baritone strings

d/mace's harmony baritone is winging its way here as we chat.
keeping this instrument in DGBE, what are the go to string sets both wound and unwound.
i would like to try different sets to get some experience, and to have something around for the next baritone likely something from pono.

Others don't like them, but I actually like the Martin baritone strings for the more traditional sound.

That said, I have two barrys in DGBE tuning, both with a high d (reentrant).

One set uses Lambchop's two sets of D'Addario regular tension classical guitar strings, where you use one of the 1st string e strings to tune to the 4th string high d. All unwound. I like these a lot.

the other is Southcoast: HMU-NW: Heavy Medium Gauge Ukulele Set
Also gives you reentrant key of G.

God luck!

My favorite set on that uke by far was Ken's Living Water baritone strings with a high D. I took them off for a Favilla I had just bought and didn't like them.....seemed to bright. South Coast uke site is fun to browse and read. There are several baritone string options.

I wanted to stay with standard DGBE as well. Mine came with Guadalupe strings, and while I really liked the sound, I didn't care for the tactile feel of the wound trebles. Then a string broke...

I have really liked Worth Browns on other instruments, but the BB baris (all plain) I tried just seemed too floppy and weak to me.

After that I put on a set of Ko'olau Golds (two plain, two wound) and they seem pretty decent. I also got a set of their Alohis and some D'Addario titaniums that I haven't tried yet. Found I have a set of Aquila marked as baris on the package (funny, I don't remember ordering them) as well, although I'm not a big fan of nylguts on most ukes, so they probably won't be next up.

Elderly has a pretty good selection, but buying a single set is usually impractical because of their shipping costs. Sometimes they offer free shipping with a minimum (think it was $29 at the time) so you might want to buy yourself an assortment for future experiments.

I like Aquila Nygut strings. I definitely like them on the baritone. They give the ukulele a BIG sound with lots of harmonics but not as strong a fundamental tone as other strings. Probably more guitar like in their tone than some others yet I think they provide a great sound for accompanying my singing.

Here's a song with a baritone ukulele and Aquila Nylgut strings. Live recording of a U2 cover,



Anthony

I like the linear tuning also. The Martin came with a set of 630 Martin strings. They were okay but just didn't resonate like I thought they should. Then ordered a set of Living Waters which sounded great. I wasn't used to having a 3&4 unwound string but once I got used to them, I like them alot.

After reading SouthcoastUkes bulletin #4, http://www.southcoastukes.com/tips.htm, I bought a set of the ML-RW strings and strung it to a linear Bb tuning. I liked that very,very much. Really has good resonance.

I bought a Favilla bari; arriving on Tuesday. Reading over #4 again and the thread that PDX started on Cuatro tuning, I ordered a set of Southcoast LMC-WBS Cuatro strings and will tune it in a cuatro C tuning. At the same time, I think I'll go back to a linear G tuning on the Martin/ Not sure if I'll go with the 630's or Living Waters. More likely, the Living Waters as they really are a nice, clear resonant sounding string.

I like a wound string and thought only Martin put them out. Am glad to see the above posts showing there are others for me to try. The search for the perfect string never ends lol.

Southcoast has the best strings for a baritone.

Mya Moe has a wound D and G, DGBE baritone set that I put on my LoPrinzi and they are very nice. Not sure if they are the right strings for that instrument, but they are very nice strings. I may switch them with a Southcoast reentrant dGBE set on my Oscar Schmidt to see which ones I like more on which instrument. Hope you find a set that works for you.

I play baritone ukes pretty much exclusively.
Some of my favourite strings for a Baritone include Worth fluorocarbon.
Worth also have a non-wound set, which can be used to tune to re-entrant DGBE.
I like Worth because they have moderate tension, and a crisp, projecting tone.

I also really like Koo'lau Alohi baritone strings.
The strings are a bit thicker, which gives it a fat, mellow tone at a moderate tension.
Great for fingerpicking, but it also has quite a nice boom-boom for strumming.

Martin Fluorocarbons - someone has mentioned it.
I like the tone and sustain, but I always felt that the strings were perhaps.. a bit too light.
They feel very thin and low-tension, which some people really like. Personally, it felt a bit too light-on for my liking.

D'addario nylon baritone strings give a sound very similar to a classical/flamenco guitar.
I suppose being a huge guitar-string manufacturer, it's no surprise. It has a bit less volume and sustain compared to fluorocarbons per my experience.

Not personally a huge fan of Aquila baritones. I like Aquila nylguts on soprano, concert and tenor.. but have been somewhat unhappy with baritones. The nylguts don't really project well for me and feel a bit thin/floppy.

I've also used GHS and Aquila/D'addario Nyltech baritone strings.
They were "ok" strings, but not ones I'd likely purchase again.

A special string I've used is the Guadalupe "low octave" GCEA strings.
Basically it tunes your baritone to GCEA one octave below normal GCEA (with a low G).
It's an interesting tuning.
The same company also has a DGBE regular tuning set - that's on my list of strings to try next.

The Guadalupe strings are all wound, and have a springy, bouncy feel. Excellent for fingerpicking, so-so for strumming.
It makes your uke sound a bit like a "harp" - very strong fundamental and great sustain.
Here is a video I use the Guadalupe GCEA. They are available for puchase at Mainland ukulele website:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCyLRHl0wEY

I have Living Water re-entrant dGBE on my Mya-Moe Baritone and they sound great! I just ordered the Dirk's ML-RW from Southcoast planning to try Bb-tuning on my bari. However, since my current bari strings sound so good I'm going to use the ML-RWs on my Collings Tenor at linear GCEA instead.

Love those Southcoast String Tips! Thanks Dirk!

thanks for all the good suggestions. i hadn't considered tuning to Bb. it will be a natural to go with Bb trumpet music and playing.

chuck in ny said:

thanks for all the good suggestions. i hadn't considered tuning to Bb. it will be a natural to go with Bb trumpet music and playing.

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It's a great key to play in and if you want to play in C just put a capo on the second fret.

So many strings to try, so many keys to try them in; not enough baritones to play them with.... What's a guy to do.

A baritone is tuned lower the string to string intervals remain, "the same as on a standard guitar, which allows you to transfer all your hard won chord voicing and lead lines directly from one instrument to the other"