What is the difference between Low G versus High G?! 

TIME STAMPS (skip ahead or go back) 0:00 Video Intro 0:22 Ukuleles 0:54 Differences low and high G 1:28 Changing the string 2:02 Playing demonstration/comparison 4:37 Your thoughts and questions 4:45 Supporting the channel 5:05 Video Outro

I generally prefer the low G but once in a while, for some tunes, I think high G is better. It's best to have 2 ukuleles. But beware of Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome.

Low G Tuning was famously used by IZ of you heard his cover of Over the Rainbow hence the name IZ Tuning

for me i like the low g string because you really feel the bass and it just sounds better in my opinion

I've switched to low G 2 months ago and I love it!!!

I’ve watched a lot of videos on this subject but THIS was by far the clearest 😊

I have a Low G Ukulele and I prefer it that way. With the Low G, I found it easier to play classic rock songs and their leads, due to the range a Low G string gives you. Just the other day, some people were tripping out when I played Pink Floyd, the Doobie Brothers, Bad Company and Led Zeppelin, all on a Low G Concert Ukulele.

Low G is the best! Loving my cheapo uke so much more since I changed the strings! Has such a larger voice.

I literally changed the strings on my tenor to a low g an hour ago! While I love the high g (my concert still has it), I think it sounds a bit fuller with the low g. On a high g, every note played is very close together and sometimes it just sounds a bit tight, with the low you space the notes out a little bit more. I really like both, so I‘m really happy to have one ukulele each.

In August it will be a year I've had my concert Ukulele and I love playing the High G, but just listening to the Low G has changed my mind TREMENDOUSLY! Wow! Such a RICH SOUND! WHOA! What a big difference!

Low G sounds really massive! But I kinda feel like the high G is a more true ukulele sound? But, as always, different strokes for different folks.

I really really wanted a second ukulele, so I told myself I "needed" a low g, so that I could justify buying more instruments that I don't need haha

I have a high G tenor and my daughter has a high G soprano. We decided to get and share a low G concert. I love the sound of it on some tunes where it works, especially jazz chords or finger picking. The high G sounds much better on about 90 percent of the songs on Bernadette's channel and most of the other uke teachers out there. Glad I have both now!

The low G has a more guitar sound in that the chords sound more groups and harmonious. Love this lesson. Awesome! Thank you!

Once again you have done a great service. That was the best explanation of the low G, high G that I have seen. Rock on on my friend and teacher rock on! Thank you keep doing the great things you do.

Thank you for the comparison of high and low G string sounds. I am only starting ukulele lessons here in Australia and love your videos. So much information given in a chatty and informal manner. Thank you again.

Amazing video that does the best job of showing the difference in sound between low and high G. After watching this I will keep my high G Concert Uke and get a low G tenor. All of your videos are great, I lived in Hawaii for 30 years and played music for a living there, but mostly guitar, never picked up the uke. A lot of my friends are into uke now, so I picked one up and it's addicting, so much music in this little instrument, almost writes songs by itself. Plus, you can really hear yourself sing against the softer sound of a uke, and it makes for wonderful jams.

I love the high G ‘uke sound’, but the low G has a rich sound! I particularly liked the 3rd tune played on both where the g string was played on its own between strums, that really brought out the difference.

I have the high but I really like the sound of the low! 😀

This why two ukuleles are always better then one .And thanks again for your lovely movies .

Bernadette! Informative and fabulous, as always! Simply the best teaching style on RU-vid! Period! You are radiant and lovely as always too. The healing process is underway. Super happy for you! ❤️ BTW, people. The Patreon account is well worth it! What are you waiting for? Even the $1 a month. Some of my fave teachers have affected my life forever and Bernadette is one of those now ! Mahalo nui loa 🙏🌈😘

Hey Bernadette!! This is Roxxie, your visually impaired viewer. I just wanted to let you know that my eyes are doing so much better so I'll be able to watch more of you videos!! :)

I didn’t know you read minds too! I was asking this question in class! I was strumming a barri, and we got into a discussion about low G. Thank you Ms B! I will be sharing this vid with class!

Just to add for someone who's thinking about switching to low G - it's really great for blues solos for example, since you can go even further down than your lowest C (open C string) and expand your range that way.

Thanks for this comparison. I have a Concert and a Tenor ukulele and have ordered D'Addario fluorocarbon strings with the low G for my Tenor as I want it to have a deeper sound.

