Can you tune your mandolin strings to a guitar tuning?

Answer 1

Yes

I am a Ukulele player and I am going to get a Mandolin. I tune all my ukes to C tuning gcea..even my Baritone uke. I cant see why, when I buy that mandolin, I cant tune the same WITHOUT BUYING MORE STRINGS.

ALL STRINGS STAY WHERE THEY ARE EXCEPT YOU SWAP THE TOP 4 STRINGS.
ALL STRINGS ARE EITHER THE EXACT RIGHT ONES, or are just one note out! The steel strings can be tuned then to match GCEA without any stress, or tight strings.
This way you dont have to learn new chord patterns and I dont think you miss out on any special sound that the mandolin has to offer. I am not an expert- but it makes sense to me ;especially if you are old and dont HAVE to learn a whole bunch of new chords.

Answer 2

I understand that it is normal to tune a banjolele like a ukulele. There seems to be no music currently available specifically written for the banjolele.
Whether you would want to tune a normal banjo like a ukulele is a different issue!

Answer 3

The standard tuning for a mandolin is the same as the top 4 strings of a guitar - minus the two unwrapped strings ( B & E ). So the tuning would be (4th) - E, (3rd) - A, (2nd) - D, (1st) - G. And the little string next to each string is an "octave" string, which means you tune it the same as the string it's next to, but an octave higher.

Answer 4

No, the primary reason is that a mandolin has wire/steel strings, an ukulele uses gut or nylon. The tension required for a steel string is not going to be good for the instrument.

Other reasons:

They are tuned differently.

The bodies are different lengths so it would not fit.

The strings are different thicknesses - it just wouldn't work.

It may be possible to use some of the strings, if you select the correct thickness, you may be able to put it on for one of the strings, but it wouldn't be a good long time fix and may damage the ukulele.

Answer 5

It depends on the notes used and just how the tuner works. In most cases the guitar tuner has a chromatic mode which can be used to tune an ukulele and vice versa. You will need to know what the notes you want are!

Answer 6

It is with the correct strings. It isn't going to sound nearly as good and will be many octaves above the bass.
Yes, GDEA can be tuned on the ukulele. Yes, the C string could be tuned to a D.

Answer 7

There shouldn't be a problem with it. Ukulele strings are available in those tunings, but you may have to buy several different sets of strings to get the right notes.

Answer 8

While you probably could, it isn't going to sound right. The mandolin typically has wire strings, while the ukulele uses nylon.