Low G on a Soprano?

[MusicalApprentice]

I'm curious, what do folks think of low G on a Soprano? Is it a nice variation, or something that doesn't really work. I am finding it to be something that really works both ways (high G and low G) surprising well, with a richness of sounds in both cases, on a Tenor, and am curious if people find the same richness of sounds both ways on a Soprano. Or if that is something that doesn't work. Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[Jan D]

A low G on a Soprano can work wonderfully well. The Romero Creations Soprano is a good example. I think it mostly depends on the brand and/or model of ukulele, as well as the brand and/or type of strings used. Hopefully others will chime in with more specifics.

 

[rainbow21]

Another thread on this:

Low G on soprano

Hi! I'm thinking to give a chance to a low G on my soprano. Have somebody any experience with this? How does it work? Sorry for my English, I'm from Spain 😅.

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

 

[kissing]

Works just fine. All there is to it.

 

[ukuevey]

I'm curious, what do folks think of low G on a Soprano? Is it a nice variation, or something that doesn't really work. I am finding it to be something that really works both ways (high G and low G) surprising well, with a richness of sounds in both cases, on a Tenor, and am curious if people find the same richness of sounds both ways on a Soprano. Or if that is something that doesn't work. Thoughts? Experiences?

I have a Koaloha KSM-25 silver with a wound low g. Sweet!!

 

[jimavery]

I owned a vintage (I guess 1930s or so) soprano scale banjo ukulele once which was evidently made to take a low G in that the tuner was larger and there was a wider diameter hole in the tail piece and larger slot in the nut to accommodate it. I never tried playing it with one because I had it strung left-handed. I believe it shows that low G soprano has been a "thing" for quite some time though.

I doubt my thin-bodied Brüko would resonate a low G very well but might try one on my Ortega "Keiki" soprano sometime if I come across a piece I really want to play that demands it.

 

[gilles T]

Hello,
I once tried low g on a cheap mahalo ; it worked like a charm and made the instrument even more balanced than hi-G.
All you have to do is to try and decide for yourself. No big deal.
Cheers,
Gilles

 

[Graham Greenbag]

I'm curious, what do folks think of low G on a Soprano? Is it a nice variation, or something that doesn't really work. I am finding it to be something that really works both ways (high G and low G) surprising well, with a richness of sounds in both cases, on a Tenor, and am curious if people find the same richness of sounds both ways on a Soprano. Or if that is something that doesn't work. Thoughts? Experiences?

It’s a question that’s been raised before, the answer is that experiences vary but many Sopranos can support a low G. As to richness of sound I wouldn’t like to say, but as a rule of thumb richness of sound improves with both Uke size and cost. Intonation can be an issue on thick plain strings and particularly so on Sopranos - my own low G Uke (a Concert) uses a wound string and IIRC it fitted straight into the nut, a plain low G string would have been too wide to do that.

Dedicated low G strings are available for Ukes, some people find it cost effective and just as good to use a guitar D string (wound).

 

[Patty]

I’ve owned several sopranos (though now I have only concerts), and Low-G is all I’ve ever played. I love it, the ukes love it, and it works so much better with my style of music. More depth and range.

 

[Bill Sheehan]

Although I continue to be a "re-entrant" guy, this clip is all I needed to see, to realize that a low G can work quite nicely on a soprano!

 

[ksiegel]

My Waverly St #38 Soprano is strung Low-G. Here's a video from Season 47, that I recorded in January 2013

I still love the sound.



(Oh, my! There was a lot less Gray/White in my hair, 11 years ago!)

 

[baconsalad]

I have low g on around 60 percent of my ukes. Low g lets me translate my guitar fingerstyle logic a little easier. High g though is awesome because it gives extra character to strummed chords. It often gives them a free, no effort lead melody note on every downstrum. I think you just need an extra uke.

 

[Bill Sheehan]

My Waverly St #38 Soprano is strung Low-G. Here's a video from Season 47, that I recorded in January 2013

I still love the sound.



(Oh, my! There was a lot less Gray/White in my hair, 11 years ago!)

Awesome tune there, Kurt! And don't worry, that "smattering" of gray and white only serves to make you look more distinguished!

 

[man0a]

Although I continue to be a "re-entrant" guy, this clip is all I needed to see, to realize that a low G can work quite nicely on a soprano!

Ohta-San was perhaps the most popular and influential ukulele player in the late 20th century. After spending 10 years in the US Marines during the Korean War, he toured the world playing his ukulele and released dozens of albums. While Kamaka has released two Ohta-San model ukuleles that are specially designed for low-G, I've only seen Ohta-San playing low-G Martin sopranos. He has a lot of videos on YouTube that are all great (some are audio-only tracks from his albums, others are live performances).

 

[Mike $]

Low G on a soprano works fine as you will quickly see if you use the search tab.

 

[ploverwing]

Love my aNueNue Moonbird (formerly Patty's) with low G, it sounds glorious. My Ohana cedar top willow laminate sounds nice with a low G, although I wasn't satisfied by the sound of that soprano overall, hence the aNueNue.

But if you want that "traditional" ukulele sound, you might not be pleased.

A lot of people opine that the soprano scale length is too short, or that the body isn't deep enough, to handle a low G. Sure, that may be the case, but it's definitely not universal. Try it on for size and see what you think. You may need to try a few different tensions and string types if you're keen, because the first you try might not work as desired. Have fun with the exploration!

 

[ailevin]

My advice is experiment and find what works for you. The only caution I would give, is that putting a low G on a soprano does not magically transform it to sound like a tenor. It sounds like a low G soprano, and depending on the ukulele and the player that can be a wonderful thing. I mention this, because I primarily play Low G, and there was a time that I thought that an excellent soprano with a low G could be my mini-tenor. It really didn't work that way for me.

 

[MusicalApprentice]

.
Thanks for all the great responses, examples, information and videos!

I'm curious which strings folks have liked best for replacing a soprano high G, when trying it out / experimenting.
The Fremont "SOLOIST" Wound Low-G seems to be a favorite of some.
Do folks have other favorites?

 

[ploverwing]

Soloist is my fav so far. I've tried La Bella, Pepe Romero and Oasis "Warm" wounds, and I think D'Addario Pro Arté fluorocarbons (although most of those were on tenors other than the Pepe Romero and La Bellas). I don't love unwound personally, but a lot of people don't love wound.

 

[man0a]

.
Thanks for all the great responses, examples, information and videos!

I'm curious which strings folks have liked best for replacing a soprano high G, when trying it out / experimenting.
The Fremont "SOLOIST" Wound Low-G seems to be a favorite of some.
Do folks have other favorites?

You need to experiment to figure out what works best for your playing style and your ukuleles. Some people really like the boomy sound of wound strings, but some people find them too hard to control. Also, fluorocarbon low-G strings are fatter than wound strings and may not fit as easily on some ukuleles. Lately, I've been using La Bella wound and Aquila Red unwound low-G strings.