It took me awhile but I finally found low G strings that feel comfortable. I prefer using a low G for its sound but started with wound Low G strings which adversely affected my playing. Switched to .91mlm unwound and am very happy with those. Ordered them from Strings By Mail. Of my 14 ukuleles only three have the low G. I want to eventually have a 50/50 split!!
Hi, Katie, hope all is well for you and your family. It's great to have some clarity on these things, thank you ☺. I find it depends on what atmosphere you want to create. The high G goes well with more cheerful tunes but I do quite like the sound of the low g. I'm trying a 5 string ukelele with low and high G and I'm liking the sound it makes. My ukeleles are inexpensive (Donner concert , Aklot tennor 5 and 4 strings and a Kmise soprano for fun!). This makes me not frightened to adjust things, that way I understand the workings. Hopefully that will help me know what to look for in a music shop! Oh dear, I've never said so much, tanks for all your efforts, Katie, much appreciated ☺
Happy Trails, Miss KT 🙋♀️ This was a great teaching on the versatile merits of the G-string: high or low... I started ukulele February 20, 2020 on a Kala baritone as I used to play guitar. Because of the DGBE tuning, while watching hi-g tutorials, I changed finger shapes to DBGE shapes. Most printables provide the GCEA shapes & I would write/color/draw in the DGBE shapes... When I finally got my first real GCEA soprano, I really missed the low g. So I acquired the Enya X1 Concert cutaway and immediately restrung with low g & I fell in love with low g. When I discovered that fingerstyle is better with low-G, I was smitten... I've also contracted UAS: I have 2 sopranos: 1 hi-G (a beautiful traditional mahogany Vangoa VU401CE) & 1 low-g (Enya EUS 25D). I have 3 working concerts: 1 Hi-G (Lohanu Spalted Maple) & 2 low-g (Kala Teakwood Cutaway & Lohanu Spalted Maple; with the different tonewoods I have different sounds/voicings). I still have KalaB(aritone) as she helps me channel Garth Brooks & other country favs. And one of the internal bracings must has come loose on the Enya Concert X1 Cutaway & it makes a chunking noise so she's in the case. I have an ukulele to play every day, and ever since I heard your mom call them "Tribbles", that is exactly how I refer to them... So much fun!!! Lastly -- I think you'll get a kick out of this: one of my prayers before playing is thanking Papa for giving me "the mind of Christ and the fingers of Jesus" as I truly believe that "my" Jesus played the lyre & totally enjoyed all music during His time here... So my Tribbles are all playing praise & worship as our major theme... And sending Ps 118.24 to hug you until next time...🙋♀️👍 "Ragamuffin" CharLee
Thank you for explaining these differences. I've seen videos on this subject, but nothing that addressed the fingerpicking issues in such depth. I've been playing with a low G for most of my 2-year ukulele journey. I recently decided to switch things up with a high G just to switch things up a bit. For some reason I thought that the low G was somehow "wrong" for fingerpicking. I instantly regretted the change as I really love the monotonic nature of the low G scale. I also don't like the number of pitch duplications with high G picking, which sounds like I'm playing the same string twice and not getting the range I like.
Hey Katie, I really love how you're not biased at all, seeing the advantages of both. I love your attitude and the spirit. Your personality really reflects the happy spirit of the ukulele! Really enjoy your videos. I don't have an ukulele strung with the low G yet because I haven't been able to find it, I tried to order one but it was false advertisement, so I've grown accustomed to the high G. I think high G ukes sound like the Welsh double harp, once I discovered this quality of the high G uke, I really appreciate it. I use the high G as a doubling effect almost all the time, sometimes it's just easier for chord melody in my experience. I'd love to try out the low G though someday because I also love the familiar guitar like sound the low G offers. Right now I have a concert and a tenor, I'm still deciding which one to string with a low G. Lol 😂
I have found that my students that switch from guitar to uke do find it a bit of an adjustment when fingerpicking because they expect the 4th string to be the lowest in pitch.
I agree, even for me, I find it a bit of an adjustment whenever I do practise the guitar and then switch back to the ukulele. I love the sound of the guitar but the ukulele is so much easier on my hand, I just haven't built up strength for the guitar yet. Anyway, I've finally strung my tenor with the low G, it instantly resonated so beautifully and I love it! I was initially a bit disappointed that my tenor didn't resonate quite the way as I'd like it to be and also because it's more expensive than my concert yet my concert seems to resonate more. I'm glad I made that decision, I feel like my tenor was meant to be a low G instrument after all.
