Oasis Strings Great, But...

bariukish

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I just re-strung my Boat Paddle ML tenor with a set of Oasis (warm) and replaced the low G string with a Freemont Soloist. I really love the sound of this set. The volume and sustain are outstanding and the mellow tone is definitely my preference. One concern is kinka freaking me out though. In tuning the A string to pitch it seems to take an extreme amount of tension. So much so that I'm concerned about possibly damaging my favorite uke. The A string is much tighter than any other in the set and even more noticeable when fretting a chord. I have no way of measuring the tension and if I did, I have no norm or standard to compare the data to. Is this my imagination or has anyone else had this concern. I have tried quite a few brands over the years but never had this experience. Jerry builds a fantastic instrument and to damage it would be a tragedy.
 
Oasis string diameters are similar to Worth. Linear density is also similar since it's a fluorocarbon. Therefore the tension must be similar for the same tuning.
 
What Doc just said, I know they are one his go to strings as well as mine. Are you sure you haven't cranked it up an octave too high. I guess you would notice the difference in pitch but I am just thinking out loud.
 
Like most thin diameter strings the A strings will stretch more when tuning up but I haven't found the tension to be any greater than other fluorocarbon strings I've used. Maybe you'd be happier with the "bright" set where the A string is a couple of mils smaller in diameter.
 
I just exchanged the warm set for the bright.
Like you, they sounded great, I just didn't like the way it "felt."
There is a difference between the warm and bright, though I don't know if it's tension or string diameter.
With the warms, the G chord sounded and played a bit strained, if you know what I mean.
 
You can mix-n-match. The Bright high G is the same as the Warm A. I use a Fremont soloist, Worth BS for C, Oasis Bright E and a Oasis Bright G for the A.

You can run a Bright A and a Warm E (C's are the same I think). Or even run another brand for the A. Maybe a Worth CT.

John
 
Simple - tune all strings down a full step to FBbDG - less tension and even more mellow - ahhhhhhh. :cool:
 
Been there done that. Only problem is playing with others and trying to transpose on the fly.

I have an unused capo. Just can't get used to it on a ukulele.

John
 
I just re-strung my Boat Paddle ML tenor with a set of Oasis (warm) and replaced the low G string with a Freemont Soloist. I really love the sound of this set. The volume and sustain are outstanding and the mellow tone is definitely my preference. One concern is kinka freaking me out though. In tuning the A string to pitch it seems to take an extreme amount of tension. So much so that I'm concerned about possibly damaging my favorite uke. The A string is much tighter than any other in the set and even more noticeable when fretting a chord. I have no way of measuring the tension and if I did, I have no norm or standard to compare the data to. Is this my imagination or has anyone else had this concern. I have tried quite a few brands over the years but never had this experience. Jerry builds a fantastic instrument and to damage it would be a tragedy.

As a followup to your A string question. An A string has traditionally been an issue for me as far as tension (18" scale)... resulting in too bright, too dull, breaking, way too much tension, etc. I have tried Worth CT and CH and Oasis Bright and Warm. Since I have all of the strings, I decided to measure them. What I found was Worth and Oasis are not the same diameters.

With a digital caliper my measurements have Oasis B at .55mm/.0215 and Oasis W at .59mm/.0235. Worth measures out at CT .57mm/.0225 and CH .62mm/.024 (NOT .0224 as listed on the Worth site).

So if the Oasis Warm A has a little too much tension then Worth CT A should have a little less. It will probably be a little brighter than Oasis Warms and less bright than Oasis Brights. At least that has been my experience.

There has been much written about the relationship between Seaguar and Worth and since I have gone through too many "A" strings, it made sense to buy some Seaguar Fluorocarbon Premium 40lb leader than measures .570mm/.0224. This appears to be the same/similar to Worth CT A string and it a happy medium between brightness and tension. But I never found the equivalent Oasis diameters.

Then I stumbled upon the apparent relationship between Savarez Alliance and Kureha (parent company of Seaguar) and that took me to this list of Savarez strings. Kureha did/does make Savarez Alliance strings.

https://www.stringsbymail.com/classical-guitar-strings-1/savarez-62/specialty-singles-147/alliance-kf-carbon-602/alliance-kf-2-meter-601/

All the fluorocarbon ukulele string sizes are right there on the Savarez list. I'm pretty convinced that Kureha is probably making strings for various brands to what ever formula(s). I'm not convinced that Seaguar is the exact same formula as the "feel" and stretch is a little different. But the extrusion process may be the same.

John
 
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I just re-strung my Boat Paddle ML tenor with a set of Oasis (warm) and replaced the low G string with a Freemont Soloist. I really love the sound of this set. The volume and sustain are outstanding and the mellow tone is definitely my preference. One concern is kinka freaking me out though. In tuning the A string to pitch it seems to take an extreme amount of tension. So much so that I'm concerned about possibly damaging my favorite uke. The A string is much tighter than any other in the set and even more noticeable when fretting a chord. I have no way of measuring the tension and if I did, I have no norm or standard to compare the data to. Is this my imagination or has anyone else had this concern. I have tried quite a few brands over the years but never had this experience. Jerry builds a fantastic instrument and to damage it would be a tragedy.

In the early days of restringing I always thought the A string was going to snap because it seemed so tight compared to the others. But it never did.
 
