ukulele

[bogeyhitter25]

finally ordered a uke last thursday. not here yet, but hopefully will be tomorrow. can't wait.

[ks8829]

I had a good friend that joined a Ukulele club in San Francisco and he loved to sing and play the Ukulele, he's in Ukulele heaven singing and playing his Ukelele when he's not playing golf.

[RC]

I started on a Uke as a very young guy, then transferred to a classical guitar when my hands grew large enough. The Uke normally has the same tuning as the bottom four strings of a classical guitar (DGBE), where the 6 string guitar is normally tuned EADGBE.

[flopdarock]

didnt think too many ppl were even into the ukelele aside from the guys back home... nice to see... makes me homesick

[bogeyhitter25]

Just got my ukulele today. Strings are all messed up. Horrible. Does anybody know if I can go to a guitar place and have them put some strings on it for me? Thanks guys.

[RC]

How are they messed up? Broken? If so, you can go to a music store and buy strings, or subsitute the bottom (meaning higher pitch) four strings of a classical guitar (not steel strings, Ukes use nylon type strings. Talk to the store clerk -- but call ahead to make sure they have Uke strings or classical strings. You can also order strings online from sites like "Stringsbymail." You might email such sites beforehand to make sure you are getting what you need.

You will also need a tuning pipe, pitch fork, or electronic tuner (or you can find tuning notes on some internet sites.) At first strings will not hold pitch. It takes several days for them to settle in and you will need to tune every day you play your new Uke (sometimes after each "tune" you play. Each time I put new strings on my classical, I have to tune every few minutes for the first several days. When your strings stop needing daily tuning, it is time to change strings. People who play a great deal change strings often, some as often as every 10 to 14 days. Most people can go much longer than that.

Hope this helps.

[The Golfing Polack]

+1 for what RC said. Musicians friend has a good selection of uke strings. They're not hard to change on your own but they will have a significant stretch period before they'll hold their tune. I like to pull on mine before tuning to help quicken the stretching process. Good luck and have fun. Youtube has a ton of uke lessons that should get you on your way pretty quickly.

[bogeyhitter25]

They sent me 2 plastic strings.