`Ukuleles use nylon strings. I would imagine any large volume musical instrument dealer would carry them. I know Elderly Instruments in Lansing MI sells them - (517)372-7890 Ext 123. I have used GHS, Martin, and Kamaka strings. Personally, I think Kamaka's black nylons are the best.
A baritone `ukulele is tuned (1-4) E-B-G-D same as the top four strings of a rhythm guitar. The chords are the same minus the notes that would be on the guitar's strings 5 & 6. Some gauges for baritone uke are: E - .028, B - .036, G - .027W, D - .034W. Good luck.
Regards,
John
baritone ukelelee
Moderator: Brad Bechtel
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John Kavanagh
- Posts: 408
- Joined: 29 Nov 1998 1:01 am
- Location: Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.
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Just to butt in.. this is one of the few things I have some experience in; one of my main axes for years has been a modified baritone ukulele. A lot of baritone ukes are really too small to sound good at that pitch, which is the intended one. If yours sounds good, you're lucky. If it has a sort of low, floppy, drony sound, and the wound fourth sticks out and sounds gross, you might try one of the tenor ukulele tunings: d'gbe' or
ad'f#'b'.
The first is the same as baritone, with the fourth ("bass") string an octave higher. You can use the top three strings of a classical guitar set, with another high e' string as the fourth. It will give you a lower tension than guitar. The advantages of this tuning:
same chords as guitar, but with the high fourth string you get the high, close voicings that are characteristic of a ukulele
to many people's ears, and if you work with it you can get some nifty melodic effects.
Jim Beloff uses this tuning. His website is
<www.flea-mkt-music.com>.
The other tuning is the one I use. It's like a guitar's top 4 strings capoed at the seventh fret. You can use the top 3 strings of a classic guitar set for the lowest 3 and 30lb test for the top, or you can go the class route and order a gauged set from Pyramid strings, who have a website somewhere. For my 19" string length, the guages are .085mm .074mm .064mm .060mm.
(the highest is nylon, bottom 3 pvf carbon filament. Expensive, but deluxe.) Advantages
of this tuning is a higher and wider picking range, blends nicely with guitars in a stringband setting but doesn't have the bite
of a mandolin.
I have a friend who uses tenor banjo tuning.
Don't get me started on ukuleles, I love mine.
------------------
D-8: C6/A6; E13
ad'f#'b'.
The first is the same as baritone, with the fourth ("bass") string an octave higher. You can use the top three strings of a classical guitar set, with another high e' string as the fourth. It will give you a lower tension than guitar. The advantages of this tuning:
same chords as guitar, but with the high fourth string you get the high, close voicings that are characteristic of a ukulele
to many people's ears, and if you work with it you can get some nifty melodic effects.
Jim Beloff uses this tuning. His website is
<www.flea-mkt-music.com>.
The other tuning is the one I use. It's like a guitar's top 4 strings capoed at the seventh fret. You can use the top 3 strings of a classic guitar set for the lowest 3 and 30lb test for the top, or you can go the class route and order a gauged set from Pyramid strings, who have a website somewhere. For my 19" string length, the guages are .085mm .074mm .064mm .060mm.
(the highest is nylon, bottom 3 pvf carbon filament. Expensive, but deluxe.) Advantages
of this tuning is a higher and wider picking range, blends nicely with guitars in a stringband setting but doesn't have the bite
of a mandolin.
I have a friend who uses tenor banjo tuning.
Don't get me started on ukuleles, I love mine.
------------------
D-8: C6/A6; E13