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Thread: Newbie says hi and needs answers

  1. #1

    Smile Newbie says hi and needs answers

    Hi folks, nice to be in the Café, I am a Blues Harmonica player /Song writer/Singer from Newcastle in the North East of England.
    I have always wanted to play a string instrument and have tried Guitar, Mountain Dulcimer and built a 3 string Cigar Box Guitar, none of which I really had much luck with.
    I have been learning to play the Tenor Ukulele and taking lessons and finally it's starting to click!
    I was recently given a really nice Baritone Uke which I love, I have strung it with Aquilla strings in GCEA so I can play using the Chord shapes that I have been learning on the Tenor but have Detuned it to F A# D G, as this suits my singing voice better.
    I have my 55th birthday coming up and wanted to ask my wife to get me a Tenor Guitar and I wanted to know if I could string this in the same way?
    The idea of the exercise would be to have an instrument that I could play with my existing musical ability that would give more of a guitar like tone,
    Is this a viable idea or would I just be wasting money on an instrument that would sound the same as the Baritone Uke?
    Any advice would be great.
    Many thanks Geordie.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    There are lots of ways to tune the tenor guitar but the three most common are: Standard - CGDA, Irish -GDAE (both like mandolin & fiddle family tunings,) and Chicago - DGBE. Chicago tuning is the same standard tuning as Baritone Uke which is also the same as standard tuning for the high 4 strings on a regular guitar.

    The main difference in the sound is due to steel strings (brighter sound) on the TG versus nylon on the uke. The TG will probably also produce more volume because of the bigger/deeper body. Use of a capo is also more common on steel strings so you can get to whatever key best suits your voice for any given song without retuning.
    1963 Martin 0-18T, 1967 Gibson ETG-150, 1930s Epiphone Beverly Tenor Guitar, 2013 Blueridge BR-40T tenor guitar, 1960s Goya Tenor Guitar, 1980 Alvarez A900 mandolin, 2020 Kentucky KM-656, Flatiron Mandola, Weber Sage #2 OM

  3. #3
    Mandolin Botherer Shelagh Moore's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    Hi Geordie... I don't see why that shouldn't work on the tenor guitar (I use the standard CGDA) with a suitable adjustment in string gauges. It will certainly give a different voice with the metal strings as compared with the nylon/nylgut/fluorocarbon strings of the ukelele. When custom stringing/tuning I often use this handy string gauge calculator devised by one of our members here of the Cafe which you might find useful.

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    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    I have an electric tenor guitar that I tune GCEA low G uke tuning and I'm planning on getting an acoustic soon and doing the same thing.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Use this string chart and you should be ok. Let us know how it works out.
    Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #5

    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    Thanks for the great replies folks,cb56, that's an excellent little chart, good to know that you have already got a Tenor Guitar in GCEA tuning and that your going to go acoustic with that tuning.
    All I have to do now is find a reasonably priced instrument in the UK and get my wife to buy me it for my birthday, should be a piece of cake!.

  6. #6
    Registered User Seonachan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    I have no personal experience with them and so this is not an endorsement, but I believe the Ozark regular acoustic tenor (not the acoustic/electric model) is one of the more affordable tenor guitars in the UK and has a smaller scale and body size, making it more similar to a baritone ukulele than a full-size tenor would be.

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    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    Yeah, I think in UK, Ozark and Ashbury are available.
    In USA it seems Goldtone or Blueridge are the only inexpensive ones.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    They have a couple of Tenor guitars in JG windows in Central Arcade. The phil Davidson designed Ashbury tenors are good. Windows don't stock them though.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Newbie says hi and needs answers

    Just FYI Geordibluesman, my electric sounds great tuned GCEA but for some reason the acoustic doesn't. Just got my acoustic and it sounds alot better DGBE. The higher uke tuning just sounds tinny on my acoustic. But like I said the electric sounds fine GCEA.

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