Perhaps a dumb question, but…hear goes

[rreffner]

If you downtune a set of hard tension strings, does the set remain hard tension? “Logic”, tells me no. What says ye?

 

[Uke with Smitty]

Then they become medium tension strings?

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

My SWAG is that the strings themselves retain the same non-stretched tension, but this is best addressed by a string and materials expert such as @mimmo.

 

[rainbow21]

Well you are lessening the tension by down tuning them. There is no hard and fast rule on when they are medium, I suspect.

 

[ripock]

I don't know how to answer without sounding sarcastic, but--yeah--if you loosen the strings they become looser. Since they started out with more tension, they'll have more tension than a detuned regular set of strings that has been similarly detuned.

 

[rreffner]

I don't know how to answer without sounding sarcastic, but--yeah--if you loosen the strings they become looser. Since they started out with more tension, they'll have more tension than a detuned regular set of strings that has been similarly detuned.

Good answer ripock. Obviously not sarcastic. I am enjoying the step down tuning. The strings have much improved sustain and barring is cleaner. Thanks for the prompt reply too. Best wishes and have a great new year.

 

[LimuHead]

I don't know how to answer without sounding sarcastic, but--yeah--if you loosen the strings they become looser. Since they started out with more tension, they'll have more tension than a detuned regular set of strings that has been similarly detuned.

^This^

The answer.

 

[ripock]

Good answer ripock. Obviously not sarcastic. I am enjoying the step down tuning. The strings have much improved sustain and barring is cleaner. Thanks for the prompt reply too. Best wishes and have a great new year.

I had tumbled on the same observation. I don't know anything about science but I found that at standard tuning my A string wasn't resonant enough to do glissandi and other parlor tricks. So I downtuned to E A C# F# and found I liked it better. Nowadays I tune my A string to a tension that allows me to enjoy it and then I tune the other strings to match the A string. To be honest I would have thought a tighter string would have yielded the results I was after...but I have to admit the results even if I cannot explain them logically.

 

[Voran]

Yeah there's this odd myth that ukuleles don't have sustain.

Downtune a little and you'll find that they do.

Source: My Snail, my 5-stringed Baton Rouge supertenor, even my tiny sopranissimo.

 

[TimWilson]

I am enjoying the step down tuning. The strings have much improved sustain and barring is cleaner

@ripock mentioned that he's at E A C# F# -- is that where you are? There's obviously more than one destination, and I've haven't done nearly enough experimenting to develop a preference yet. At this point, I'm mostly just curious.

 

[Voran]

I play my new 8-stringer 2 semitones low partly because it sounds more warm and partly to take stress off the thin high C string.

 

[Canada Jim]

I play my new 8-stringer 2 semitones low partly because it sounds more warm and partly to take stress off the thin high C string.

Many folks do this with 12-string guitars as well. Two of my brothers have 12-strings and tune them this way.
I will sometimes drop my linear tuned uke to F-Bb-D-G so I can reach those high notes.

 

[Voran]

Many folks do this with 12-string guitars as well. Two of my brothers have 12-strings and tune them this way.
I will sometimes drop my linear tuned uke to F-Bb-D-G so I can reach those high notes.

Aha, I did not know that.

I did it primarily so the high C string didn't snap, but I do like the more mellow, warm, slightly rough sound.