Mellowest strings that money can buy

Jovian

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Hi,

I'Ve found browsing this forum so helpful over my brief uke career so far but I have yet to find a clear answer to a problem I have.

I have a Kala Ziricote laminate tenor uke that I love but I find has a. 'Twang' to its sound when strummed lightly that I don't like, when I drop tuning it sounds much better, more mellow, I'm guessing that this is due to the lower tension in the strings at drop tuning. My question is what strings can I put on my uke to mellow out my 'twang'. Should I aim for really low tension strings? I see south coast ukulele have lower tension options?
So far I have tried :
Aquila super nylgyt - quite bright and shimmery
Aquila new nylgut - too boomy
Aquila bionylon - bit dull and still twangy
Aquila red - so twangy but pretty low tension, metallic sound
Martin m620 - meh, twangy and not nice on my uke
Daddario ej53t - pretty good but still twang a fair bit not keen on metal c string, tried mixing in a c string from the super nylgut which was ok.
Worth brown BT - very twangy but actually quite nice

I have heard putting concert sets on a tenor reduces tension should I try this? I suppose I'm looking for the least trebley and most brassy sound possible from strings.

I'm open to all suggestions, and if there is anyone in Australia who'd like to post me some spares to try out that would be awesome :eek:

Hope to get some good advice!

Josef
 
Yes, I use Low G Concert Living Water flourocarbon strings on my Tenors & tenor scale ukes.
I'm not keen on the higher tension of regular tenor strings, & I hate wound strings. :)
 
Second the suggestion to try Living Water strings, and to consider low G as an answer to the "twang". Another possibility could be Oasis Warm Low G strings, but in that case I would suggest the Fremont Soloist low G.
 
If you want warmth in reentrant then try nylon. As you said you did like the one set you tried except for the wound third. Try D'Addario EJ65T and other nylons by Dogal, GHS and LaBella.

If you are hearing "twangy" with every set you have tried so far it might be the inherent sound of that particular instrument. Keep trying different strings to find out for sure
 
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Thanks guys, just put my black nylon ej53t back on my uke but with the c string from a set of Aquila super nylgut, sounds good.

Considering getting the concert set of the same to reduce tension the tiniest bit... and so all my strings are black :). Will putting the concert on make a marked difference in tension? I know they will be higher tension than if I were to put them in a concert but will they be noticeably lower tension than my tenor set?
 
Using a concert string set on a tenor scale instrument will do two things. The tension will be a bit less, nothing dramatic but you will notice it. The second thing is they will be brighter sounding, the opposite of your stated goal of mellower. Concert strings are smaller in diameter than tenor strings, smaller diameter of the "same" make of string is brighter.

Oasis has a warm set and a bright set. The only difference is the smaller diameter of the G and A string on the bright set. That is what makes them brighter, same florocarbon compound as the warms, identical, just thinner.
 
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Like you I like lower tension strings and don't care for C tuning all that much. I tune my tenors in dGBE and use baritone chord charts and just use normal Tenor strings. Mostly D'Addario (EJ99's) carbons or Fremont Black lines or Worth Browns (FATS). I find the intonation to be as good as a C tuned Uke, despite what I was warned about the string diameters. You can even go Low D, using a low G set for tenors, but you lose the re-entrant sound, or use a Fremont Soloist as a Low D.

If you are really adventurous you can detune to eAC#F# which makes playing in some odd keys a lot easier, but you have to convert the chord forms to their 'real' pitch which can make playing with other complicated.

Tenors are very flexible. The nice thing is you can detune the strings you have on your Uke to see if you like the sound, and all it costs is the time to retune you uke.
 
Thanks guys, just put my black nylon ej53t back on my uke but with the c string from a set of Aquila super nylgut, sounds good.

For something similar, I recommend this set made from D'addario clear rectified nylon. It's a classical half set plus a single, but it comes to about the same price as a uke set: the RNH-3T half set (three strings, these would be the CEA) and the J3002 single string (for the G).
 
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I would try GHS CU-CCR part of the re-entrant Chee/Maisel artist stirngs. They are ground nylon ( don't know what that is really) but I have never liked anything Nylon on my Ukulele until I tried these. They are mellow but not muddy when strummed. They are clear when finger picked. Not too bright like fluro strings. I have played the uke you have in stores and they always have Aquila on them. If think the Aquila are too bright, then try these. I think $10 a set. Very impressed with the tension and the clarify when finger picking.

I've currently got them on my MTD-SP spruce/mahogany Pono. I like them. Funny, I tried same set on my Pono AT ( which loves Fluro strings) and I didn't like them.

Its a cheap experiment but from what you described these might be good for you.

YMMV.
Good luck
 
I would suggest the Clifford Essex gut strings, real gut. They're kind of armoured for longer life. I put them on a vintage Washburn UF, now I can take part in Early music concerts. ;-)
 
For something similar, I recommend this set made from D'addario clear rectified nylon. It's a classical half set plus a single, but it comes to about the same price as a uke set: the RNH-3T half set (three strings, these would be the CEA) and the J3002 single string (for the G).

I have just realized that the "unconventional" set I've been describing is actually identical to Ko'olau tenor mahana (clear nylon) strings.
 
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The Ko'olau sets were the mellowed strings I have tried, and I didn't like them for that reason. But this may make them ideal for you (seeing as my favorite strings are Reds, though they don't sound twangy on my ukes). Low-G is another option as it'll make the overall sound more mellow. My favorite low-G strings are the Red one and the Fremont Soloist. The Red is a bit thinner.
 
Have you tried some black Hilo strings? Ko'olau Mahano strings are reported to be extremely mellow sounding.
 
I think my twag comes from the high tension in my a string, what i really need is the lowest tension set i can get.
Im experimenting with a concert set of aquila lava to see if this works for me :)
 
X2 on Living Waters for mellow. I have them on my sapele Opio and it sounds wonderful.
 
I think my twag comes from the high tension in my a string, what i really need is the lowest tension set i can get. Im experimenting with a concert set of aquila lava to see if this works for me :)

The aNueNue Black Water strings have lower tension than most other tenor strings. The concert version of them has lower tension even. They are relatively easy to get in Europe, but I don't know about the US.

The LW are similar to the Worth Clears, which have slightly higher tension than the Worth Browns.
 
Do you find that the volume has also dropped with the use of concert strings?
 
I'd like to give these aNueNue Black Water strings a try the stockist in Uk seem to be out of stock does anybody know of any EU stockists please .
Cheers Dave
 
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