I have a wound low G on my tenor which is the one I am drawn to play most. It just sounds fuller and more similar to a guitar. I have a soprano high G and a Kala Waterman concert high G for the boat!
Beautiful! I have 6 ukuleles, all with high G, but I think you just convinced me to change 1 of them to a high G. Can't wait to download the chord chart from Patreon. By the way, Cordoba ukuleles are my favorite. Thanks, Katie!
Oh cool to know! Which models do you have made by Cordoba? I mentioned this in another comment when someone asked if they could put a low G on any ukulele model. There are wound and also nylon low G strings, so you'll have to do your research. I haven't tried too many brands, so I left out recommendations out of this video for that reason until I have more time to really dig into it. There are some great resources out there, and RU-vid is full of great teachers and people that put out some great content. "In my opinion, I think it depends. Some slotted bridges don't have a hole that is big enough to thread the thicker string through, so you'll have to make sure you examine your uke and see what kind of bridge you have (tie, pin, drill through). The enya nova ukuleles come with a disclaimer to not use steel or wound strings on the plastic/carbon fiber ukuleles. I'm thinking they made that disclaimer because adding a low G string that is wound (made of steel with another piece of steel wound around it), might mess with the neck tension or scratch the frets.
@@OneMusicSchool I have a Cordoba 15CM 15 Series Mahogany Concert Ukulele and a Cordoba 15CB 15 Series Bocote Concert Ukulele but I love the High G on them. I would probably change to low G on my Luna, Enya or Lohanu. I already changed my Enya's strings as I don't like the ones that come with it. I changed them to Aquila Super Nylgut. Although they are not pricey, I like their sound and feel. My Enya's sounded like a toy before I changed them. Thanks so much for this great video and valuable information.
great topic great video so as always ;-) I have both types of ukuleles; the low G-string, however, is a "normal" guitar string. My dream is a 5, 6 or 8 string ukulele so that I don't have to decide. Otherwise I definitely prefer the high G-string because of the "typical" Hawaiian sound.
great video! I am still torn on it as I like the classic Ukulele sound.. I am going with GHS Strings Signature curated by Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel Low-G non wound, sound great
Love your channel and you do an awesome job with all your videos to those learning and even advance players.. I am however, gonna step in here and also say that Low G or High G can also be influenced by the fact of what material the Uke is made of... Such as Mahogany, Spruce, Linwood, etc.. that also has a lot to do with the sound quality, plus the type of strings one uses. Unwounded G or Nylgut, etc.. (even the size of the Uke must be considered, when using Low G or High G.. just saying..So many factors to consider with the overall sound that the musician is actually looking for.. Just my take.. Keep on teaching TEACH.. ! Have a great day Katy..
I completely agree with you, and thanks for mentioning this. This video was more so about what the note options for fingerpicking and why someone might choose a low or a high G. I was just talking to a few people in the comments to be aware of what kind of bridge they have and some low G strings are wound and some are nylon. The Enya Nova ukuleles specifically say not to use steel strings, and I'm thinking it's because it could cause neck tension issues, but that's just my speculation. Thanks for watching :). I appreciate it.
I have seen people stringing both high G and low G together.Do you think is a good idea?Thanks Miss Katie.And also may I know what kind of string would you recommend if I want to string a low G .
Do you think, a low G ukulele would allow one to sing a song at a lower pitch? My voice is an alto tone and with my high G Uke, the tone is too high for my alto range.
Thanks for watching and thanks for your question. In my opinion, I think it doesn't matter. I think it all depends upon how you want the song to sound and which tone you'd prefer. You can sing along to any song with a high or low G in my opinion.
I am new. I started with a KLO Banjolele and tuned it high, but I recently bought a Fender Ukelele and it was tuned low and I love it. I am not experienced enough to know if it is a difference with the tuning, or the string quality, or the tuning, but I definitely prefer the low sound...maybe the country background?
I’m really enjoying your content Katie, I’m just getting back into the ukulele and binge watching heaps of RU-vidrs, do you think it’s possible to apply a low G on a Flight Travel Uke? Long neck soprano.