I have both low G and a high G ukes (tenor and concert). I think it really depends on what songs you are playing. Some sound better with a low g, some with a high g and some sound good on both. Finger picking blues to me comes off better with the low g, bigger dynamic range and you can get the alternating thumb doing the bass pattern. Johnny Nash's "I can see clearly now" sounds great on both. But the old jazz standard "Ain't she sweet" sounds better on the high g to my ears. Nothing wrong with Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome. As James Hill says "why have one uke when six will do?"

I’ve been want to restring my uke with a low g string. I love the full rustic sound that comes along with it. Both ukes are amazing btw!♥️♥️♥️💗💖❤️🥰😍

Just another reason to buy a new uke so I can have one with low and one with high!(Leah)

I love your channel you make the best ukulele channel

Thanks for that demonstration! I much prefer the low G, and have it on my tenors. It also helps my singing for a lot of songs I start on a G or A...

I love low G on my tenor for most of the stuff I play (acoustic guitar-like stuff) but like high G soprano for more old-timey stuff.

I'm so glad you did the low G on concert sizes. I've been debating on getting a tenor ukulele to string with a low g but the concert size fits me better. Now I've got the boost I need to take the plunge and get another concert uke and go for the low G so I can have one of each.

I love that uma evo 30 concert and how it sounds,i hope one day can buy one !!

The prefect time! I was thinking to change my strings on my Sun Star recently and thought about doing a low G. This video is perfect to help me decide. I love the deeper sound so much!

I think the H G sounds like a Ukulele Low G sound like a guitar. I have trying to decide on which one to purchase. High G is what I like.

Thank you for teaching us Ms.B~😁 Your videos always help me learn new things~❤️

Uma instruments look very well constructed. Seems to have a comfortable nut width that is not too wide. Would you have the width measurement. Apart from the sound and tone, a Low G instrument has wider range so it has more notes to play for melody picking

I use your videos in my music classroom! You taught me to play and now you are teaching my students. Thank you for this video. It's helps to emphasis what an octave is!

Thank you Bernadette! ❤ I loved low G more listening to your demo. *** It is obvious that now not only it's important to have a concert, tenor, barritone and possibly soprano ukes, but also each low G & high G! :)) Then by the time I buy acoustic ukes, I'd have to look for a bigger space, find a new job, a husband etc)).. and then keep explaining to neighbors and whoever lives with me why it is essential to have "a few" ukuleles and practice days & nights. Wait a minute... what about the guitars?? Oh, my! 😎

I like both but prefer to play some songs on 1 or the other.

Much bigger fan of low g. I thought I would be and this confirmed it. I may even look into a baritone or s guitalele. I am trying to decide what to get. Lower pitch is more comfortable to my ear though

Thanks for this very clear comparison! Other people talk too much in between and I can't remember enough to really hear the differences. This was great! And now I'm convinced I need two of each size so I can have the best of all the worlds. 😅😅😅

I LIKE that Low G! Going to do this, just ordered from Amazon. Thank you for this information and excellent demo.

I really love the low G sound. I have my tenor uke with a low G and get compliments on the warm sound.

Your Chuck flows so gracefully

I have a low G on my tenor, and high G on the concert and soprano. (I’ve only been playing 6 months and I have already fallen hard!!) I like the low G for some songs, particularly finger-picking patterns, and the high G for other songs. When I changed the strings, I originally got the eco-friendly “bio nylon” low G strings from Aquila but they felt very thick and sounded a bit dull to me. So now I have the regular Aquila nylgut strings with a wound low G and I love them. It really pays to experiment with different brands and thicknesses of strings, to see what you personally prefer - it especially makes a difference if you have a wound or un-wound low G. Don’t be afraid to change your own strings, and play around with some options. 😊 Thanks for this video, Bernadette, I love your channel!

❤ I've been thinking about getting a tenor ukulele , purely so I could put a low G string on it. But now I know you can put a low G string on a concert uke I will do that. I've got several concert ukes so I can change one over :) Thankyou.

I have restrung all my baritones GCEA with a low G and really like the sound. I recently bought a new tenor that I plan to restring with a low g. I Have two vorson solid body electric Ukes. One strung long and the other high g. I enjoy the variety of sounds and I have run into songs, when playing melody,that necessitate the low g. Thank you for the video.

Thanks for answering my own question .....I am used to high g......but would love to try low g strung

I have just started learning ukelele - got myself a low G string and changed the strings over very early on - the range of notes with low G is much larger than with high G (so it's possible to play a lot more, which is important for me as I want to play melodies as well as chords, and you get nice deep tones) and it also feels more intuitive for the strings to go up in pitch.

I appreciate the side by side comparison. It really highlights the difference between the two.

