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Need advice on a 4 string please !!!

Posted by Patrick Breton on March 9, 2010 at 7:55pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Hi evryone !!!

this is my first post and i'm still planning on my first build,

i would like to build a 4 stinger but using the lower 4 string of a regular guitar

and tune it to normal E tuning as i mostly play only these string anyway on a 6

stringer, i would build a 3 and 4 strings later on to use them as open tuning

but i would really love to have a 4 stringer tuning in normal E tuning, i play mostly

reggae type of music with a little band and as you might know, reggae chords are played

mostly on the last 4 string of a regular guitar so this is why i would love it to be a 4 stringer

and not worry's about hitting wrong string when skanking up the CBG :D

Thanks in advance for all your help !!!

Patrick

please also not that i'm french here from Canada Quebec so please forgive my for my poor english !!!

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Replies

  • Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry March 11, 2010 at 9:04am
    Hi, no problem I have the Fender measurements. The scale is from the nut to the bridge and then the frets are marked out between - its all very mathematical (which I'm not) BUT....I have a ruler with it all marked out for me so if you can wait a few days for the post I can mark it out on a long piece of paper for you and then you just lay that on the neck and mark the spaces. Or you can have the maths by tomorrow by email. cheers

    Patrick Breton said:
    Nigel, that sure would be appreciated, i'm looking to build a 4 string tuning in DGBE like the four last string of a normal guitar and supposed to be the baritone ukulele normal tuning but i want it to be full scalle like a real guitar, i play on a fender squier normally.
    Thanks so much again !!!
    Patrick

    Nigel Richards said:
    Hi, not sure of what help you need but I can give you the scale lengths and the fret spacing and the nut string spacing measurements if that helps.
  • Patrick Breton March 11, 2010 at 8:50am
    Wow very interesting Mike,
    again didn't know all that, but does the guitar you are talking about use the last 4 thickness of the regular string because i wanna use the last four the thiness one, reason is simple i play all my chord on those four last string and would love to have a 4 string for that reason not having to worry about hitting the last two string.
    Thanks again for all your reply's,
    Patrick

    Jef Long said:
    by far the most common non-reentrant tuning for baritone uke is DGBE, Im sure people have tuned baritone ukes as you say, but it is far from standard, and you would have to reslot the nut for much fatter strings, which is obviously not reversable.

    You are talking about almost an entire octave lower.

    It is known as a piccolo bass believe me. I am not trying to talk you into making a bass! :D The fellow in arrested development i mentioned had a custom 4 string floyd rose trem on his and all.. its not a bass either.. It is an instrument which, while obscure, at least has a name. Like a tenor guitar is in fact very unlike a guitar (and easily mistaken for a bari uke) a piccolo bass, just by being in the guitar's range, will be more like a guitar than a bass. Sometimes they are closer to bass scale length, but often not. The strings are spaced much closer, like a guitar or uke, not like a bass. This is to facilitate chords i guess.
  • Patrick Breton March 11, 2010 at 8:43am
    Hi Jeff,
    i'm looking for a tuning DGBE like the last four string of a regular guit and baritone ukulele Mike mentioned me !!!
    Thanks for every help, such a great place here love it, all those pictures and video and more...
    Regards,
    Patrick

    Jef Long said:
    i didnt see David's last one when I typed that :D
    exactly what tuning are you chasing here Mr Canadian Pat??
    I'm sensing some confusion..
  • Patrick Breton March 11, 2010 at 8:40am
    Nigel, that sure would be appreciated, i'm looking to build a 4 string tuning in DGBE like the four last string of a normal guitar and supposed to be the baritone ukulele normal tuning but i want it to be full scalle like a real guitar, i play on a fender squier normally.
    Thanks so much again !!!
    Patrick

    Nigel Richards said:
    Hi, not sure of what help you need but I can give you the scale lengths and the fret spacing and the nut string spacing measurements if that helps.
  • Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry March 11, 2010 at 4:03am
    Hi, not sure of what help you need but I can give you the scale lengths and the fret spacing and the nut string spacing measurements if that helps.
  • jim March 11, 2010 at 3:25am
    Sure are alot of different crazy names for cigar box tunings. And putting them into a class. I use over 12 different tunings and its still just a cigar box guitar.
  • The Phrygian Kid March 11, 2010 at 1:06am
    i didnt see David's last one when I typed that :D
    exactly what tuning are you chasing here Mr Canadian Pat??
    I'm sensing some confusion..
  • The Phrygian Kid March 11, 2010 at 12:36am
    by far the most common non-reentrant tuning for baritone uke is DGBE, Im sure people have tuned baritone ukes as you say, but it is far from standard, and you would have to reslot the nut for much fatter strings, which is obviously not reversable.

    You are talking about almost an entire octave lower.

    It is known as a piccolo bass believe me. I am not trying to talk you into making a bass! :D The fellow in arrested development i mentioned had a custom 4 string floyd rose trem on his and all.. its not a bass either.. It is an instrument which, while obscure, at least has a name. Like a tenor guitar is in fact very unlike a guitar (and easily mistaken for a bari uke) a piccolo bass, just by being in the guitar's range, will be more like a guitar than a bass. Sometimes they are closer to bass scale length, but often not. The strings are spaced much closer, like a guitar or uke, not like a bass. This is to facilitate chords i guess.
  • David West March 11, 2010 at 12:31am
    Your welcome. I have only very recently discovered baritone ukulele's. They are really cool, and a very easy transition for a guitar player.
    I have several projects going right now. A soprano ukulele, a tenor ukulele, 2 basses using polyurathane strings from RoadToad ukulele and a cookie tin banjo. I am walking my guitar club students through many cigarbox guitars, ukuleles, and electric cigar box guitar projects. It has been a lot of fun so far. Today I picked up wood and supplies to make 8 cajon drums.
    No rest for the wicked.

    Check out the youtube of "while my ukulele gently weeps" to see what can be done with 4 strings tuned d/g/b/e.
    Dave

    David West said:
    The tuning you are talking about is standard tuning for a baritone ukulele. It should be no problem. Plus, go to Baritone Uku chord chart sites and you will be able to figure out any additional chords that you find you need.
    Good Luck,
    Dave



    Patrick Breton said:
    Thanks Raymond !!!
    i also checked the other post concerning the string subject but what i want here is not open tuning but normal tuning like using the 4 thinnest string of a set and tuning them to: (from the thickest) D-G-B-E
    like a normal 6 string but only the last 4

    Raymond L said:
    Patrick,
    I use open E tuning for much the same reasons you mentioned.
    I have my 4 string tuned from the top (thickest string) down to the bottom ( thinnest string).
    E, B, E G#
    This is an open E tuning.
    This tuning is good for "power" cords, E,A,D, strum an open E (1), slide down to A (4), slide down to D (5).
    With the 1,4,5 combination and mixing them up....you can play hundreds of songs.
  • Patrick Breton March 10, 2010 at 10:58pm
    Very interesting and helpfull David !!!
    didn't know that one and love ukulele :D
    thanks again to everyone here !!!
    Patrick
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