As a uke player I was wondering if it's feasible to string a mandolin with nylon strings and to tune it as a uke? Wouldn't want to do this with steel strings as there would be too much pressure on the neck with the strings tuned up.
Anybody tried this?
Woodbelly
Go take a look at Thin Man Music. They do a bunch of crossover stuff - 8 string ukes, tenor ukes tuned like OMs, etc. I don't think a standard mando nut will be optimal for uke strings.
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
I'd think the overall string tension would be much lower. With the reduced downbearing the top wouldn't vibrate much, giving a weak tone.
Though, a mandolin specially built for nylon strings would be interesting. Maybe with a slotted headstock.
Throw this idea up in the Builder's Forum.
Wye Knot
That string tension issue has been recently discussed and someone pointed out that when working with setups, less strings are often used for convenience and they still sound fine. When setting intonation, you only have one or two tight strings. The action on my son's uke is much higher than on my mando and the nut slot is very different due to the action and because the treble strings are on the outside and the bass (or more toward bass, anyway) strings are in the middle.
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
Ok, I've been wanting to do this on a little beater for my kids (4 and 2.5) to play with. Can anyone recommend nylon string guages to use GDAE on a mando and what to get (e.g., classical guitar, Baritone Uke, Tenor Uke, Soprano uke packages). I'm not too worried about tone for the kids.
Jamie
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946
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Thin Man (link in earlier post) will sell you a set for $5 including shipping. I ordered a set to make a practice instrument. Some people just experiment with fishing line (get a few small spools of the cheap stuff at a big discount store).
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
Oddly, I tuned my mandolin down to the GCEA of a soprano uke just yesterday afternoon, using steel strings. I can definitely bear Lee out: the string tension is much lower, the volume weaker, the tone muter... it was pretty unsatisfying. I'm not sure why this would be, but I felt the intonation was effected as well. Perhaps the results would be different with the right nylon strings.
***
Alex of the North
(Eastman 604, Mid-Mo M2)
Interesting stuff...food for thought...thanks one and all.
Woodbelly
Yeah, the nylon strings are stretchy and are tight with less tension, if that makes any sense. Steel will start getting "floppy" at 9# or so while nylon is still quite playable to as low as 5-6# (I think). You might try the D key uke tuning (A,D,F#,B) instead. Chord shapes are still the same, but you are playing transposed. No big deal if you are playing solo.Originally Posted by (Alex of the North @ July 13 2005, 11:44)
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
Maybe you should check out a charango?
I would like to experiment with a mandola or octave designed for nylon strings. I once started drafting up plans for such an instrument but got too busy making stuff that would sell.
FWIW, I get GDA out of 3 martin baritone uke strings, swap out for .021 soprano for the E.
[banjo-uke, this one with a spruce 'head']
the blue star #konablaster electricuke ,has a magnetic pickup, i see. steel strung , natch[elderly]
carpeted back for strapless, stick to your clothing playability..
electric uke, or electri cuke, you decide.
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I am not sure of tuning a mandolin like a uke, but I have a cheap uke tuned like a mandolin. I had to use a guitar string for the g and a piece of fishing line for the e. Much more mellow sounding than the steel strung mandolin. Would be good for a child who does not like the pressure fo the steel strings.
What are you hoping to accomplish with stringing a mandolin like a uke?
Bill Snyder
What are you hoping to accomplish with stringing a mandolin like a uke?
Well, I must confess a certain laziness on my part (not to mention middle-aged less than supple fingers)to learn mando chords, so thought I could get an (approximate) mandolin sound but play uke chord shapes. My ideal would be a steel strung 8 string uke, tuned as a uke, but this doesn't seem to exist/be feasible.
Woodbelly
I don't think you will get much of a mandolin sound out of a nylon strung mandolin tuned like an ukulele. I suspect that it will sound a bit more uke like than mandolin like.
Bill Snyder
Ukes , I gather, are #tuned rather guitarlike, soprano #2 outer strings are only a #scale step apart, 4th an octave higher, than it would be #if #tuned like baritone uke intervals.
Ive been on the GDAe bari 3 +1 sop string plan for several years now, and seems a fine tone, quite different from the steel string tone, but it has its place.
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
Hi Woodbelly,
There was a well-known studio musician named Tommy Tedesco, whom you have all heard, even if you've never heard of him. He was a guitarist and he played many stringed instruments, but tuned them all like a guitar. His mandolin was tuned DGBE (from bass to treble), but he used different guages from a regular mandolin set. This would be playable using ukulele shapes, although you'd have to transpose, much as a guitarist does when he/she uses a capo. I'm sure that you could find the correct guage strings to actually tune your mandolin to uke tuning without putting too much pressure on the instrument. It would not be a good idea to use regular mandolin strings and you might want to tune the fourth string down an octave.
Jim Yates
Just an FYI for the other cheapskates (like myself) out there. I just ordered a Silvertone mahogany uke and 2 sets of bari uke strings (I figure mxing those with the soprano set that comes on it should work out - the .021 as mandroid says and maybe the .025 could stretch to an E). Total price is about $22 from Music123 and delivery is free.
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
tension at pitch is closer to the others with the .021.
Sears-Roebucks still Got Silvertones in the catalog?
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I supected the .025 wouldn't be optimum. If it proves to be a problem, I will just get another soprano set at that time. It will probably be a while before I wear out the first set (and I had already ordered a matched GDAE set from ThinMan anyway, so I will actually have 2 sets to wear out).
Silvertones can be found at a few dealers on the net, but Sears isn't one of them. The uke only shows up at Music123 and even they don't really have it - due in on July 30th. The better builders make you wait. #
Edit - Just got an email saying updated date expected in their warehouse is 8/14 - I guess they are custom making me oneOh well, as long as I get it before 9/4 when I go to the beach for a week I will be happy.
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
Just got a set of GDAE strings for a standard uke in the mail today from ThinMan. They are .018, .028, .032 and .030w (wound). The ends of the middle ones are marked to make them easy to tell apart (there is a bigger difference in stiffness than size anyway).
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
In doing research on Knutsen mandolins and Filipino musicians (and Knutsen-playing Filipino mandolinists), I've come upon several references to Hawaiian musicians playing 8 string mandolins but tuning them like taro-patches (double-strung uke). I can't tell whether they're also stringing the mandolins with gut, or whether they're retuning steel strings.. They're definitely still strung in pairs, though.
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