5 string instrument - Jacob Collier

[Neil_O]

Please, somebody buy this

forget the Koaloha ripoff headstock, look at the back! :oops: https://ukehk.com/collections/pineapple-shaped/products/aama-pineapple-ukulele-aa-cpt?variant=40921171558443 Woah! Feel that could lead to some chafing.

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

I was very curious about the 5-evenly-spaced-strings Ko'olau in the thread above. It appeals to me for some reason. Soon after I saw this video where Jacob Collier is presented as the originator of this instrument. I especially like the fact that even a fancypants musician such as he wanted a crutch to learn guitar, like a Loog or that three string Romero Uke.



How would you tune the Ko'olau?

 

[dancephoto]

Here is how Keith Richards tunes his 5-string guitar.

 

[Neil_O]

Here is how Keith Richards tunes his 5-string guitar.

Pretty sure keef plays a 6 string guitar. He just doesn't cotton to the low E so he removes one, lacking symmetry on the neck. I have been mildly worried that putting tension on one side of the neck may be detrimental to the guitar. Jacob Collier has a plan. DAEAD

 

[Tukanu]

I built a 5 string for Jim Hanks a few years ago. It simply had a "D" added at the bottom... dGCEA. It uses pretty much the same chord shapes as a 4 string ukulele. He has posted some videos of himself playing it.
It is not too hard to get use to.
I built my personal guitar as a 5 string...just left off the low "E".

 

[gilles T]

Hello,
This subject came up in various threads ("5 evenly spaced strings", if memory serves me well), so I share again my experiment :
I have a Timple, which is a spanish 5-strings instrument from the Canary Islands, sized like a tenor uke. I choosed to tune it gGCEA, so this offers the possibility to play both linear and re-entrant or, if you prefer, to play linear with the added technique of campanella scales.
Very versatile and a lot of fun !
Hope this helps,
Gilles

 

[ukulelekarcsi]

The sheer number of strings isn't novel, but his tuning is:

• lower strings in fifths like a mandola (wide jumps, at the 7th fret, logical lay-out and more range),
• upper strings in fourths like a guitar or ukulele (closer, at the 4th or 5th fret, easier chording).

Even lap steels (infamous for having all kinds of different tunings) never have this kind of tuning.