String Advice - Specific criteria

Hi all, just wondering what strings to get, I understand that string choice is a personal preference, but I'm interested in thoughts and opinions.

I have a solid mahogany Kala concert (KA-SMHC) and I currently having strung with Aquila Supernylgut with a Red unwound lowG.

I'm looking for ideas for strings which give a bright, crisp sound on a solid mahogany instrument. I've looked up audiovisual samples on the Internet, but a lot of them seem inapplicable to my purpose as many of their instruments are either a different size or a different material - namely either a laminate or Koa.

Mahogany is said to have a warm and full bodied sound, but I am looking to add a brightness and crispness to that through string choice. Any thoughts would be great!

Welcome aboard.

From what I understand, mahogany will only produce a warm mellow tone regardless of strings, (compared to spruce or acacia for instance), but I'm no expert.

I personally like the sound of Martin strings on mahogany ukuleles. I also find Worth clears to be rather bright. Another place to look is Southcoast strings (www.southcoastukes.com). There are a lot of different options there and you can decide which string set you want based upon your scale length, as well as your desired tone and tension.

As you said strings are a personal preference. Good luck with your search!

The Aquila Red Series strings are brighter than the Nylguts, so if these are easily and cheaply available to you, I'd start there. They will also go better with the single red low-G that you have, sound-wise, than the regular Nylguts.

Another potential candidate are the Martin strings WCB mentioned, those are fairly bright, though by now I find them a little too thin for comfort (I used to enjoy them, but my tactile preferences shifted a little). They are inexpensive and easy to find, and they are good strings. Among fluorocarbon strings, I think my favorite are Ken Middleton's Living Water Strings. He's a great guy, too, and sometimes even includes buttons! They have a soft, very pleasant feel to them, rather different from other fluorocarbon strings I've tried.

uke1950 said:

Welcome aboard.

From what I understand, mahogany will only produce a warm mellow tone regardless of strings, (compared to spruce or acacia for instance), but I'm no expert.

Click to expand...

At least from my noob perspective, I'd say that the tonewood is but one factor, and the acoustic chamber and build matters as well. At least that's my experience with my lovely soprano, it was a tad too bright with nylguts and reds, so I'm trying Worth Browns now.

//CML

Martin M620 strings will be brighter and more bell-like than any Aquila strings on mahogany IMHO.

If you try them and like the sound, but want slightly lower tension, easier fretting, and longer sustain, try the Martin M600 strings, yes the soprano/concert set, ON A TENOR. You will not harm the instrument based upon my own hands-on use on several ukes now.

And for the EXTREME in this gradation of tone and lower tension and LONGER sustain, try Worth (CL) which are the thinnest strings you can buy as a set, but because they are 46" long as a double set, you need to cut them exactly in half and tie your knots VERY close to the string end otherwise they will not be long enough to string up on a tenor.

The above is based upon testing over 75 DIFFERENT string sets, made from all kinds of materials, on more than a dozen ukes over the past 3 yrs...

Good luck!

Hmmm, looks like the OP has a concert, not a tenor. I would swap that last bit of advice around - try the Martin M600 set first and then, if you think you can handle a little extra tension (only about an extra pound per course at concert scale) try the M620 set. The slightly tighter strings may well drive the uke's soundboard a little better and provide some of that desired extra brightness and clarity. I have had excellent results using M620s on a Kala cedar top concert.

If you want to stay low-G I would suggest switching to a wound string - The Freemont Soloist being the most obvious option.

I second the suggestion of Living Waters.

Martins and Living Waters are great. I would add Fremont Blackline Mediums to the list. I have them on my mahogany concert, they make it ring like a bell.