So, the night before I went on a little mini-vacation to Wisconsin, I got my 6-string Aquila string set in the mail. So, I strung up my new OU-26T 6-String Tenor Ukulele so I could show you guys how it sounds with the proper strings on there. I think you'll agree that the sound differences between my 6-string tenor uke and my low-G tenor uke are pretty dang dramatic!
If I don't seem as perky in this video, it's because my wife and two boys had been gone for over a week at this point. So, if you have kids, then you know how that goes. It's like 2-3 days of late nights, beer, bad movies and video games and then the rest of the days are spent moping around the house. I honestly missed the sound of the boys screaming at each other. Heh.
Also, I'd thank you to not look up my shorts during the whole video.
So, yesterday was a damn fine day. Two ukulele events coincided with each other and the stars truly aligned for awesomeness. First, the mailman delivered my set of Orcas Low-G tenor strings (which I was going to use for my Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele). Next, I scored an Oscar Schmidt OU-26T 6-string tenor ukulele for a meager $45 on Craigslist. The guy who was selling it lives in Polson, MT. That's about an hour away from Missoula (where I reside), for those of you who aren't familiar with Montana geography (for shame!). But, as luck would have it, his wife was traveling to our shopping mall yesterday and he sent the uke down with her.
So, beside the fact that I was going to have to intentionally visit the mall, the day was really looking like it was gonna rule. The lady I was meeting suggested we meet at the coffee shop in the center of the mall. I'm sure she naturally assumed that since I was from Craigslist that I was murdering rapist. Heh. So, I met her and had a look at the 6-string tenor and it was in perfect condition. I played it a little bit (long enough to entertain other coffee shop patrons and not so long as to be tossed out of the mall for busking) and something sounded a little weird about it. It looked to me as if he strung it a little bit weird. But, no matter, still a fine deal.
So, when I got it home I realized what he had done. The A and C strings on the OU-26T are supposed to be double strings. But, they are also supposed to be octaves. Now, he had both strings playing the same note and not octaves. The end result being that the smaller gauge string was really "floppy". I did my best to fix it up and, sadly, snapped the C string. The A strings are a real nice octave, though. I just ordered a new set of Aquila 6-string tenor strings, though, so I'll make more videos when I get it strung up properly.
Anyway, here is a video that shows you how a Low-G tenor ukulele sounds and also how the OU-26T sounds with only 5 strings. 😉
I should probably mention, again, that these Orcas strings are really incredible. Do yourself a favor and get a set to see what I mean. And, if you have a tenor ukulele, you should definitely get a set of the Low-G strings. They sound so full and rich.