Great video! I personally think there is a place for both low G and high G. Some songs sound better with a low G because it needs a bass voice. It’s why you need more than one uke and a collection of them is even better. Right, Bernadette? 😉

I like the sound of the High G uke here. :D I think I will put a Low G on my Kala now that I have two ukes. Use those affiliate links people. How many ukes do you need? The answer to that question is always "One more"

I really like the rich low G sound. Can you string the whole guitar, I mean ukulele with them?

👏👏👏. That was pretty. I really like the uma ukulele with the low G. I love my low G ukulele, it gives more variety in playing different songs and melodies. Nice comparison video~blessings 😀❤️

I just did the the high G to low G change, I used a classical guitar D string, works great and last a long time.

I have both and I find that I play the high G uke 90% of the time. If you sing and accompany yourself strumming you might likely prefer low G. If you're more interested in solo finger-style playing, you might go with high G as most available music for solo or finger-style uke seems to be written for high G tuning (from my experience).

bernadette finally I bought a ukelele lam so happy😭💙💙

Wow! I think I like the feel and color that the Low G gives! Does Low G work for every sonv or is it on a case-to-case basis?

Was just discussing this with a few other subscribers. Love the low G on my tenor. Still on fence with concert.

Saludos desde Argentina.!! Sos una geniaaaa.!!! Gracias por tus enseñanzas.!!!👏👏👏😘😘💪💪💪👌👌 I love you..!!!😘😘👏👏💪💪👌👌

Yeah love this video. Perfect comparison. I have a high G and I absolutely hate it lol. I'm dying to buy a Tenor and put a Low G on it lol I guess I should be playing bass or something lol 😂 Thank you for also indirectly teaching me some very interesting strumming patterns ♥️ great video!!!

I am totally in love with my Tenor strung with Low G D'Addario flurocarbon strings. Don't know that my Kala Concert gCEA will get much play time now.

Please do a video on how to travel with a ukulele, I love your videos 😍

Currently using low G on both my concert and tenor, and prefer the sound. I do want to get another tenor and keep a high G on that one. My personal preference for strings is the Aquila Reds. The tenor will have to wait a bit though because my next ukulele is going to be a Kala baritone. I like my Caramel bari but really want a Kala. Cheers!!

I like find that high G sounds more like a ukulele. However, I recently strung my tenor for a low G to give me more range for chord melody. Not being able to go below middle C is a little restrictive for the melody part of chord melody.

I just recently put a low G on. It definitely gave my uke more grunt. Deeper richer tone. It wont work on every uke because of the string thickness unless your willing to modify nut or saddle. That was the case for my Magic Fluke Flea. And theres 2 different types of low G. Wound and unwound. If you have a plastic fretboard make sure to get unwound so you dont prematurely wear your plastic frets out. Metal frets either work fine.

This was very helpful. Thanks!

Love Low G, it also enables picking up a bass or guitar and play just the top 4 strings, really stretches out your hand for chord shapes then going back to uke is so much fun. For a new or used uke that is high G: 1) does anyone sell just the thicker low G string instead of the set 2) has anyone tried substituting a suitably thick guitar string 3) saw your comment about having to modify the nut for thicker string. did you also have to modify the action: the distance of that string from the fretboard

Just starting lessons. I have a high G ukulele, I like the sound of the low G. Maybe some day I will have one, Dave K.

LOW G on the UMA's you have .. absolutely NEVER !! Those 2 ukes are too sweet and happy sounding. In my opinion, a LOW G should be installed on a warm wood uke, such as those with a cedar top. I have the UMA you used (all solid acacia koa) strung HIGH G .. hubby has a KALA solid cedar top and solid acacia body .. sounds marvelous strung with the LOW G .. We learn from your videos .. straight to the point and you are absolutely so sweet .. thank you for teaching.

Obrigado... Bernadete... 1. Concert Acústico HG 2. Tenor Eletro/Acústico HG 3. Eletric Ukulele (Guitarlélé) Low G... 3 novas experiências em uma só: 1."Guitarra" 2. Afinação 3.Cordas de Aço. este vídeo já me ajudou muito... Obrigado. 🖖🎵🌀🎸

I like both (low and high G sound). So I have one koa low G uke (for fingerpicking and plucking) and one mahogany electric high G uke (for strumming cheerful songs due to higher pitch sound). It’s good to have 2 different brands and sizes (concert and tenor). All the strings are fluorocarbon which was recommended by a friend.

