Compare and Contrast - Different Ukes, Different Strings

[LorenFL]

Forgive my lack of polish, I don't generally perform for other people. And I also recorded this on a Chromebook with a crappy internal mic (and video), but it got the job done reasonably well.

The Point:

Well, there are two. One, I've been meaning to make a post about my "mystery strings" for a while now. So that's part of it. Also, just a general "which uke sounds better" sort of thing.

The ukes are both concert scale of nearly identical shape and size. Both Low G with "low tension" strings tuned down to Low F, and I've messed with the bridges and saddles to improve intonation. (going Low G messes with it, as does going low-tension... the intonation is not perfect on either of them, I'm just too lazy to fine-tune it, It's close enough until I feel like messing with it again)

The Deets:

The Eastrock is a $60 Amazon purchase that I've always been rather pleased with. It's all-laminate "mahogany", and pretty well made IMO. I think it's lighter than the Ohana. I just put new strings on it that I will reveal after some feedback from others. What do you think they are?

The Ohana is a $450 uke from Mim that I absolutely love. Sustain and overtones for days! It's a sinker redwood top with solid wood body (rosewood, I think?). It's a little heavier than I'd like, but that doesn't seem to hinder it. It has a set of Worth Brown light tension strings rearranged for Low G. I normally play it 3 steps down, but I tuned it up to match the Eastrock, so it's "Low F", as well.

The song is "Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll"

Ukulele chords Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll, Sweet Emma Barrett, | Jim's Ukulele Songbook

Ukulele and Guitar chords with free download

ozbcoz.com

I think both ukes sound pretty good, and the Eastrock sounds better than it has any right to. I'm not sure if it comes out in the recording, but the Ohana definitely sounds richer in person. Whatcha think? And can you guess the strings on the Eastrock? (No, they're not Worth strings)

 

[LorenFL]

Is it me, or does the Eastrock seem louder? Not necessarily better, but just slightly louder? Hard for me to tell, I don't have "audiophile" ears.

 

[kkimura]

Your videos are displaying a "Private" message.

 

[Ms Bean]

Is it me, or does the Eastrock seem louder? Not necessarily better, but just slightly louder? Hard for me to tell, I don't have "audiophile" ears.

We can't view your videos, unfortunately. You'll have to change the visibility settings to unlisted or public.

 

[LorenFL]

That'll teach me to post stuff at 3am! Okay, fixed.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Is it me, or does the Eastrock seem louder? Not necessarily better, but just slightly louder? Hard for me to tell, I don't have "audiophile" ears.

Your Eastrock uke looks and plays like my little Aklot from the big river store. There's a chinese manufacturer out there that does get it right! Marvelous little ukes; not perfect but surprisingly good.

I just played both vids at the same time and the Eastrock seems brighter...is that due to the laminate? The gloss finish on the Ohana? Were the strings identical? Good song choice btw.

 

[LorenFL]

I just played both vids at the same time and the Eastrock seems brighter...is that due to the laminate? The gloss finish on the Ohana? Were the strings identical? Good song choice btw.

The strings are not the same, but that's my next experiment. I think the strings on the Eastrock may "project" a bit more. Later this week, I'll re-string the Ohana with the same strings and see what changes.

I love that song, I can't sing it, but I'm running the lyrics through my head, which helps me play it. It's fun to play!

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

The strings are not the same, but that's my next experiment. I think the strings on the Eastrock may "project" a bit more. Later this week, I'll re-string the Ohana with the same strings and see what changes.

I love that song, I can't sing it, but I'm running the lyrics through my head, which helps me play it. It's fun to play!

I got my first Bessie smith double album as a promo gift as a kid. I enjoyed the old victrola bluesy sound and when I figured out all the double entendre references to food products in the songs, well then it put a whole new spin on that music genre and era for me. Musically however, definitely fits a uke well.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Very nice! I’m guessing strings on the Eastrock are Fremonts. And I agree that, particularly tuned down, it sounds as good or better than the Ohana.

 

[LorenFL]

I’m guessing strings on the Eastrock are Fremonts.

A good guess, but no. Any other guesses?

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

A good guess, but no. Any other guesses?

Martin 600?

 

[LorenFL]

You're definitely on the right track with clear fluorocarbon strings. But, not Martin, either.

I'm gonna try to string up the Ohana tonight and record a demo of it. Will be interesting to see what these strings do for it. Looking at the specs, they really shouldn't be much different.

 

[Joyful Uke]

I was thinking Martins as well. I look forward to finding out what they are.

