Which strings to improve a Kala KA-C ??

Regarding a Kala 2-year old KA-C with original Aquila Super Nylgut strings, which now sounds thin and dead... I can't figure out with which strings to replace to give it more volume, life, fullness, quality.

Any suggestions? (I guess there are trillion opinions!)

Thanks

Living Water fluorocarbon low G strings will bring it back to life.

I think you should try basic Martin 600 strings and see what you think.

Indeed there are many options. Assuming you want high g, two others suggestions are the old standby Martin M600 and Southcoast MU (at least 3 other options here depending on your tension, tone, and tuning preference but I think the MU is a safe starting point.)

Agree with Martins, Southcoasts, or Living Waters. Martins may be easier to find in a music store, but all can be had by mail.

hoplavie450 said:

Regarding a Kala 2-year old KA-C with original Aquila Super Nylgut strings, which now sounds thin and dead... I can't figure out with which strings to replace to give it more volume, life, fullness, quality.

Any suggestions? (I guess there are trillion opinions!)

Thanks

Click to expand...

I’ve had and have a few Kala brand Ukes, all of them have played better with M600’s than with the stock supplied Aquila’s, my favourite sounding Uke has M600’s on it. In the US the M600’s are relatively cheap and readily available so I suggest you go for it. I quite like Aquila’s too, not knocking the product at all, and at one point purposely strung a Uke with them for the contrast; the brand new Aquila’s, genuine ones in proper packaging, certainly sounded better to my ears than the old ones supplied on the Uke. That Uke has gone now - nice instrument, but I’m just making space - but at some point I’ll fit new Aquila’s to one of the ones that are left (want that contrast back again).

As I understand it two years is a long time for Uke strings so what you have may be just ‘worn out’ - add in the time in the factory, in shipping and on the shop’s shelf and maybe they are much older! Just in case you haven’t realised a proper set up on a Uke makes a world of difference to its sound too, check the set-up before you do anything else - it might never have been done or it might be improve-able.

Edit 1. You might find it helpful to listen to this video (of an APC Concert Uke) comparing stock Aquila’s with (what is maybe) a Fluorocarbon based alternative: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WgEEG7B4n6g , https://www.savarez.com/sites/default/files/public/catalogue/pdf/ukulele_uk.pdf .
A second one of his videos featuring a Makala Concert string change (from the as supplied stock, GHS?) might be a help to you too: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bhrih5EFOuQ . This chap’s videos are normally in Polish but a couple of the later ones (including these) are in English, he has an online shop but the (maybe) Fluorocarbons aren’t listed in it. His playing is fantastic, to me it’s really inspiring what he extracts from basic Ukes.

Edit 2. The last thing I want to do is speak negatively about Aquila’s. Here’s another Makala Concert that’s both expertly played and this time set up with Aquila’s: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6nzVqBX7pJE . Again, it’s inspiring what can be extracted from a basic Uke.

hoplavie450 said:

Regarding a Kala 2-year old KA-C with original Aquila Super Nylgut strings, which now sounds thin and dead... I can't figure out with which strings to replace to give it more volume, life, fullness, quality.

Any suggestions? (I guess there are trillion opinions!)

Thanks

Click to expand...

Any new strings will sound better than 2 year old strings. Your Kala will probably have a heart attack from the shock of getting new ones! Please have some oxygen at hand after fitting!

Camsuke said:

Any new strings will sound better than 2 year old strings. Your Kala will probably have a heart attack from the shock of getting new ones! Please have some oxygen at hand after fitting!

Click to expand...

Lol :agree:

La Bella Uke-Pros

I just put Southcoast strings on my boring Kala SMHC and now it's alive again. Couldn't recommend them more highly.

Just buy a few packs that intrigue you and have fun with it. South coast, Living Water, Aquila Sugar, Oasis Warm, Fremont Blackline, Martin fluoro, Martin Polygut, and the list goes on. HMS also has an old comparison video between 11 strings in both high and low G.

Just remember to not clip the slack at the headstock if you’re going to switch between strings. Good luck!!

thanks all!