Thank you, This was a great video. What brand strings do you have on your low G uke? PS. I lived in Appleton when I was a kid. I went to Franklin Elementary, St Francis Xavier and Einstein. I lived on Pershing Street. I loved Appleton.
Oh so cool! It’s amazing to see how many people from the Appleton area come out of the woodwork. I’ve tried a Low G from Aquila and Daddario, but my experience is limited as far as how many brands I’ve tried. That’s my next project.
If you're coming from a guitarist point of view you're going to prefer the low G, but eventually you're going to want to buy a second Uke fitted with a high G
Hi Katie, I think that you shouldn't have to choose. Even if you don't get UAS it's a good idea to have a low G and a high g in your arsenal. I'm no great player ( arthritic fingers notwithstanding ) but I have two by my chair most of the time,one low one high. I've tried ,ow G on a concert and it didn't sound balanced . I think maybe the shorter scale length ? I have a Kanile'a K1cs now and low g is fine. The high g one is a K1c and they make a nice pair. There are advantages to being old such as disposable pension income and so to get the best out of me I got the best I can afford. I use living water strings as I find the fluorocarbon more comfortable for my fingers. I have been known to use worth browns and use those on my two Tenors. I like the sound of the Concert size better though and Soprano, even with a 38mm nut and generous string spacing is, if you'll pardon the pun, a bridge too far for my incalsitrant paws. Seems to me that a shorter scale than the Tenor length results in not being able to get enough tension in a thicker string to produce a good sound and believe me I have tried. I hope you would agree there is a sweeter more traditional sound from the smaller body of the Concert and well it's certainly more pleasing to my ear at least. Good demo 👍
Does stringing a low g favor songs that are in the key of G? I've dabbled with the low g and some of the songs in the key of C don't sound quite right.
Good question. I think it depends. Some slotted bridges don't have a hole that is big enough to thread the thicker string through, so you'll have to make sure you examine your uke and see what kind of bridge you have (tie, pin, drill through). The enya nova ukuleles come with a disclaimer to not use steel or wound strings on the plastic/carbon fiber ukuleles. I'm thinking they made that disclaimer because adding a low G string that is wound (made of steel with another piece of steel wound around it), might mess with the neck tension or scratch the frets.
There is no difference in how you tune a Low G or High G. Use the Tuner the same way. GCEA..its the placement of the strings that is used to tune it..For example the Low G is the thicker sting (4th string ) then the C (3rd string) E (2nd string) then A (1st string) Example:strings are placed from thick to thin..hope that helps.
@@OneMusicSchool Your welcome Katy..I also teach Ukulele but I don't do it online or on RU-vid..I teach a few students at a Local Community, public library, at a more personal level, and can plays songs in a group setting, and extra tutorial can be set up for students needing some extra help.. again Katy your doing a beautiful job. btw: I've been a musician for a long time, since grade school so I know music inside out.. but now I'm retired at an old age . so as the saying goes once a Musician, it never goes away !!!
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I am french so I have trouble to specify what I would like to say. I give you a example do you use aquilla strings or wich one for you is better. Also you talk about round strings what is the mark. I have to change mine for the first time and I have 2 ukulele and I need help. I will have one with high G and the other one with low G. Thank you for your lessons they are what I need.
Hola bendiciones está muy guapa amiga eres un sol guapa bendiciones Dios te bendiga guaicima témazo 3333💏🏞️🎤💕💕🎚️🎚️🎚️🎚️💕💕💕🎶🌷♥️🐸💝🌲🌺🏵️🏞️🎤🎤😅💕🎚️🎚️🎚️🎚️💕😅😅🎤🌷♥️♥️❤️🎹💏💏🏞️🎤🎤🎶💕💕💕♥️♥️♥️🐸🇪🇸🖤🖤🏞️🏞️🎤🎤
I have a five string Oscar Schmidt and I love the mellow sound but getting replacement Low G wire wound strain in my town has been a problem. I’ve tried contacting Oscar Smith numerous times for exact replacement strings and I have heard absolutely nothing. Do you have any suggestions I would definitely appreciate them. I totally enjoy all your tutorials keep up the good work❤️🕊🙏🏻
