Baritone GCEA

[TommyG]

I just got a Beansprout baritone and I requested low GCEA. Aaron has a special set that he sells for this purpose. It sounds great! You could purchase a set from him that will definitely work.

 

[Keith5523]

I just got a Beansprout baritone and I requested low GCEA. Aaron has a special set that he sells for this purpose. It sounds great! You could purchase a set from him that will definitely work.

Well I'm jealous of the Beansprout, for sure. I'll reach out to Aaron and check on a set. Thanks.
But in the meantime, will the Aquila reds work for right now?

 

[TerryM]

Couple of thoughts:

1. Are Aquila concert strings long enough to string a 20" baritone?

2. Whether justified or not, Reds are considered by some on this board as being easy to break. I haven't had that problem and like them, but I also probably wouldn't string a baritone with them and tune it regular tenor GCEA.

3. I've used both PhD and Aquila sets designed for tenor tuning GCEA and have broken the A strings more than once, so consider it the trouble maker. I've gone up a couple of thousandths on that string with Aquilas and like the results for tension, tone and durability.

 

[Keith5523]

Couple of thoughts:

1. Are Aquila concert strings long enough to string a 20" baritone?

2. Whether justified or not, Reds are considered by some on this board as being easy to break. I haven't had that problem and like them, but I also probably wouldn't string a baritone with them and tune it regular tenor GCEA.

3. I've used both PhD and Aquila sets designed for tenor tuning GCEA and have broken the A strings more than once, so consider it the trouble maker. I've gone up a couple of thousandths on that string with Aquilas and like the results for tension, tone and durability.

Good advice, my reds in the drawer will have to wait for another opportunity. I did order a set of Aquilas and PHD’s as well as the set that TommyG recommended from Aaron at Beansprout. All are designed for the Baritone. So now I may be forced to buy another baritone lol

 

[Keith5523]

I just got a Beansprout baritone and I requested low GCEA. Aaron has a special set that he sells for this purpose. It sounds great! You could purchase a set from him that will definitely work.

Thanks Tommy, I ordered a set from Aaron this afternoon.

 

[TommyG]

I can only say that they sound and feel great on mine. Hopefully you'll find the same.

 

[saltytri]

Mya-Moe sells a set to tune a baritone the same as a tenor:

Mya-Moe: Ukulele Strings & Accessories

www.myamoeukuleles.com

 

[wherahiko]

This is sorta of an old thread, so I'm hoping some of you are still following it. [...]
I have on hand, a tenor set of Aquila reds and a concert set of Aquila reds. Would either of these work GCEA on a baritone with 20" scale?

Any standard tenor set will work well on baritone if tuned a tone lower (i.e. F-B♭-D-G). You can capo at 2 to get GCEA and still have more fretboard room than on a tenor.

But if you tune the set to GCEA, the tension will be high and the top string may or not break. It'll be the same tension, approximately, as tuning those strings to D tuning on a tenor. YMMV.

The concert set will actually be lower tension and may work (if the strings are long enough).

 

[Keith5523]

Mya-Moe sells a set to tune a baritone the same as a tenor:

Mya-Moe: Ukulele Strings & Accessories

www.myamoeukuleles.com

Nice info. Thank you @saltytri. For the strings nerds in the crowd, you should visit this site. I've never seen a site that listed so much info on their strings....not only diameter, but tension as well.

And possibly some connection between the string selection offered by Aaron at Beansprout and these at Mya-Moe since Aaron lists in his bio that the worked at Mya-Moe for a number of years honing his craft before re-launching Beansprout.

 

[Keith5523]

Any standard tenor set will work well on baritone if tuned a tone lower (i.e. F-B♭-D-G). You can capo at 2 to get GCEA and still have more fretboard room than on a tenor.

But if you tune the set to GCEA, the tension will be high and the top string may or not break. It'll be the same tension, approximately, as tuning those strings to D tuning on a tenor. YMMV.

The concert set will actually be lower tension and may work (if the strings are long enough).

Thank you. I've never done well using a capo on a ukulele...they just get in my way. Why is the tension lower on a concert than a tenor? I've read that in several threads and just been too afraid to show my ignorance and ask....seems contradictory in my simple mind?

 

[Kei]

Thanks Tommy, I ordered a set from Aaron this afternoon.

Keith, when you approached Aaron about this did he happen to mention what the strings are, what makes them special for this purpose. I just strung my Beansprout bari with Living Water GCEA this week (part of that was I needed to see what all this LW madness was about - they're fine) and I'm wondering if I need to actually acquire a set from the builder of the instrument. Thanks!

 

[Keith5523]

Keith, when you approached Aaron about this did he happen to mention what the strings are, what makes them special for this purpose. I just strung my Beansprout bari with Living Water GCEA this week (part of that was I needed to see what all this LW madness was about - they're fine) and I'm wondering if I need to actually acquire a set from the builder of the instrument. Thanks!

