Strings String suggestions for Kumalea uke

[moonlessbag]

Hi all, I have a string question. My girlfriend has become the lucky owner/custodian of a vintage Kumalea ukelele that has been in her family for a couple of generations (it has a very cool backstory - a relative of hers was a performer in Australia in the early 20th century and so the uke has her relative's finger marks in the fretboard!). My girlfriend recently had the instrument restored so it's playable (a bit of fret buzz but otherwise fine). It's a wonky, delicate old thing but also very beautiful and it has wonderful history attached to it. You can hear that the koa has a beautiful tone.

The person who did the restoration has put some sort of Aquila string on the ukulele. To my ears they sound very "flubby" and seem quite low tension. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a better string? I was thinking some sort of fluorocarbon like a Worth clear, but I wasn't sure if this would be too high tension. Would there be a reason that the Aquilas were used - perhaps something to do with not putting too much tension on the old wood?

I note that the uke has a slightly shorter scale length than my modern Sopranos (I have an Ohana SK-39).

Thank you! I'll try and grab a picture of the uke when I am next able to.

 

[EDW]

One reason to use some member of the Aquila family (Nylgut, Nyltech, etc) would be that it is meant to replicate the sound of gut. That instrument would have had gut strings back in the day. But, you the question would be whether you want to try for that vintage sound or something more contemporary or modern as you would get with fluorocarbon. You could use a nylon string.

 

[kkimura]

Tuning may have been different "back in the day".

 

[moonlessbag]

I suppose my main concern is - will putting fluorocarbons on it create too much tension?

 

[TimWilson]

Tuning may have been different "back in the day".

Oooooh, that's a great point! Worth trying to tune ADF#B (uhm, or is that lower case A?). That may be what it's expecting to be.

 

[Ukecaster]

Don't think string tension would be an issue with any set of flouro soprano strings. I just bought a pack of Martin M600 strings today at my local music shop for $5.35, I'd try those.

 

[pondweed]

Yes, relatively low tension. Or some Worth Lights to protect your bridge...

 

[moonlessbag]

Thanks all! Sounds like I have a few things to try - different tuning, various fluorocarbon strings.

Do you think that fluorocarbon strings might hold their tuning a little better than the Nylguts? I have noticed that the Aquilas can be a little temperamental as the instrument warms up from playing.

 

[rileyismycopilot]

You may want to try some light strings first and see what happens (does the top of the uke bellies? Is intonation OK?).

I would try Worth BL or CL (Fluorocarbon) or D'Addario EJ65S (which are thin Nylon strings made for high tuning ADF#B).
The latter will be quite close to the string stock one would get in the 1950s.

If the instrument doesn't bulge and intonation is a bit flat, I would use whatever else that is a bit stiffer.

 

[baconsalad]

On a normal soprano, the short scale by nature makes most florocarbon string tensions pretty light. I have to fight to not bend. If its smaller than soprano then it would be even lighter. You have to go to nylon like EJ65s if you want tension.

 

[ProfChris]

My own Kumalae has Aquila nylguts and works just fine, even though the scale is only 13 inches (I'm sure yours is too). Quite soft to play, but plenty enough tension to be really loud and no buzzing.

It might be worth trying a set of real Aquilas first - there are Chinese-made knockoffs which are notoriously poor imitations.

Buzzing in various places usually means uneven frets, I don't think higher tension strings will fix that and the top will certainly belly up more. However, if you like the purer tones you get from fluorocarbons, then I've seen a few Kumalae which are successfully strung with them, and if they are soprano strings then the tension is not a lot greater.