes it gives me.
 
My Glyph is and will always be high g and Dave is very happy about that. My Pono is low G and my Mya-Moe that will be completed at the end of the month is coming low G. The tenor fluke is high g. The Pono will possibly go to reentrant D or Bb. We shall see.
 
I have one low g and two high g. Lichty tenor is low because that uke takes the lower range the best. My Riggio and Pohaku tenors in re-entrant sound different from one another, but better in that tuning I think. If I had to switch out, I would try low g on the Riggio and keep the Pohaku re-entrant.

I have both tunings because I like songs that require each for variety.
 
Two have low Gs, and one has both (8-string)
 
My custom is strung linear. My Pineapple Sunday, which had a tenor neck, but is voiced more like a soprano, is re-entrant. It's like comparing apples and oranges.
 
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I keep my Mainland Tenor Low G and My Moore Bettah High G. I have found that some songs I play sound better in Low G while most sound best High G. So I keep one in each tuning.
 
Tenor Tunings

I know this to be outside the scope and design of your survey, but you might also find you like the sound of a tenor tuned as DGBE linear and/or reentrant.
 
All of my tenors are low g. Maybe I'll keep my next tenor a High G. Or at least the one after that. Who am I kidding even my concert and super concert are strung low g. I only have one uke that is re-entrant and that's my soprano.
 
I just recently received my first low g, my Compass Rose came strung that way. I have to say I really like it, though I can see where you wouldn't want that particular sound depending on what you're playing. That's what is so interesting about stringed instruments like a guitar or ukulele, they can have such a variety of voices that can be utilized or enjoyed. Unfortunately, that feeds the UAS as well.
 
All of my tenors are low g. Maybe I'll keep my next tenor a High G. Or at least the one after that. Who am I kidding even my concert and super concert are strung low g. I only have one uke that is re-entrant and that's my soprano.

You know you will have to try low g on your soprano some day. ;)

Only my tenors are in low g. I have tried low g on a concert and soprano, and thought they sounded good. But my ear likes sopranos and concerts in standard re-entrant tuning.
 
When I get a tenor I'll tune it either linear Bb, reentrant G or as a cuatro (low reentrant D). Or a step or two higher depending on how it sounds.

Speaking with Dirk from Southcoast he recommended a person not go to a Bb with linear tuning. I tried it and it really deadends the sound. But with the rentrant tuning, the Bb made my tenor sing even more.
 
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