Does anyone like the stock Kamaka Strings?

I use Martin fluorocarbons, which IIRC are even thinner than Worths. I just tie a big ol' messy knot with lots of loops at the end of each string - for me, that works out to 8 loops for the A string, 6 for the E, 1 for the C, and 8 for the high G or 1 for the wound Fremont low. It's not always pretty, but it works. And it beats the heck out of those awful black strings :)

Thanks, I'll keep trying. I was up to 3 knots with the A and thought I'd ask here first. Not sure if there was a bead trick or something. The other strings only used 1 luckily. If the A string keeps slipping through, is there any way that the slot could get damaged? It looks like there was some wood splinting, or it could also just be my imagination.
 
Thanks, I'll keep trying. I was up to 3 knots with the A and thought I'd ask here first. Not sure if there was a bead trick or something. The other strings only used 1 luckily. If the A string keeps slipping through, is there any way that the slot could get damaged? It looks like there was some wood splinting, or it could also just be my imagination.

Not sure if there's potential for damage other than getting snapped in the face by a wayward string (yep, it's happened!) - I've been stringing my HF-2 that way for 8+ years now and no issues. But you can use beads - those tiny little craft beads (example here) work great. I did that for a while but got tired of the battle between my middle-aged eyes and that tiny bead, for me it's much easier to tie a big knot.
 
Didn't like the stock strings on my Kamaka HF-2 100th anniversary edition and changed to Orcas Fluorocarbon strings. Now I really love the way it sounds!!!
 
Pulling up an old thread but I just wish to know if anybody used Kamaka strings on a Martin.

I have a very good experience of playing the Kamaka HF-2 concert with the original strings. But I’m not buying a HF-2 for sure, so my best deal is to install the Kamaka strings on my Martin C1K concert. Appreciate for any input.
 
I'm trying to figure out why Kamaka puts the strings they do on all their ukuleles. It seems that almost everyone replaces them as soon as they receive their Uke. Is it a contractual obligation thing with D'Addario? Is it a sound thing that they prefer? They are THE highly regarded Uke maker in Hawaii. I'm sure they know by now that most change out their stock strings. I am getting a soprano soon and I am debating leaving the stock strings on if anyone can give me good reason.

They're fine with me. I'm not one for changing strings just to experiment. At a uke fest over the weekend, I talked to a man who said he changes strings all the time, and he likes fluorocarbon. To each his own.
 
This is an old topic that seems to have resurfaced, but I'm fairly confident that I heard that Kamaka stock strings are actually D'addario black nylons.

You can find them by searching "D'addario Black Nylon Ukulele strings" on eBay, or just buy the D'addario black nylon classical guitar strings and use those (the DGBE strings correlate to GCEA on ukuleles for low-G tuning. Or use the 1st E string twice for both the G and the A string on ukulele).
 
If you enjoyed your experience, go for it! I'm firmly in the "dislike" camp as well but that's mainly a feel and sustain thing...I took the Kamaka strings off my tenor and replaced them with clear worths and very much prefer the feel. I'm not as into the tone as I usually am with this set however, so I've ordered a low g set of worth browns to see how those feel -- I don't generally change out strings all the time but I need to find that set that really vibes with the uke before I can settle in for a year or so.

But if you generally know you like a set of strings, and you like they way you play with those strings, you'll probably end up getting more out of your playing with those strings on any uke.
 
Maybe Kamaka expect their ukes to be used by players who actually work as musicians and who regularly use amplifiers?

I've always heard it was because the black nylons are considered a more traditional "Hawaiian" tone? I don't keep up with all things Jake, but last I heard he played a custom Kamaka with those purple D'Addario strings and not the stock black nylons.

QUOTE=bynapkinart;2149524]I'm firmly in the "dislike" camp as well but that's mainly a feel and sustain thing...[/QUOTE]

Same here - I dislike the feel of the black nylon strings and find they have little sustain playing up the neck. As a soprano/concert player who plays fingerstyle and is up the neck regularly, I need all the sustain I can get. Sure, there are those who will say this is a "technique" issue and that would be fine if I had endless hours to practice, but I have a full-time life outside of the ukulele so I'm all for quick fixes, shortcuts, and whatever it takes to make my playing more enjoyable in the moment.
 
Same here - I dislike the feel of the black nylon strings and find they have little sustain playing up the neck. As a soprano/concert player who plays fingerstyle and is up the neck regularly, I need all the sustain I can get. Sure, there are those who will say this is a "technique" issue and that would be fine if I had endless hours to practice, but I have a full-time life outside of the ukulele so I'm all for quick fixes, shortcuts, and whatever it takes to make my playing more enjoyable in the moment.

I'm a concert fingerstyle player, and agree that the Kamaka strings don't work for me. I don't think it's all about technique, but maybe just a preference in sound, and different styles of playing. I don't play Hawaiian style music, so maybe that's part of the reason that they don't appeal to me? Whatever the reason, I'm glad that we've got lots of choices.

As was mentioned, Jake doesn't use them either, right? Now, if only I could sound like Jake, whatever strings I use.

But, ukulele is just a hobby for me, and other things need to take priority. So, like janeray1940, I'll take advantage of anything that make my playing more enjoyable for me.
 
