vorson electric uke string question?

iamesperambient

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Hi all! I haven't posted here in ages. Anyway this coming week im purchasing a vorson electric tenor uke finally with my paycheck im working 2 jobs now so i have a little extra money to throw around (not enough for a risa but the vorson is in my budget). Anyway i know it comes with crappy strings and strung for re-entrant C tuning. I would like to set it up for low G. My question is which guages do i need and which strings from the set to make it a proper low G and which electric guitar string set is the best to use? I'd like to order the strings with the uke so i can re-string it as soon as i get it. Thanks!!!!
 
Here's the string recommendations I got for my Risa tenor:

I have a Risa tenor, here are Risa's and D'Addario's recommndations:

heavy gauge (about 20 lbs tension):
high g - .014"
low-G = 0.030" wound
C = 0.023" wound or 0.020" plain
E = 0.016" plain
A = 0.012" plain

light gauge (about 15 lbs tension):
high g = .012
low-G = 0.026" wound
C = 0.017" plain
E = 0.014" plain
A = 0.010" plain

A 0.018" for C is is okay. You can buy a standard electric guitar string
set 0.010" and take the first four strings of this set.

With kind regards
RISA Musical Instruments

And D'Addario's Recommendations:

Unit Weight Scale Length Frequency Gauge Tension
(Lb/in) (in) (Hz) (in) (Lb)
.00001601 19.00 466.20 A# = PL0085 13.00
.00001794 19.00 440.00 A = PL009 12.98
.00003190 19.00 329.60 E = PL012 12.95
.00004984 19.00 261.60 C = PL015 12.75
.00009184 19.00 196.00 G = NW022 13.18
.00001999 17.00 466.20 A# = PL0095 13.00
.00002215 17.00 440.00 A = PL010 12.83
.00004037 17.00 329.60 E = PL0125 13.12
.00006402 17.00 261.60 C = PL017 13.11
.00010857 17.00 196.00 G = NW024 12.48
 
Hi Phil,

What do you reckon the difference would be between light and heavy gauge set, tone/playability-wise?
I've had a Vorson for a while, and the first thing I did when I got it was to put on a set of D'Addario's (light gauge), and never gave another thought to the heavy gauge option.
But now I'm thinking about it again.
Your thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Afraid there are lots of folks, booli and others, who know more about the differences than I do....sorry. As I understand it, especially for ukes, tension may be even more critical and there is a difference between light gauge and heavy strings. The instruments construction may be the determining factor as to whether it will accept the heavy strings. With Risa it's easy...I can ask Rigk. For Vorson, not sure who you'd ask.
 
I had the Telecaster style Vorson and thought adding heavy gauge strings would make it sound better, but they were too hard to play. I ended up selling it because I actually had no occasion to play a solid body steel string. That's how whims go.
 
Last edited:
Here's the string recommendations I got for my Risa tenor:

I have a Risa tenor, here are Risa's and D'Addario's recommndations:

heavy gauge (about 20 lbs tension):
high g - .014"
low-G = 0.030" wound
C = 0.023" wound or 0.020" plain
E = 0.016" plain
A = 0.012" plain

light gauge (about 15 lbs tension):
high g = .012
low-G = 0.026" wound
C = 0.017" plain
E = 0.014" plain
A = 0.010" plain

A 0.018" for C is is okay. You can buy a standard electric guitar string
set 0.010" and take the first four strings of this set.

With kind regards
RISA Musical Instruments

And D'Addario's Recommendations:

Unit Weight Scale Length Frequency Gauge Tension
(Lb/in) (in) (Hz) (in) (Lb)
.00001601 19.00 466.20 A# = PL0085 13.00
.00001794 19.00 440.00 A = PL009 12.98
.00003190 19.00 329.60 E = PL012 12.95
.00004984 19.00 261.60 C = PL015 12.75
.00009184 19.00 196.00 G = NW022 13.18
.00001999 17.00 466.20 A# = PL0095 13.00
.00002215 17.00 440.00 A = PL010 12.83
.00004037 17.00 329.60 E = PL0125 13.12
.00006402 17.00 261.60 C = PL017 13.11
.00010857 17.00 196.00 G = NW024 12.48

thanks i placed my order today, and ordered a set of ernie ball 9 set, which i will use the DGBE strings to tune to a low G.
hopefully it works out. I have a lot of material i need to start working on, ill be sure to post sound samples once i get it.
 
Welcome back, Justin!
 
thanks! for my new question.....how do you adjust the trus rod? never did anything like that before.....
im hoping when it comes sounds/feels good but in case i need to adjust what do i need to do?
it should be here tomorrow, first thing im doing is replacing the stock strings.
 
So the uke came yesterday and overall sounds looks and feels good. I replaced the strings for a low g as the stock ones were cheap and made my fingers black. there was a buzz on the g string on the 3 rd fret so using the small allen key that came with the uke I tinkered with the saddle and was able to make it better but now the e string has a little rattle mostly when playing a bflat chord . I've never "setup" a guitar or uke before and im honestly not confortable with messing with the truss rod . Any advice on adjusting the bridge the proper way ? I just kind of too a guess and it helped but I don't know exactly what I'm doing and things like buzzes and rattles are a huge issue for me any help is appreciated thanks .
 
With steel stringed, solid body instruments don't worry about a little acoustic rattle. Its how it sounds through an amplifier that counts.

Just about any well setup solid body electric guitar will have a little rattle when playing un-amplified.

Anthony
 
With steel stringed, solid body instruments don't worry about a little acoustic rattle. Its how it sounds through an amplifier that counts.

Just about any well setup solid body electric guitar will have a little rattle when playing un-amplified.