My oasis bright a is tight but not to the extreme felt by the OP. My oasis warm a feels great. These are in tenors.
 
Yes with some ukes I have experienced the same thing, not sure why if its the string or the scale.. hope fully it will stretch out....
if so tune your uke to B tuning for a while...
 
My understanding, hopefully correct, is that there is a difference between string tension and what is called string compliance.

Tension is just a result of a certain diameter string over a set distance, scale between the nut and saddle, that is tuned to a certain pitch. Identical strings on identical scales will have the same string tension.

Compliance has to do with how much string is available beyond the nut and the saddle. When a string is fretted the entire length of string stretches from the tuning peg to the bridge. In theory, the longer the overall string length the more string is available to stretch, the easier it is to fret the string. I'm sure other factors come into play, possibly the break angles at the nut/saddle, string height is an obvious one, maybe fret height.

Back to Oasis strings...

I decided to measure the C and E strings and discovered that they are the same size in both the Bright or Warm (So I really didn't have to mix-n-match these strings between sets). This basically means that the only difference between Oasis Bright and Warm are the G and A strings. For someone who is playing low G with separate individual G string, i.e. Freemont, it would make sense to buy Oasis Bright because you end up with (2) strings that can be used for the A string; the Bright A and the Bright G which is the same as the Warm A.

I really do like Oasis strings and have become my string of choice.

John
 
My understanding, hopefully correct, is that there is a difference between string tension and what is called string compliance.

Tension is just a result of a certain diameter string over a set distance, scale between the nut and saddle, that is tuned to a certain pitch. Identical strings on identical scales will have the same string tension.

Compliance has to do with how much string is available beyond the nut and the saddle. When a string is fretted the entire length of string stretches from the tuning peg to the bridge. In theory, the longer the overall string length the more string is available to stretch, the easier it is to fret the string. I'm sure other factors come into play, possibly the break angles at the nut/saddle, string height is an obvious one, maybe fret height.

You are correct.

As for compliance, the break angle (from nut to tuning post) does play a significant role in it. For an experiment, string up one of your strings, winding the string around the post from the bottom of the tuner to the top (basically, opposite of what you've been taught), and then play a bit. Switch it back, play and note the difference. As said, the tension of the string has not changed at all (since it's the same string, the same scale and the same pitch), but you've changed how the string reacts.
 
In my career experience with thermoplastic extrusion, I found that among the many process variables, including moisture content, heat humidity, percent of re-grind, etc, holding tight tolerances to the 4th decimal is extremely difficult if not impossible in an efficient production process. I'm sure this holds true in extrusion of instrument strings, fishing line and much more. Variability does exist and perhaps I got some strings that were on the high side of the acceptable extrusion parameters. More likely is the probability that it is my subjective "feeling" that this particular string is tighter than what I am used to experiencing. I finally ended up using an A string from a set of Worths. At my (lack of) skill level, this mixture gives me the volume, sustain, and tonal characteristics that sounds great to me. Also gives me peace of mind that I am not putting my favorite uke in jeopardy. Thanks for all the great comments.
 
So...

How do you like your Boat Paddle ML?

I have decided that one of my tenors is just too bright, in high G, and no amount of string/nut/saddle tweaking will change it enough.

John
 
John, I could put you to sleep raving about my Boat Paddles. Actually, I am fortunate to have been able to have Jerry build me both a tenor and a bari out of the same piece of cocobolo rosewood. With only one paddle, your boat has a tendency to go in circles so I thought it would be wise to get two. I was really only happy with the baritone size but after I screwed my brain into the chord names for the tenor, it cast a spell on me and I can only put it down when I need a beer, some food, or a trip to the outhouse. I'm reconsidering not taking it with me to the latter venue. I'd rave on about the voice, the beauty and craftsmanship of Jerry's products but I know he peeks at this forum periodically and I wouldn't want to give him a swelled head.

How do you like your Boat Paddle ML?

I have decided that one of my tenors is just too bright, in high G, and no amount of string/nut/saddle tweaking will change it enough.
 
I ask Jerry about the threshold of string tension he felt the ML could handle and he said anything other than steel strings. So high or extra high/hard tension the ML will do just fine, if that's what you wanted.
 
John, I could put you to sleep raving about my Boat Paddles. Actually, I am fortunate to have been able to have Jerry build me both a tenor and a bari out of the same piece of cocobolo rosewood. With only one paddle, your boat has a tendency to go in circles so I thought it would be wise to get two. I was really only happy with the baritone size but after I screwed my brain into the chord names for the tenor, it cast a spell on me and I can only put it down when I need a beer, some food, or a trip to the outhouse. I'm reconsidering not taking it with me to the latter venue. I'd rave on about the voice, the beauty and craftsmanship of Jerry's products but I know he peeks at this forum periodically and I wouldn't want to give him a swelled head.

I'm glad to hear you rave about your Boat Paddle(s). I'm going to be retired in the near future and I am getting ideas on what tenor would be a good one to add. I have always been intrigued by the design of the BP ukes, came very close to getting a baritone a few years ago. The ML looks to have enough size to produce quite a bit of volume and with the right woods it will hopefully have that bell sound without being overly bright. The ones I've heard online sound great.

On your venues... it is probably wise to use some judgement on where you take it. Although there is an old saying about a creek and a paddle that may have some relevance.

John
 
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