Confused about ukulele strings

J

JustANewGuy

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hey guy, it's my first time here, and I have a question, so I just got myself my first, cheap (25£) ukulele, and I read that it would be a good idea to change the strings since the ones they come with are not so good. So I went at the only music store in my town and got some uke strings. Now, I have been playing guitar for 2 years and I know how to mount the strings but I do not know which string to put where. Are they all the same? They did not come makes as the 1st string 2nd string, etc, they just came in a box all together. And I am confused about which one is the 1st string and all that stuff. Thanks in advance :D
Update: I found out that they are Aquila strings if that helps, but the brand that imported them changed the package for some reason. Also thanks to everyone for the fast response :)
 
Last edited:
I am a bot of a newbie myself, but when I bought strings to replace the stock ones for my uke they were color coded. If these are not I would return. Are you sure you got a new package and not one someone may of opened and returned?
 
If they are re entrant, high G, there will be two thin ones, if one is thinner, that will be the 'A' string, number 1, nearest the floor. The next thinnest is the 'G' string, number 4, nearest to your face.
The 'C' string will be the thickest, number 3, & the last one is the 'E', second thickest, number 2.

If they are linear, low G, then the thickest is the 'G', number 4, followed by the second thickest, 'C', number 3, then 'E', next thickest, number 2, & lastly comes the 'A', number 1
 
Last edited:
No color code here. I am sure about the fact that they are not used because I've been knowing the guy at the shop, he's a friend of mine so I'm pretty sure he would not re-sell strings, also not many in my city play this instrument so there is a really low chance of that
 
Thanks, this tip may be of use but that means that I need to get something to measure their thickness because I can spot the thickest one and the thinnest one but the remaining two seems pretty much the same
 
Working with what you have and assuming re-entrant (C6) tuning, I believe it's:

A = thinnest
E = thick
C = thicker
G = thin

(someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I am fairly new)

ETA: Uke1950 beat me to it.
 
Last edited:
So, I found out that they are Aquila strings if that helps, but the brand that imported them changed the package for some reason, and removed the color code or whatever code they should come with
 
Last edited:
Ok, yeah, that would have me beating my head against a wall. :confused:

If a trip back to the store is convenient, I'd take them back and ask for help identifying which is which. If it's not convenient… at the risk of purist firebombs being rained down upon me, I'm going to say that it's probably not a big deal if you end up mistakenly swapping the G string with the A string or the C string with the E string. We're talking about size differences less than 1 millimeter. They might take longer to stretch, and maybe they won't last quite as long, but otherwise you should be good to strum. :)

(again, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I am fairly new)
 
Wouldn't be a big deal to go back to the shop tho the guy didn't know it either, he plays piano and violin and well, back when I bought them I asked him about this he said he had no idea and that I should do some research on the internet, couldn't find anything useful so I came to this forum :D
Thanks for the help btw, I think that I will just get a calliper and measure it myself than put them in there suggested order by you and Uke1950. That's the best I can do right not, I guess? But I'll wait a bit more to see if anyone comes up with a better idea before that
 
Last edited:
If you have calipers then you are all set. In order of thickness from thinnest to thickest

A, G, E, C. We refer to #1 as closet to the ground so stringing order is #1- A, #2- E, #3 - C, #4 - G. With a caliper you can measure what you have on there for "thickness reference".

Go to the Aquila website and they show the diameters of their AGxAC string set. This will give you an idea of placement order based on diameter
 
Last edited:
I've found that, for re-entrant, the middle 2 are always easy to ID, but the outer 2 are pretty close in diameter, so I pay attention to the packaging to make sure I get those right. Some string sets are packaged in individual envelopes with string name on them. Others are just color coded; but if the strings were already used (when experimenting with string swaps), the color coded end might have been trimmed off at installation. So, if I'm planning to use a set again, I'll always tag the high G string, to make sure I don't confuse it with the A later.
 
Ok everyone, I'm sorry for not mentioning that I have a soprano uke, with a slotted bridge. After some measurements and comparing the thickness of the original strings to the new ones, I ended up mounting the strings in this order:
A = thinnest
E = thick
C = thickest
G = thin.
I hope this is right, as it is in the order that the original strings came.
Also thank you so much to everyone that posted and tried to help me out :D , you guys rock
 
JustANewGuy said:
Ok everyone, I'm sorry for not mentioning that I have a soprano uke, with a slotted bridge. After some measurements and comparing the thickness of the original strings to the new ones, I ended up mounting the strings in this order:
A = thinnest
E = thick
C = thickest
G = thin.
I hope this is right, as it is in the order that the original strings came.
Also thank you so much to everyone that posted and tried to help me out :D , you guys rock
Click to expand...

This sounds about right, and as per the info everyone gave you seems spot-on in my experience.

Also, like others had said if you got them on wrong, with a soprano, methinks the worst-case scenario is that it would just sound bad.

Especially, since total string tension on a soprano is about 26-28lbs or so, and each string alone about 7-9lbs of tension, so little chance I think of pulling the bridge off, warping the neck or bellying/dishing the top from excessive tension. The bridge might take overnight to get yanked and the neck warping will be evident in about 36 hrs, but the bellying/dishing of the top is usually evident RIGHT away, once you are close to concert pitch.

Bellying/dishing shows as a hump on one side of the bridge and a valley on the opposite side of the bridge, usually the valley is betw bridge and sound hole and hump betw bridge and butt-end, if too much tension or not braced properly on the inside from how it was built (which is always a concern with cheaper 'beginner' ukes...)

Were these fluoro strings (which typically have more tension than nylon or Aquila nylgut), and/or a concert scale or longer, I'd warn with extreme caution for the potential damages as listed above...

But, in theory, you should be ok.
.
.
 
Last edited:
Lots of advise floating around here, but I would take them back. There is something odd for brand new strings to have no markings, no little tags, or individual envelopes to identify which string is which. Even if they are Aquila strings, repackaged for someone else. I buy repackaged Aquila strings and they are always marked in some way. Your friend may not purposely sell counterfeit Aquilas, but that don't mean that they are not. Like I said, it seems odd.
 
Rllink said:
Lots of advise floating around here, but I would take them back. There is something odd for brand new strings to have no markings, no little tags, or individual envelopes to identify which string is which. Even if they are Aquila strings, repackaged for someone else. I buy repackaged Aquila strings and they are always marked in some way. Your friend may not purposely sell counterfeit Aquilas, but that don't mean that they are not. Like I said, it seems odd.
Click to expand...
agree, I have NEVER bought strings that did not come with some way to identify which is which. somethings fishy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

malweth
Confused in "Ukulele Exercises for Dummies" - Fretboard: Scales (Ch. 11)
Replies
7
Views
2K
carolani
carolani
B
Guilele? Requinito? Guitar? The original Cordoba Mini-M - not to be confused with the much larger Mini II
Replies
1
Views
435
jkib
J
M
New member, confused about forums
Replies
11
Views
589
Kenn2018
Kenn2018
P
Missing nut, confused on measurement
Replies
6
Views
440
Barrytone
B
J
Confused about Humidity
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
Jerryc41
Jerryc41
Top Bottom