There is always discussion and questions about using classical guitar strings on baritone ukuleles. I have experimented a lot with various strings but with two twists. I always buy single strings and everything I am going to discuss will be florocarbon for the B and E strings, no nylon. I buy everything from Strings by Mail and they are great to deal with and have an excellent website that is easy to navigate. Just go to classical guitar strings and click on the brand you want. I do not work for them or get a kick back, I'm just a very satisified customer.
The strings that I list below I have tried on one of 5 baritones, I currently still have three of those. Tone is very subjective and each instrument can be a law unto itself. But in general terms the thinner the string the brighter the sound, but the looser the tension under finger. As an example I will use two Baritone sets to illustrate
Worth CB............B string .0310"........E string .0250"
Martin M630......B string .0256"........E string .0216"
On every baritone I have tried the Martins were aways brighter. This also illustrates a key component to experimenting with strings, the wide range of diameters you can use. REMEMBER I am referring to florocarbon trebles for every thing below. We will start with wound singles
Wound strings. Most D position strings are around .035" in diameter and G position strings are around .030"
*D'Addario NYL035 (D) & NYL030(G), inexpensive with a great full sound, they balance well together, my go to wounds. They do squeak
*D'Addario Pro Arte polished
Normal J4505LP .034" (D) and J4504LP .027" (G)
Hard.....J4605LP .035" (D) and J4605LP .028" (G)
Brighter and almost squeak free compared to the NYL series above
*Thomastik Infield
CF35 (D) and CF30 (G)
Very high quality string, very squeak free with an even tone, less chimey than the D'Addarios above
*Dogal Diamante
Extra Soft NR1275 .0325" (D) and NR1274 .027" (G)
Soft.........NR127A5 .034" (D) and NR127A4 .028" (G)
*Oasis GPX+Carbon
Normal Sost NT05 .035" (D) and NT04 .029" (G)
High Sost HT05 .037 (D) and HT04 .031" (G)
Florocarbon Trebles. This is where I have found the greatest impact on tone from warm to bright.
*Oasis GPX+Carbon
Normal NT02 .027" (B) and NT01 .024" (E)
High HT02 .028" (B) and HT01 .025" (E)
*Dogal Diamante , very interesting string that combined nylon and florocarbon, sweet tone
Extra soft NR1272 .032" (B) and NR1271 .0285" (E)
*Pyramid (specialties singles) PVF Carbons
Lots of different diameters, huge selection. Note there are smaller diameters for sopranos up to tenors as well
*Savarez Alliance KF
Same as above with a huge selection of singles
*Hannabach Carbon Trebles
Car2MHT .029" (B) and Car1MHT .025" (E)
Please feel free to add to this thread with your favorites. Hopefully 2Xbass joins in with his spread sheet and extensive knowledge of nylon strings
The strings that I list below I have tried on one of 5 baritones, I currently still have three of those. Tone is very subjective and each instrument can be a law unto itself. But in general terms the thinner the string the brighter the sound, but the looser the tension under finger. As an example I will use two Baritone sets to illustrate
Worth CB............B string .0310"........E string .0250"
Martin M630......B string .0256"........E string .0216"
On every baritone I have tried the Martins were aways brighter. This also illustrates a key component to experimenting with strings, the wide range of diameters you can use. REMEMBER I am referring to florocarbon trebles for every thing below. We will start with wound singles
Wound strings. Most D position strings are around .035" in diameter and G position strings are around .030"
*D'Addario NYL035 (D) & NYL030(G), inexpensive with a great full sound, they balance well together, my go to wounds. They do squeak
*D'Addario Pro Arte polished
Normal J4505LP .034" (D) and J4504LP .027" (G)
Hard.....J4605LP .035" (D) and J4605LP .028" (G)
Brighter and almost squeak free compared to the NYL series above
*Thomastik Infield
CF35 (D) and CF30 (G)
Very high quality string, very squeak free with an even tone, less chimey than the D'Addarios above
*Dogal Diamante
Extra Soft NR1275 .0325" (D) and NR1274 .027" (G)
Soft.........NR127A5 .034" (D) and NR127A4 .028" (G)
*Oasis GPX+Carbon
Normal Sost NT05 .035" (D) and NT04 .029" (G)
High Sost HT05 .037 (D) and HT04 .031" (G)
Florocarbon Trebles. This is where I have found the greatest impact on tone from warm to bright.
*Oasis GPX+Carbon
Normal NT02 .027" (B) and NT01 .024" (E)
High HT02 .028" (B) and HT01 .025" (E)
*Dogal Diamante , very interesting string that combined nylon and florocarbon, sweet tone
Extra soft NR1272 .032" (B) and NR1271 .0285" (E)
*Pyramid (specialties singles) PVF Carbons
Lots of different diameters, huge selection. Note there are smaller diameters for sopranos up to tenors as well
*Savarez Alliance KF
Same as above with a huge selection of singles
*Hannabach Carbon Trebles
Car2MHT .029" (B) and Car1MHT .025" (E)
Please feel free to add to this thread with your favorites. Hopefully 2Xbass joins in with his spread sheet and extensive knowledge of nylon strings
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