Ukulele strings

[Walkerman]

Nylon, fluorocarbon, brand name ..... what are the best uke strings?

[Paraclete]

My partner and I have a few.  One uke is an all-koa tenor, high G.  We use Worth clear heavy tenors on that one. We have another that we keep low G tuned, and that one actually is a mixed set of Savarez corum classical strings.  I don’t have the info in front of me at the moment on the exact numbers on those classicals.

The Worth strings come in brown and clear.  If I recall correctly, the Browns are a bit warmer, the clears brighter.

Aquilas are decent too, have a way of making a cheap uke sound better.  But I definitely prefer the Worths for high end instruments.

[AZLiberty]

I have not had a Uke long enough to really experiment, but sound clips always may the Aquilia Reds sound really good. Those will be the next ones I try.

[Parlor Picker]

I use Aquila strings on my Ko'olau Pono tenor ukulele and am very pleased with them. A cheaper instrument I used to own was improved dramatically when Aquilas were fitted. They last a long time as well.

Be warned though, once installed they take at least a couple of weeks to stretch out. Once they have done so, they are very stable and stay in tune.

[giff06]

My absolute favorites are Living Water Uke Strings. Made in the UK but available from Uke Republic in GA. here in the US. A bit pricey but last a long time. Their Low G set features an unwound G string and I use them on my Koa Uke. The re entrant G or Hi G set sounds real sweet on my Ebony/Cedar top Pono. About $15 a set.

[Walkerman]

I use Aquila strings on my Ko'olau Pono tenor ukulele and am very pleased with them. A cheaper instrument I used to own was improved dramatically when Aquilas were fitted. They last a long time as well.

Be warned though, once installed they take at least a couple of weeks to stretch out. Once they have done so, they are very stable and stay in tune.

So, are you constantly retuning for two weeks?

[Paraclete]

So, are you constantly retuning for two weeks?

Aquilas are kind of ridiculous that way.  You can pull the string completely tight with no slack while winding it onto the tuner heads and you might still run out of room on the post.  The very long break in time is frustrating.  If you sit down and play right after you put them on, you have to stop constantly to retune.  Even my classical guitar strings aren’t that bad.  But again, they do make a marginal uke sound better.

[Parlor Picker]

So, are you constantly retuning for two weeks?

Yes - that's what I find. However, once settled in, they are extremely stable. I suspect a lot of other makes will be just the same, but I have no experience to confirm this.

[Walkerman]

Aquilas are kind of ridiculous that way.  You can pull the string completely tight with no slack while winding it onto the tuner heads and you might still run out of room on the post.  The very long break in time is frustrating.  If you sit down and play right after you put them on, you have to stop constantly to retune.  Even my classical guitar strings aren’t that bad.  But again, they do make a marginal uke sound better.

Well, if you have a very good uke, what strings would you want.

[Parlor Picker]

Well, if you have a very good uke, what strings would you want.

I suppose the answer is to experiment with various brands, especially if they come recommended by other players. I am delighted with the beautiful tone, good volume and long service life (they last me years) of Aquilas, which seem to make any ukulele sound great (cheap or expensive). I therefore stick with the Aquilas, as I can't be bothered to start experimenting and have a slight dread of fitting strings that are just not right for the instrument. More costly Worths, etc. might improve the sound slightly, but I've never got around to trying. As I say, I'm happy with the consistently good sound of the Aquilas.

It will be interesting to hear what you decide on and how it works out. Good luck!

[ducktrapper]

Having never changed strings on either of my ukes, I don't know but whatever's on them seem to work fine so my advice is ... uke strings? Four. 

[Paraclete]

Well, if you have a very good uke, what strings would you want.

I’ve got Worth clear heavy tenors on the Moore Bettah uke (high g) and Savarez corum classicals (guitar strings) on the Halekoa (which is low-g tuned).  It took some experimenting over time to figure out what sounded best on those ukes.  I’d never put Aquilas on any of my ukes.  They sound sweeter and woodier with Worths.  I use classical guitar strings on that one uke because of the low g tuning.  Honestly, you need to try different brands and see what sounds best to you.  It’s amazing how much difference there is between different brands on different instruments.