QUESTION:
Can I Tune My Baritone Ukulele Ukulele Tuning gCEA?
QUICK ANSWER:
"Yes" you can tune a baritone ukulele like a standard ukulele, but you need the right strings.
Aquila makes the AQ23U set of Baritone scale (length) strings that can be tuned to standard ukulele tuning of gCEA.
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LONG ANSWER:
If you attempt to tune your standard baritone strings up in pitch to Standard ukulele Pitch (5 semitones higher) by simply turning the machine heads to tighten the strings you will most likely start snapping strings and/or pull your bridge off the top of your ukulele.
STOP! Get the Right Strings before you damage your ukulele
TUNING
The standard baritone ukulele strings are lower in pitch than the standard ukulele tuning. They are tuned to DGBE (the same as the top four strings of a guitar). They also differ from the standard ukulele as they are not in re-entrant tuning i.e. the strings go from low to high.
SCALE LENGTH
The Scale length of the baritone is longer than that of a Tenor Ukulele. The strings are pulled to lower tension and produce notes lower in pitch than a regular ukulele.
CAN'T I JUST RETUNE MY BARITONE STRINGS?
If you attempt to tune your standard baritone strings up in pitch to gCEA you will most likely start snapping strings and/or pull your bridge off the top of your ukulele.
AQUILA GCEA STRINGS AQ23U
Baritone to Tenor tuning Conversion Strings made by Aquila are made specifically to produce notes of gCEA at the correct tension at the baritone scale length. From the treble side to bass side / 1st string to 4th string are about 025 031 038 027 in thousandths of an inch.
The strings are all plain Nylgut material with no wound stings. Nylgut is a new formulation of polymerized plastic mixed with additives and patented by Aquila.
