Why would I do this? A lot of soprano ukes can fit into a 22" carry-on backpack. My questions: Has anyone tried tuning a uke as a mando, and if so, what string sizes would you recommend? We're talking nylon or gut, not metal.
Thanks.
Why would I do this? A lot of soprano ukes can fit into a 22" carry-on backpack. My questions: Has anyone tried tuning a uke as a mando, and if so, what string sizes would you recommend? We're talking nylon or gut, not metal.
Thanks.
On Amazon. Aquila 30U Ukulele SOPRANO in Violin/Mandolin Fifths Tuning - GDAE (w/ wound G-string)
Btw. Ironically, if/when the thinnest A string breaks you can replace it with fishing line of a comparable thickness. I've done it.
I have been using a combination of 1 low E string from a classical guitar string set ,
the 2 middle ones from a Martin Baritone Uke set (3rd is Nylon core with aluminum windings)
and the soprano Uke thinnest strings (the 2 outer ones are the same gage) .
I have been tuning to FCGD 5th but 2 note half steps down in tension..
Is floating Fly fishing Line adequate?
Ordered a set of Gotoh Planetary 4:1 uke tuners from a Uke dealer in HI,
once I get those on I will try the Aquila Mandolin strings I Got from the Italian Company.
FWIW they are made in several Colors within the set, 2 reddish shades and 2 browner..
Where the plain Martin Nylon and their new Fluorocarbon uke strings are colorless.
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I've tried mandolin tuning (GDAE) on a ukulele. I've used the Aquila GDAE set. The E string is extremely thin and broke before I had even tuned up to E. Fortunately the string was long enough to give it a second try, and this time I only tuned up to FCGD. But I didn't like the result: IMO, the uke fretboard and neck geometry doesn't lend itself to mandolin style playing (fretboard too wide, neck too flat). Also, I did not like the sound. It certainly doesn't have a mandolin sound, and it also doesn't sound like a uke any more (maybe due to different string gauges, maybe because with reentrant uke tuning you get close voicings as opposed to open voicings with GDAE). If the E string hadn't broken again after a couple of days, I would have restringed it with regular uke strings nevertheless.
I have Aquila strings (standard reentrant tuning) on all my ukes and I prefer them over all other brands that I've tried. And none of the standard Aquila uke strings ever broke. But the GDAE set is definitely not for me.
But it's a cheap experiment - it'll cost you 10 bucks and half an hour for putting on the strings, so why don't you just try it and find out for yourself?
Peter
Last edited by DroneAlone; Nov-15-2015 at 6:25pm. Reason: grammar
Man droid. Correct on the fly line. U need something for bass fishing
Its Chinook Salmon Out here .. wet enough, Now, that at High tide they cross the roads ..
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
MY original thought was to make an inexpensive travel mandolin (I have an expensive Travolin on order, but the idea of retuning a uke was intriguing). I have a Stoneman, but the sound is very weak. I figured I could use a charango high E for the E string, keep the uke A, raise the uke C to D, and use low G from a non-reentrant tuned uke for the G. The all-in-one by Aquila makes it easy. Too bad about the high E. Fortunately I have charango strings available to substitute.
There are several uke players who play in this tuning. Most IIRC were classical players - i.e. fingerstyle, not strummed. The sound is more like a classical guitar than either a mando or a uke, IMO.
This doesn't solve the travel issue, but I was successful in tuning a baritone uke in fifths, with a mix of bari strings and classical guitar strings. Guitar Low E > G (4) , Bari Low D > D (3) , Bari G > A (2), Bari E > E
Poor man's octave mando-uke.
Tenor guitars are tuned in fifths like a mandola- C G D A. They are often the same size as baritone ukes.
I spent a whole lot of time trying to tune my Ohana teardrop in fifths. I bought two sets of Aquila 30u strings, but kept snapping the high E. I also tried 20# fishing line and it either snapped or pulled through the slot at the bridge (I threw it away before examining).. What DID work was the high E from an Aquila charango set. It has a larger diameter than the one in the 30u set. On the whole, the setup achieves my purpose of giving me a transportable (via carry-on), playable decent sounding mando-like instrument. That said, I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason. It's not as good as a regular mando and lacks the charm of the normal uke re-entrant tuning.
I have a small mandolin for travel that I built (my avatar) but I wanted something even smaller so I put those fifth-tuning strings on a 17 inch Sopranino uke. (Bought on ebay for $20 due to some scratches on the back.) I thought maybe the scale was too short but it plays fine. (Ok, it doesn't intonate perfectly, you could buy a better one.) This thing is about as small as you can go, fits in a knapsack, and is good for when you really can't take a mando but want something to pluck on. (Photo of same model lifted from the net.)
Cary Fagan
I travel with a Risa soprano solid uke tuned as a mando and have done for years. Per advice from the builder, I use the 4, 3 and 2 strings from a cheap classical guitar set as the 4 , 3 and 2 on the uke and I use .04mm 20 pound test monofilament copolymer fishing line for the first string. It works great. The first string is the best sounding one of the lot! The only string I ever replace is the 4 string, because it is metal wound around a nylon core and the winding corrodes eventually and the sound gets dull. I buy single 4 strings and replace them about twice a year.
The only issue you might run into is that the intonation may not be right with the different tuning. On mine, the 1 string was on, the 2 and 3 were somewhat off and the 4 was way off. I had to have a different bridge made to compensate. But I play it a lot, so it was worth it.
I've posted this elsewhere, but might as well mention it here too since my goal was to find a playable carry-on size mando. I discovered that my mandolin banjo does the job. It's a bit more than 22", but by rotating it I can easily get it into my 22" backpack. Just what I wanted.
Just replaced the friction pegs with Gotoh's 4:1 uke planetary tuner pegs .. cleverly called the UPT.
ordered from here : http://www.theukulelesite.com/access...r-upgrade.html
on my spruce headed may belle banjo uke .. May put the new Aquila strings on next ..
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I put a low g on my tenor pono uke. Took a few days for the strings to get ised to their new GDAE, the E string I took two days to tune, its an whole octave higher so tune half way there day 1, rest of the way day2. Make sure you’re nexk has a rod, Low g was round wire, Aquila. Could now harmonize with violin but still sounded like a uke.
I had a Ukulele before going to a mandolin, tried & failed to get it tuned to GDAE& not the only one. There was a discussion on this on the Ukulele Undergound but the answer came to be a Madolele. Problem is that they didn't make many.
Best of luck!
i used the fifths set for uke, and then added the E from a charango set it works well
One of the reasons for reentrant tuning is so early players could use the same size fishing line for all four strings, since the pitch range is only a sixth.
I made a soprano ukulele sized mandolin a while back, with 8 nylon strings. It turned out pretty well. I made a custom set of strings out of singles for it, but I see Aquila has a set of nylon mandolin strings so I might try those.
I call it the Batmandolin... The wood is sweet gum.
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