No I didn’t ask. He simply told me to order a set of Baritone strings from his website and send him an email telling him to make them GCEA. And looking at his baritone strings on the website, I think the top 2 are wound and the other 2 flurocarbon. Haha it’s funny you say that about the LW. I bought a used Flight Fireball Baritone yesterday and it had LW tuned DGBE. They’re smooothe, a little fat like an Aquila, clear look and very clear clean sound, but not loud unless you dig in. Very easy on the fingers. Almost harp like to me. I’d be curious to hear what you think Kei? I emailed Ken Middleton just 10 mins ago to ask him if he would make me a set of gCEA for the baritone lol. These forums make you do so some crazy sh*t!!

 

[TommyG]

Here are the specifics of the Beansprout set. Although I never asked him, I think they may be GHS. He buys in bulk and probably came about this combination through experimentation. A = .0205; E = .0260; C = .0291; G = .028W. Only the G is wound.

 

[Kei]

No I didn’t ask. He simply told me to order a set of Baritone strings from his website and send him an email telling him to make them GCEA. And looking at his baritone strings on the website, I think the top 2 are wound and the other 2 flurocarbon. Haha it’s funny you say that about the LW. I bought a used Flight Fireball Baritone yesterday and it had LW tuned DGBE. They’re smooothe, a little fat like an Aquila, clear look and very clear clean sound, but not loud unless you dig in. Very easy on the fingers. Almost harp like to me. I’d be curious to hear what you think Kei? I emailed Ken Middleton just 10 mins ago to ask him if he would make me a set of gCEA for the baritone lol. These forums make you do so some crazy sh*t!!

I agree with you 100%. They sound nice. Well-balanced. Loud. Easy to play. I like them fine but I’m not sure I would purchase them again given the extra expense and limited availability. But maybe if you have a good outcome in your email exchange.

I put a $60 order in yesterday with strings by mail to try some brands I haven’t tried. All DGBE. It’ll take awhile to cycle through those.

 

[Keith5523]

I put a $60 order in yesterday with strings by mail to try some brands I haven’t tried. All DGBE. It’ll take awhile to cycle through those.

I feel your pain...self induced lol. I think mine was about $68 but different GCEA variations for both baritone and tenor. That's after buying Perry's low octave set last week. But like most here, this is one of the cheaper hobbies I've had in my entire life haha.

 

[Kei]

I feel your pain...self induced lol. I think mine was about $68 but different GCEA variations for both baritone and tenor. That's after buying Perry's low octave set last week. But like most here, this is one of the cheaper hobbies I've had in my entire life haha.

I didn't bond with the Perry's. I'm really glad that others like them because I think there's a place for them. But I didn't find enough variation in sound to keep me interested beyond the first 30 minutes. I think I'd like them best as strings to use to accompany baritones strung the octave higher.

 

[Keith5523]

I didn't bond with the Perry's. I'm really glad that others like them because I think there's a place for them. But I didn't find enough variation in sound to keep me interested beyond the first 30 minutes. I think I'd like them best as strings to use to accompany baritones strung the octave higher.

I felt the same way. So much so that I've asked my musician guitar playing son to stop by and tell me if I'm missing something. But I think you nailed it that they would sound good in a group. Plus I'm not a great finger picker, and they sounded good enough to get me to buy some when listening to others picking. I also ordered a Uke Logic low dGBE to see if that does anything for me, and I try them at some point.

 

[Kei]

I felt the same way. So much so that I've asked my musician guitar playing son to stop by and tell me if I'm missing something. But I think you nailed it that they would sound good in a group. Plus I'm not a great finger picker, and they sounded good enough to get me to buy some when listening to others picking. I also ordered a Uke Logic low dGBE to see if that does anything for me, and I try them at some point.

Keep us posted!

 

[Charles Guy]

Great bari string thread that almost has me ready to try more than the 10 or so already experimented with.

I am happy with the Worth Browns on the Kala, but would like more tension on the D string before I call them perfect.

I have D'Addario EJ-45 classical guitar strings on the Pono. ( strings 2-5) They sound very good when played right but that takes some doing. Been thinking of trying the extra Worths on it and swap in a wound D. Or might try something new.

 

[about2]

This is sorta of an old thread, so I'm hoping some of you are still following it. This regarding putting regular GCEA strings on a baritone.
I have on hand, a tenor set of Aquila reds and a concert set of Aquila reds. Would either of these work GCEA on a baritone with 20" scale? Or maybe a low gCEA using a Freemont Blackline low g I also have in the string drawer.

I have another baritone tuned DGBE, and one that I've just put a set of Perry's low octave gcea strings on. So if I put a regular set of Aquila reds tuned GCEA, if it will work, I'll have a really unique trio of baritones. And have a heckuva time getting my head to correspond to my fingers holding the same sized body and playing different chords. A completely different type of insanity lol.

Sounds like a ton of fun! Which one do you find yourself playing the most?