Sep 01
How to string a ukulele?
There’s no getting around it, the way a ukulele is strung is absolutely ridiculous. But that’s what makes it such incredible instrument.
Almost all stringed instruments go from lowest string (thickest) to highest string (thinnest). Not the ukulele. The ukulele strings sizes go like this from nearest your head to nearest the ground:
G string: Second thinnest.
C string: Fattest.
E string: Second Fattest.
A string: Thinnest.
Anyone who has experience with string instruments will find this baffling. I certainly did. When I first bought a cheap ukulele and, being a guitarist, was completely ignorant, I changed the order of the strings. Now I’m much wiser and know that this is the only way to have your strings.
The best quality ukulele strings around are Aquila and Worth.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
It’s not really the ONLY way to string a uke. I play with a low G string on my tenors, and a high G on my sopranos. I guess folks alreay know this, but I couldn’t resist leaving a comment. I’m just a natural-born comment-leaver. As opposed to George Harrison in Yellow Submarine, who was a born lever-puller.
September 10th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Thanks, Bartt. I didn’t want to muddy the issue too much. The world of ukulele tuining and stringing can be very confusing.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:55 am
[...] If you want know what order the strings should be in, I wrote about it here: how to string a ukulele. [...]
October 28th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
ringo was the lever-puller!
January 5th, 2010 at 10:42 am
ohmygodyouhavenoideahowhandythiswas.
THANK YOU.
i just got a guitar-styled-strung soprano and had never played a stringer instrument and assumed that was the proper way, and i just was either 1) tuning it wrong or 2) couldn’t play right. THANK YOU.