Thanks for doing this.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

You're definitely on the right track with clear fluorocarbon strings. But, not Martin, either.

I'm gonna try to string up the Ohana tonight and record a demo of it. Will be interesting to see what these strings do for it. Looking at the specs, they really shouldn't be much different.

Seguar Blue fishing line?

 

[LorenFL]

Getting closer...

 

[LorenFL]

Okay, here's the final comparison video. This is the Ohana with the same strings that are on the Eastrock.

Apparently, this is the "jazz" version, as my playing is worse than usual tonight. Also, these strings are still stretching, so the C string keeps going out of tune. But, it's close enough for comparison.

Without spending TOO much time listening to the before/after, I think they sound pretty much the same. The new strings may actually be a little louder. Or maybe I'm strumming harder today? When I let the cat out of the bag, it might make sense that they are slightly louder.



The strings are SeaWorx fluorocarbon fishing line! Details in the next post.

 

[LorenFL]

Okay, so I try to be frugal. I also hate having to order uke strings and spend $6 shipping on an $8-12 product. When I started reading up on the fact that uke strings, especially fluorocarbon uke strings, are no different than fishing line... I went down that rabbit hole. This was years ago. I never followed through with it.

Skip ahead to COVID when I started playing more, bought my nice Ohana, and got a little more serious. I started experimenting with different strings trying to find something that suited my playing style and the sounds that I wanted to hear. What that ended up being was thinner, lower tension strings. Fluorocarbon is better for that. Stuff like Nylgut (which I enjoyed for years, but found them hard on my fingers, and nearly impossible to "bend" effectively) won't last if it's made thinner, so that's not the best material for "light and thin".

Here's what I learned: (straight outta my spreadsheet with added notes)

Custom Set (M600 A/G, Aquila C/E)	IN	0.0330	0.0270	0.0250	0.0195
This is a set that I threw together out of stuff I had laying around, and I liked it. My notes said that they felt a bit tight still, but the E string was near perfect and the A string was way too stiff.	MM	0.8400	0.6900	0.6400	0.4900
Worth Brown - BM/LG - Medium Tension	IN	0.0358	0.0291	0.0260	0.0205
These were a step in the wrong direction.	MM	0.9100	0.7400	0.6600	0.5200
Worth Brown - BL - Light Tension	IN	0.0205	0.0291	0.0260	0.0185
This ended up being my "go to" string set for a couple years. That .0185 string is the thinnest I ever found. I still felt like that A string could be a little thinner. Everything else was nice and "bendy".	MM	0.5200	0.7400	0.6600	0.4700
Worth Brown - Low G single string	IN	0.0358
I ordered my Ohana from Mim with Low G, and told her to rearrange the strings. She didn't, she just replaced the G string. This was my G string. Yeah, big fat strings are not my jam!	MM	0.9100
Aquila 106U - Tenor Set Rearranged	IN	0.0323	0.0276	0.0256
This was another experiement. Pretty close to the sizes of my first experimental set, but the .038 Low G string was not usable for me. I could have used the rest, but opted for another set of Worth BL.	MM	0.8200	0.7000	0.6500
Worth Brown - BL - Light Tension (rearranged for Low G)	IN	0.0291	0.0260	0.0205	0.0185
This is good. As good as I thought I could get. But, if I go custom... hmm...	MM	0.7400	0.6600	0.5200	0.4700
SeaWorx HPx Fluorocarbon fishing line	LB	50	40	25	20
My goal was to get the A string just slightly thinner, and the other strings as close as possible to the BL set while still maintaining a good relative difference between each string.	IN	0.0290	0.0240	0.0190	0.0170
	MM	0.7300	0.6000	0.4700	0.4300

So, looking at the two guesses of Fremont and Martin 600's... both were actually REALLY good guesses!

Fremont STR-FM strings are .031 .027 .022 .019
Martin 600 strings are .0291 .0260 .0205 .0185

I'm really impressed that you were able to pick that out. I certainly couldn't!

Oh, and for reference, this is the stuff that I bought. The lighter weights were around $8-12/spool, the heavier stuff was like $12-16. All told, it was about $50 worth of fishing line! But, 25 yards, used about 28" at a time, is good for at least 30 sets of uke strings at about $1.66/set. So far, I've used 3 sets in the first year. I should be good for 10+ years! Longer if I curb my UAS.

 

[Kei]

The videos weren’t dark enough to hide all of your features. This could come back to bite you when the Ukulele String Makers Association takes out a co tract on you.