From: Simon Beck
Date: 24 July 2011 00:04:36 GMT+01:00
To: Rotosound
Subject: Disappointed with Laguna ukulele strings...
I have played bass guitar for 35 years and have always used Rotosound Swing Bass strings, originally on my home-made Gibson copy (built when I was 15) and subsequently on Peavey and Rhino basses. A few years ago I added a ukulele to my collection of instruments, and when it came time to change its strings, I bought a set of Rotosound Laguna strings from my local music shop. I put them on my ukulele, tuned it up (I play in standard GCEA tuning) and was very disappointed with the dull, twangy sound, quite unlike the sound of the original strings. The C (third) string in particular felt floppy and would not stay in tune, and overall the strings felt too slack. I eventually bought a set of Aquila New Nylgut strings, which have a higher tension and a nice crisp tone. I have done some research and it seems that:
1) your Laguna strings are intended for an obsolete tuning starting on A rather than G, popular many years ago but now rarely used
2) your string set only uses two different gauges rather than an individually selected gauge for each string. No guitarist would be satisfied with (say) a B and an E string of the same gauge!
I suggest that you either stop selling ukulele strings altogether, since you appear to be out of touch with modern playing practice, or develop a contemporary set of ukulele strings, specifically configured for GCEA tuning and preferably using more precisely chosen gauges.
Yours faithfully,
Simon Beck