Year of the Uke

[donlyn]

First off, I wish to thank Earl and azslacker for their input on this.

My granddaughter got a used uke for Christmas from one of my son's friends whose kids had outgrown it.  She will be 4 soon.
Previously in the "what instrument besides guitar" thread, I had posed a question about what age to start her on guitar.  Earl posted,
"I would start her on ukulele, not guitar.  Uke is a much better size for young hands and arms, and you can get a decent one for less that any half-playable guitar would cost."

So I kind of figured this spring would be a good time to start teaching her.  Well the uke gift pre-empted the timing, and the timing is now ASAP.  Knowing she would be getting the uke and noticing that azslacker was big into ukes, I pm'd him about getting one. His reply was,
"Don, I'd suggest a Tenor size uke. You can put a wound low G string on it and it will sound just like the top 4 strings of a guitar, capo on the fifth fret. The brand I usually suggest for a first uke is Kala. They are available just about everywhere online. Sweetwater, Amazon, etc. I'd spend at least $x. The model I like, even over higher priced ones is the KA-ST. Looks like some listings call it KA-STG."
I took his advice and got one from Sweetwater.  Great service and arrived promptly, well packed and in great shape. Also got a gig bag in the shipment and a couple of books elsewhere.  The uke is solid wood, mahogany and spruce, and quite handsome.  This all went down just prior to Christmas.  I am very pleased with this so far, even though I haven't done much yet due to Christmas and the flu. 

So ukuleles are my new year's project, one I am looking forward to.

Thanks again to Earl and azslacker, and also for the existence of this friendly forum.

Don

[TaylorGirl]

We have a lot of helpful and knowledgeable members here. Sounds like you're going to have a fun year with your granddaughter. The uke is a fun little instrument, and given their price, you can have a nice variety of them. UAS can be worse than GAS!

[azslacker]

I'm over it now, but had UAS real bad for a couple of years. 27 of them around here.

[Earl]

Don, there is no need to buy a book or anything else, unless you want to.  It's all free on my ukulele club web site:   www.boiseukulelegroup.com
Look on the "instruction" page for a wealth of information.

[George]

Don, there is no need to buy a book or anything else, unless you want to.  It's all free on my ukulele club web site:   www.boiseukulelegroup.com
Look on the "instruction" page for a wealth of information.

I'm over it now, but had UAS real bad for a couple of years. 27 of them around here.

I have a banjo-ukulele which is in bits at the moment.  The brass was so tarnished it looked like bronze, so I took it apart for a deep clean (man, that's a lot of fiddly bits to clean - almost all the metalwork is brass!) and a new head.

So my question for our resident ukulele specialists; how should I restring it?  Before it was strung with banjo strings and tuned Irish-style GDAE ("Irish-style" was a co-incidence for me - I tuned it that way because I'm a violinist!).  But now I'm thinking of trying out some nylon strings and using the classic ukulele GCEA.

What do you think:

• Will I like the tone (it sounded very banjo-like before)?

• Will I be able to adapt to the new tuning (I'm not a maestro, but I can get a tune out of it...)?

Or any other suggestions or recommendations?

Oh, and please wish me luck with the skin - it's been many years since I've done that...

[azslacker]

 George, I bought an old banjo uke that was completely disassembled. Man what a bunch of parts. Mine has mostly steel hardware and was in good condition. Had fun fixing it up, and putting on a new goat skin head. The thing sounds great and very, very loud. I have gCEA strings with a wound C string. Fix it up uke style and listen to a little George Formby music.

[Earl]

Unless the instrument is specifically made for them, most ukes will pull apart in a couple of days under the tension of steel strings.  They simply are not built for that level of stress.  If it had steel strings on it before and did not implode, it was either made for steel (unusual) or you were really lucky - or it was never really tuned up to full pitch.  You can usually tell if the original bridge was sunken deep into the original head (often a 1/4") which is a sign of excess down pressure.  I've never tried to replace a banjo head, so cannot offer advice there.

Use nylon strings, which will give you a rounder, less harsh tone but still will sound like a banjo.  One comparison would be a five string banjo played with fingerpicks versus played with bare fingers.  Same basic tone, but a much mellower attack.  Aquila Nylgut are known to be a bright and punchy nylon string.  "C" tuning or gCEA is the classic ukulele tuning for Hawaii and the US.  One step higher (aDF#B) is called the "D" tuning and is the most common European and Canadian tuning.  Same strings, just tighter.  You cannot find a set of "C" strings versus a set of "D" strings.

Find Ralph Shaw on the interweb.  He is a Canadian entertainer from Vancouver, BC who channels George Formby quite convincingly.  And he is a nice guy.

[George]

....I've never tried to replace a banjo head, so cannot offer advice there....

Aaargh! Stupid banjo head! Even vampires don't suck this much....

I'm nearly there... N(U)BD  (New  (Used) Banjo Day) coming soon...

[Jersey tuning]

Thinking of capoing a tenor guitar someone gave me on the 5th fret and creating an almost uke.  Will check out Earl's website

[gscratch]

...
Use nylon strings, which will give you a rounder, less harsh tone but still will sound like a banjo.  One comparison would be a five string banjo played with fingerpicks versus played with bare fingers.  Same basic tone, but a much mellower attack. 
...

One piece of free advice (and you get what you pay for) - replace the nylon strings with Teflon ("fluorocarbon").  We did this on our Peavey ukulele after a week of trying to keep the nylon strings in tune.  The Teflon produces a better, more consistent sound and stays in tune much better

[Earl]

Teflon / fluorocarbon strings will stretch less, so they will stabilize for tuning quicker than nylon strings.  But I've also found them to be more slippery, and knots at the bridge need an extra turn to hold versus nylon.  I used Worth strings a few times, but have gone back to Aquila Nylgut or just started using the new Aquila Red nylon series.  Worth strings are smaller in diameter / gauge, and I liked the more substantial feel of the thicker Aquila strings.  I play several hours a week, but only change ukulele strings about every three years whether they need it or not.       It takes me bloody forever to cycle through strings, and I'm reluctant to change them once they've stabilized.

Point of trivia:  I have a beautiful koa eight string Pono.  Opening the case one day, I found both of the first course ("A" string pair) to have let go spontaneously while the other six were OK (still are a year later).  Being too cheap / lazy to change all eight strings, I just replaced the first course with Worth strings that were handy.  This was not a great idea, mixing and matching material types.  Whenever I play that uke, the fluorocarbon strings go flat as they warm up, while the nylon strings go sharp.  Like tuning eight strings wasn't enough trouble.....

[George]

I'm going to have to start a new thread about my project.  My Uke's not a Uke - it's a banjo!  When I got hold of it I thought it was a banjolele because it seemed very small (hence my confusion about the steel strings (remnants) it was strung with).  But once I got in to the restoration, I realised it was actually a short-scale tenor banjo (17 fret).  Anyway, it's all finished now - I'm just waiting for delivery of new strings and a new bridge (I bought Uke strings and bridge before I realised it wasn't a Uke). Just for fun, I'll start a new thread with before and after photos when it's strung.

But thanks for your advice about strings - as ever on this forum, I'm enlightened :-)