In my experience, it is pretty standard for the low G string to ring out longer. Or, it could be as simple for them as filing down the fret the string is buzzing up against. I still had this pack of strings of a baritone uke. Thanks for your answer. I have a Kala Tenor traveler and it has Aquila strings the high G set. I want to change to low G so I can have the five extra notes below middle C. Do I only have to change the G string and leave the other strings in place? Will the cord fingering still be the same as for high G tuning?
Hi Don, yep, you would just need to replace the top g-string. The chord finger positions are the same between both tunings. That was an excellent video and just what I needed. Thank you very much. Don Mallory. I bought your course and I have your free book. I also bought your Dummies book.
You were going to manually put me on the list, but I have not gotten any newsletters yet. Could you help me start receiving them. Hi Don, I have manually added you to my email list. You should receive the next email update in the near future.
Hi Brett, I have a little bit different question. Whether you use standard or low G tuning, Your uke fret board only goes to the A string. But a lot of songs have notes that are difficult or impossible to play. I have a KoHala and Martin, both tenors and neither are good past the 10th fret. What do you do to reach the notes in the upper range of the musical scale?
I used to play a harmonica and found I could drop down an octave to catch notes that were out of range. I am about half way through your strumming course but I am really interested in playing single notes or finger picking. Hi George, both of my concert and tenor ukuleles have at least fifteen frets, which allows me to reach those higher notes. What makes you say the notes are no good past the 10th fret on your ukuleles? Bret, When I try to play strings below the 10th fret, all I get is a dull clunk sound.
Do these instruments need some attention from a luthier? OR — is my technique lacking? It might be worth having a luthier take a look at it, if when you press down on the string the string is getting caught on another fret. This could be an indication of an action problem and need attention. Bret, Thanks for your time and advise. By the way, I got your book of exercises. I really like this web site and you instruction. Thanks so much for your efforts. On another blog, I asked about it and you said something like you are in the process of putting together fingerpicking lessons.
I prefer learning online lessons with videos than from a book :. Thanks for all the work you do btw. Hi Brett, I recently got a soprano uke as a present and your website has been an immense help in practising! I wanted to explore a bit with the lower g string for a richer sound, and came across two different types of low g string — the unwound and wound string.
What are the differences in sound and which would you recommend for a soprano ukulele? Hi Sachi, a wound string is normally steel-wound, which means there will be more of a brighter or metallic tone to the sound. I imagine this is to bring some balance to the natural darkness of the lower-tuned string. When I tune my Kamoa Concert uke with a wound low-G string, it sound horrible. Checking it on my chromatic tuner, it starts flat, rises to the note, and then wanders sharp.
Bad string? Something about the way the instrument is set-up? High G works just fine. Hi Todd, how new are the strings?
It almost seems like the strings might be stretching still. It could also be an issue with the nut or saddle on your ukulele. I just tuned my Kamaka Bari, using the low G. I canibalized a G string from a Bari set. Using the low G seems to take some of the clukiness new word out of the normal gCEA tuning. Seems to ring out more. Hi, Some more tips and tricks?
The metal winding starts to oxidate immediately, the winding loosens often and they sound dead long before the other strings in the set are finished. A good guitarshop has single strings of this brand. The string will sit up in the slot and rest too high above the fretboard. Otherwise, hire someone competent to do the job.
The easiest way to do this is by folding a piece of fine-grit sandpaper a number of times until its width is similar to the new string and the edge is nicely rounded. Then, place the sandpaper file in the nut slot and gently slide it back and forth along the length of the slot. Since more and more people are transitioning to low-G, many uke companies are anticipating the use of both string types and file the nut so that it will accommodate either.
Getting the octave right on your strings can be a challenge when you are just starting out. If you try to tune a low-G string to high-g pitch it will most likely break.
For reference, a low-G note is G3: hz. A high-g is G4: hz. Some tuner apps will tell you which octave you are in in addition to the pitch of the string. I like insTuner. Because of this design, wound strings can hold the same tension as an unwound string with a smaller diameter. Wound low-G technology has improved over the years. In the beginning, these strings were overly rich sounding and would sustain far longer than unwound strings.
This gave them a bit of a bad stigma since the transition to and from a wound low-G would often be distracting as you played. They also often would squeak when you slide you finger on them. Thankfully, leaps and bounds have been made in wound low-G production and there are some really good options available these days that address both imbalance and squeaking issues.
They balance fabulously with fluorocarbon and are flatwound to reduce noise from hand shifts. Fremont Soloist — Same basic specs as the TI strings, but crafted at what seems to be a bit lower level.
Only available in one size, but cheaper than a CF Classical Guitar D-strings — Any string used as a nylon classical guitar 4th, D-string can also be used as an ukulele low-G. Though not specifically designed for it, they will serve the purpose fine. Options abound! The unfortunate truth is, you get what you pay for. There are lots of well-known ukulele manufacturers that do a great job of producing low quality but playable ukes.
Even still, you are likely to pay roughly the price of a weekly food shop for one of these. If you know that your uke is not one of these cheap ukes, there are some other things that might be making it not sound good. Maybe you started to play the ukulele a few months ago and you had a break from it. You have gone back to it, tuned it up but something sounds off. There is a chance that the humidity levels have caused something bad to happen to the wood.
It can bend, warp and even crack. A good way to combat this is to use a case for your ukulele and a portable humidifier. Fresh strings need time to stretch and settle into place. By that we mean they need to be tweaked a lot after you put them on. This is completely normal and every single ukulele in the world goes through this when it has just been re-strung.
The time frame from putting them on and them finally beginning to settle is going to make your ukulele sound bad. This is one of those things you just have to exercise patience with. If you have more than one ukulele, re-string them at separate times. That way you can keep playing while the other is in its settling in-phase. Maybe your ukulele was passed down to you from a family member.
An easy fix up is some fresh strings. While there is no specific time frame in which you should change your strings. That depends on how much you play it. You should consider changing them if they start to sound dull and lifeless. Lastly and the least problematic issue.
You are playing your ukulele a lot. That is not a problem, I repeat, that is NOT a problem. It might just mean that you are a heavy strummer. I suppose you could calm it down a bit but the better option is to train yourself to keep your ukulele in tune. Remember Me. Forgot password?
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