I just bought my first ukulele about a month ago. I got a tenor with the standard high G. I'm loving it so far. However, I also love the sound of the log G, and I can see it sounding better on certain songs. So, I was thinking about maybe getting a concert ukulele and changing to a low G. I could then live in both worlds! What do you think? Do other folks do that?

The best video on this topic on youtube!! Thank you. Much love.

Quick question: If I buy a concert uke and tune it to the low G as well... will it still sound higher than my Tenor tuned to the low G? What's the difference in sound between the concert and the tenor?

I love the low G sound! I didn’t know the difference until now. I’m new to a lot of the ukulele info...although I’ve had my tenor for a while. I just purchased the concert and soprano recently and I think my favorite is the concert. I’m going to have to get that low G string for sure...but also another concert...keep one with high g and the other with the low g! Gonna buy the banjolele also Love them all! Thank you for sharing. I’m learning something new everyday! 😁

Just restrung one of my tenors with Aquila low G sugar strings. I’m loving the sound but may need to choose other strings as this pair squeaks.

It takes a bit of experimentation with different strings. If you are planning to go with a Low G, please make sure that the nut is wide enough for the string. Depending on the ukulele, a Low G may cause intonation problems. A good luthier will help you with the set up. I highly recommend Worth Brown Low G strings at StringsByMail. They bring a great balance, warmth and feel. I have tried D’Addario’s Low G and I wasn’t pleased with the sound and feel.

Thank you, based on your videos, I am getting uku enya MAD black low g string. Will try’ to learn more once I get it. Thank you.

Thanks! I really like the sound of a low G!

James Hill has a great idea about choosing between a high G stringed 'ukulele and with a low G one. Also choosing between tabletures or standard music notations. He used a parallelism: "Is it a Vehicle or is it the Destination?" - If the 'ukulele is your destination, then use high G stringed 'ukulele. Destination here means you only want to play the 'Ukulele. So you should use high G and use tablatures. If it's a Vehicle, meaning, you want to play other musical instruments, then use a low G stringed 'ukulele. Also, use standard notations in playing if the uke is your vehicle in learning more profound music (like classical) so you could translate music you learned in the uke in other musical instruments... You have to answer, Is the 'Ukulele the Destination or It's the Vehicle?

Thanks for the demo, we can really see the difference the way you present it. I just bought Low G string (all new strings) and I'm really excited to get to play with the different sound which I prefer. ;-) Dominique

I love the sound of the low g especially on the tenor uke with that deeper sound, my concert uke has a high g though and it’s such a good combo having both

I am running to the music shop now!

Hi I’m new and I want to start playing the ukulele!

Great . Thanks for the comparison .

I love the low G on my concert.

Thank you so much, I really needed to hear this

I played the guitar before the ukulele, so even though the high g has a more Hawaiian flavor, the low g feels more natural to me. Again, it’s simply what sound best to you. Remember you will not be graded and everyone passes this test! lol

Great job. Love your videos. Long time guitar player also starting Uke. Great great job. God bless you.

Great video. Low G is much better. I already have a soprano high G. But I am now gonna buy a Tenor low G.

Wow that low G! The sound is much warmer ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks Bernie, for making this video! You know my opinion on this topic, but I will repeat some comments for others here that may not have read them previously. About five years ago I took my Fender ukulele (Tenor) and strung it with a Low G and loved it dearly; however, within about a week or two, I began to miss the High G sound. Ultimately, I went to the local Guitar Center and bought a new Cordoba ukulele (Tenor) 20TM-CE and have maintained High G strings on it. These days I play both of those gems, primarily the Low G get played when the song requires finger picking and the High G gets played mostly for song requiring strumming. Example, I have a Boss (RC-3) Looper Station that I strum songs into using my High G uke then loop it while I apply the melody lines using my Low G uke. Pretty cool! Oh yeah, I often layer a bass line on the loop station using my beloved Donner U-Base. I know this comment is long but hopefully interesting to readers. Thanks again for all you teach the uke community.

Thank you for this video!!!!!!!!

Bought the wrong strings (regular G) so now I just have extra strings! My uke is naked until tomorrow. I'm so excited to have that low G sound.

Weeeeeeee! I just got my low G strings and a low end tenor Lanikai. This weekend, oh boy, I can't wait to break in those strings!

Good video. I can really get a feel for the difference. Thank you

Aquila makes Low G Tuning ukulele String sets for all sizes of Ukulele

High g is the typical happy ukulele sound. Low g seems to produce a richer sound but loses the very happy quality. It's for more lyrical songs or pieces. When I heard a 5 string ukulele I was stunned because it has both low and high g. My dream is to get a 5 string one day.