Thanks for all the inputs! I guess I’m in the other camp but I like my fluorocarbon too. Just that some ukes seems to feel and sound better with nylon imo. For my case, that Kamaka hf-2 seems perfect with the stock strings. So I have got myself this.

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The real Kamaka black strings. With a Low G too cos I thought why not. I can have a pretend Kamaka Ohta San uke if it works out fine. And here you go.
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The verdict, you have to take my words for it since there’s no audio comparisons, is a great sounding ukulele. It’s just as loud as before. C1K owners should know how loud it can be with the Martin strings.

Replacing that bright sparkling tone is a warmer and much sweeter note. Sustain is sufficient for me and the Low G helps a lot. They are thicker definitely as we all know and some may not like that feeling. But I think I’m doing okay with the thickness too. And I’m like doing 90% of the time on chord melody finger picking.

Also, interestingly the strings fitted nicely on the nut and no buzz.

I’m letting the Kamaka strings stay on for a while and see if it gets better. And this pretend Kamaka kind of stopped my UAS with the Ohta San uke.
 
I asked this very question at the factory tour last year. And I think it was Fred Kamaka Jr. who answered that they use these strings because they get a lot of feedback from the professional players who like their sound, but also the feel of stiffness that helps them with their precise playing.

As I am not a professional player I have Aquilas on my Lili'u mainly because I don't like wound strings.
 
I had an experience with the stock strings on a Kamaka Deluxe concert, that one with a slotted head and didn’t like the strings at all. Dull tone and zero sustain.

But on the Kamaka hf-2 it just seems to work, and there were other folks in the music store as well and they tried that Kamaka and they too, were amazed at the sound of the Kamaka strings. Before that, they were like, “nah, it will 100% sound better with worth string”.

So back to my Martin with Kamaka. it seems that Kamaka strings worked out on my Martin after all, at least to my ears. I guess I really have no strong preference on strings cos I tried many brands and different types of strings and I seems to like them all, well most of them. Well, if you are like me, give it a shot, try it out for yourself. Jmho.
 
D'Addario has a whole page for Jake Shimabukuro. It says he uses EJ65T Pro-Arté Custom Extruded Ukulele, Tenor ukulele strings. Nylon strings. I think I recall a page on a blog from a year or so ago claiming that the Kamaka strings are Pro-Arte strings dyed black, if this is correct and if Jake is actually using Pro-Arte strings, it is likely that Jake may actually be using a customised form of the strings packaged in Kamaka labelling?
Finding the strings you like to use is a quest for each ukulele. You can keep changing strings until you find the set you like. It is stupid to become a fan for a single set of strings for all of your ukuleles, it just does not work. However, I do recommend that you get your moneys worth out of you strings and you listen to them for a month or so before you change them for another set. The more you play the faster you wear out the strings, so when you are on a quest to find the right strings, play your uke as much as possible and really check out the strings while you wear them out.

Agree with you on the idea of no 1 set of strings for all ukuleles. I like Martin M600 on a Martin but dislike them on non Martin ukes. I have no loyalty to brands at all.

I intend to keep this Kamaka strings on for quite a while. They are growing on me for sure. And I have a bunch of Low G songs to work on. 1 advantage I can definitely see is that nylon strings are more tolerable of my playing. A missed step on fluorocarbon note can be quite noticeable as it cut across quite sharply. The Nylon string produce a rounder note and can go unnoticed.

Good to know that the D’addario can be a direct replacement for the Kamaka strings if one is looking for them. I’m lucky that my local music store has a full range of Kamaka strings. Given their poor reputation, i doubt music stores will stock up on them.
 
I love black nylon strings on my Kamaka soprano. Kamaka strings and GHS strings both sound and feel great to me. I tried out plenty of other string sets (fluorocarbon, Nylgut, etc.) and came back to the mellow sound and stylish coolness of black nylon strings. Perfect for me.
Have you found any other nylon strings you like ?
 
I love the sound and feel of black nylon strings, but I only use them on instruments bigger than sopranos because for some reason the C string on sopranos is thicker. This thickness disturbs me all the more that the uke is small. I'm not super fan of thick strings, and even less when one is way thicker than its neighbors. So most of my ukes fitted with D'addario black nylon are concerts (and one baritone with ghs : such a jazzy/bluesy sensual sound !!).

I have a Kamaka pineapple (= soprano) on which I loved the stock strings nylon sound, but I changed them for Worth Brown because that damn huge stiff C string just drove me nut. My uke has become so much more complex and "delicate", with much better sustain too. But it has lost a bit of its "insular root charm", I have to admit.
 
Have you found any other nylon strings you like ?
D'Addario nylons are very good. I recently tried the soprano strings, which are listed for D tuning. I had them in C, but for me, they were very good, but seemed slightly low tension. I also had some intonation issues, perhaps because that caused me to bend them out of tune. I tried a D'Addario concert set on soprano, which has the same string diameter as the Ernie Ball nylon soprano/concert strings. These are just a touch thicker than the soprano set, although I don't think I would have detected that by feel. They are working out well and I like the sound and tension. The sound has a nice ring with a touch more warmth than fluorocarbon and intonation is good.

LaBella are also nice. Be aware that the LaBella pro which are rectified, have a texture to them. Some players may not like that as they are not smooth to the touch and have a little sound as your fingers move along the string.
 
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