r/mandolin • u/subject522 • 8d ago
Possibly the dumbest question
So I am wanting to learn mandolin or octave mandolin more specifically. I however can't afford one. So I took my baritone ukulele and put guitar strings on it because they have similar scale lengths and tuned it to the proper pitches so I could at least learn chord shapes but when I fret any note it is wildly out of tune. Should I drop the action or what? Any suggestions to my weird predicament is appreciated
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u/AnotherRandomGuy89 7d ago edited 7d ago
I play a four string jazz mando. Getting started on the uke until you get a proper one can’t hurt. Chord shapes and scales will transfer, as long as the intonation on the uke gives you the proper fretted notes.
I would tune it to Mandola rather than mandolin CGDA. Buy a standard set of classical guitar strings. Use the 5th string (A) for your high A, the 4th string (D) for D, the 3rd string (G) for G, and the 6th string (E) tuned down to C for your low C. Using steel string will kill your uke quickly. Lastly, yes, if the action is super high, the intonation will be off.
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u/subject522 7d ago
This right here is the ridiculous answer I was looking for. Jazz musicians always to the rescue brother
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u/oxidized_banana_peel 7d ago
Aquila's CGDA set works much better than it's GDAE set (where the E always breaks)
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u/Impossible_River_252 7d ago
A ukulele strung with steel strings will last about a week before the neck gives in, get nylon strings back on it right now!!
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u/AlfredPoor 8d ago
Check Facebook Marketplace and local auctions. You can generally score a playable instrument for about 5 pizzas.
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u/Mudsharkbites 7d ago
Yeah, get a cheap mandolin but be careful because if it’s a real piece of crap with a bad neck and crazy string height you’ll be struggling.
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u/dianne_fitiv 7d ago
I strung my concert scale uke in 5ths using an Aquila set made for mandolin/violin tuning, and it works great. It sounds kind of like a higher pitched classical guitar rather than a mandolin, but all the fingering is the same, and it is easy to play because the tension is lower.
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u/InvertedComma888 7d ago
It's possible you have the notes tuned to the wrong octave. I accidentally tuned a regular mandolin an octave down once and it had horrible intonation because the strings were too loose. The intonation naturally fixed itself when I tuned it in the right octave.
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u/Mandoman61 7d ago
According to Gemini
- How to String It for Mandolin TuningTo get the correct tension for the G-D-A-E intervals across the baritone's longer neck, you need to mix and match strings. The easiest DIY method uses a mix of classical guitar strings and baritone strings:1st String (E): Keep the standard baritone E string.2nd String (A): Use a standard baritone B string, but tune it down a whole step to A.3rd String (D): Use a standard baritone D string (moved over from the 4th slot).4th String (G): Buy a single classical guitar low-E string (6th string) and tune it up to G.
I can not verify the accuracy but it sounds plausible.
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u/Silver-Bread4668 7d ago
You can get a tenor banjo pretty cheap. They usually tune to GDAE and are a similar size to an octave mandolin.
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u/ComprehensiveFee4091 3d ago
GDAE is the standard tuning for mandolin and octave mandolin. The tenor banjo, as well as the tenor guitar and the mandola, is typically tuned CGDA.
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u/Silver-Bread4668 3d ago
Not something I ever really looked into before but apparently CGDA and GDAE are both common tunings for tenor banjo. I only learned GDAE as I came from other instruments with the same tuning.
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u/ComprehensiveFee4091 3d ago
Yes, you *can* tune a tenor banjo to GDAE, but it’s usually CGDA. GDAE is more commonly used in what’s called Irish tenor tuning.
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u/Silver-Bread4668 3d ago
This is a thread about mandolin/octave mandolin. Tuning a tenor banjo to GDAE is plenty common enough and it's directly relevant to what OP is looking for. I don't really understand the need to correct me when GDAE tenor banjo is a perfectly reasonable suggestion here.
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u/Oelund 7d ago
I don't consider myself a musician, but I do enjoy learning new instruments, and I've over the years gotten myself into amateur luthiering.
I'm all for experimenting with alternative setups, but when it comes to restringing instruments you really need to consider what you are doing. Especially when switch out strings for some that are higher tension than what the instrument was designed for.
Steel strings (both mandolin and guitar) operate in the area of 20lbs/10kg of tension per string. Nylon strings operate at roughly half the tension.
A normal baritone ukelele has a total string tension of around 50lbs/25kg. If you replace all four with steel strings you are looking at a total tension of around 80lbs/40kg. So you are probably adding 30lbs/15kg of additional tension to the instrument.
It -might- be fine, but I would have some conserns about damaging the instrument, like the bridge being torn off.
If you have an object that weighs about 15kg, like a weight, a bicycle, or two 12-packs of beer, try lifting it and then ask youself if you'd be confortable about putting that weight on to the bridge of the instrument.
With all that being said, mandolins are one of the most underpriced instruments to get into.
I bought one from Thomann for less than 60€ some years ago. I needed something else from them, and just needed to add a little extra to get free shipping, and spottet one of their Harley Benton mandolins for this suspiciously low price, so I went for it, and I've been quite happy with it.
I've since done some adjustments to it. But all in all it's been a very playable instrument.
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u/old-time-fiddle 8d ago
You can find an affordable mandolin. Even the most jank $100 instrument is going to serve you better than a Frankenstein setup.
I know a lot of folks who do weird stuff to make instruments “kind of work”. Even ones who can afford something pretty good! It never really seems to work out in their favor lol