Anthony
thanks ya though the amp it doesn't buzz anymore
Since fixing the bridge what causes that rattle ?
 
ok new issue with the vorson uke....it appears the knob for the tone is loose and is causing the sound to cut in and out.
did not notice before as i didnt spend a long time playing. I really dont want to go through the hastle of returning plus i threw out
the box. how easy is it to fix this issue? or should i take it to sam ash/guitar center to have it 'set up' and have this issue fixed?
never had this problem before and or had to pay to have this issue fixed or never did it my self any advice here?
 
ok new issue with the vorson uke....it appears the knob for the tone is loose and is causing the sound to cut in and out.
did not notice before as i didnt spend a long time playing. I really dont want to go through the hastle of returning plus i threw out
the box. how easy is it to fix this issue? or should i take it to sam ash/guitar center to have it 'set up' and have this issue fixed?
never had this problem before and or had to pay to have this issue fixed or never did it my self any advice here?

Couple of things could be happening (hard to say without the uke in front of me).

If the tone knob is loose, perhaps when you're turning it a couple of wires in the cavity are touching, and grounding out. If this is the case, all you have to do is remove the knob and tighten the tone pot back down, making sure that it has clearance from other wires.

The knob could have a bad solder to it, so when you're turning it, it's pulling the wire apart. If this is the case, you'll be able to spot it immediately, fire up the soldering iron, and fix it.

Both of these are really simple (and common, for those of us that play electric instruments) fixes. It would be worth opening up the back panel to the control cavity to see exactly what's happening, and then gauge on your willingness to try and fix it prior to just taking it into the local store and paying someone.
 
Couple of things could be happening (hard to say without the uke in front of me).

If the tone knob is loose, perhaps when you're turning it a couple of wires in the cavity are touching, and grounding out. If this is the case, all you have to do is remove the knob and tighten the tone pot back down, making sure that it has clearance from other wires.

The knob could have a bad solder to it, so when you're turning it, it's pulling the wire apart. If this is the case, you'll be able to spot it immediately, fire up the soldering iron, and fix it.

Both of these are really simple (and common, for those of us that play electric instruments) fixes. It would be worth opening up the back panel to the control cavity to see exactly what's happening, and then gauge on your willingness to try and fix it prior to just taking it into the local store and paying someone.
I actually opened the back panel it appears the pot
Is not attached but the volume one is all wires seem intact. I'm about as handy as a new born and wouldn't even want to attempt this. As long as it's not to expensive I'll take it to Sam ash for a fix. Also the knob is fastened with a hex screw and I don't have a allen key small enough to fit in there. Im hoping this will be a cheap fix.
 
I actually opened the back panel it appears the pot
Is not attached but the volume one is all wires seem intact. I'm about as handy as a new born and wouldn't even want to attempt this. As long as it's not to expensive I'll take it to Sam ash for a fix. Also the knob is fastened with a hex screw and I don't have a allen key small enough to fit in there. Im hoping this will be a cheap fix.

If that's all it is, I would encourage you to buy some smaller allen keys, take the knob of and then use a pair of pliers to carefully tighten the pot back into place (I say carefully so that you don't mar the finish or crack it by overtightening). It's about a ten minute job. Depending, maybe the tech at Sam Ash will do it for free; the first time I had an issue like this and I took it to Elderly, the tech walked me to his bench and showed me how to do it and said "You saw how quickly I did that? Normally this would cost you $30."
 
If that's all it is, I would encourage you to buy some smaller allen keys, take the knob of and then use a pair of pliers to carefully tighten the pot back into place (I say carefully so that you don't mar the finish or crack it by overtightening). It's about a ten minute job. Depending, maybe the tech at Sam Ash will do it for free; the first time I had an issue like this and I took it to Elderly, the tech walked me to his bench and showed me how to do it and said "You saw how quickly I did that? Normally this would cost you $30."



i work for a gasket manufacturing company and i was able to bring a bunch of allen keys home. i looked up the standard hex screw for a guitar knob which came up as 2.7 mm
i measured it with my calliper to make sure it was the right size...and it happened to be the right one. I went home after work took the knob off was able to tighten that, and looked on
the back when i opened that it appears the circle thing it looks like a coin battery ? not sure what its called was not attached to the instrument. instead of messing about with it
i contacted amazon for a replacement and its on the way and will be here friday (just gotta send the old one back). hopefully this one will be in better shape.

The way it was packed was appalling. I came in the uke shaped box alone with a little clear tape over it and
the ups label slapped on it. Every uke i have ordered came in that uke shaped box with in a larger box
with packing paper....i suspect the poor packing job and ups man handling it caused the sotter or glue or
whatever it is to break as well as the knob. Hopefully the replacement is in good shape if not im going to
just keep it and take it to be repaired at guitar center and mod it....but id rather not if i dont have too.
 
i work for a gasket manufacturing company and i was able to bring a bunch of allen keys home. i looked up the standard hex screw for a guitar knob which came up as 2.7 mm
i measured it with my calliper to make sure it was the right size...and it happened to be the right one. I went home after work took the knob off was able to tighten that, and looked on
the back when i opened that it appears the circle thing it looks like a coin battery ? not sure what its called was not attached to the instrument. instead of messing about with it
i contacted amazon for a replacement and its on the way and will be here friday (just gotta send the old one back). hopefully this one will be in better shape.

The way it was packed was appalling. I came in the uke shaped box alone with a little clear tape over it and
the ups label slapped on it. Every uke i have ordered came in that uke shaped box with in a larger box
with packing paper....i suspect the poor packing job and ups man handling it caused the sotter or glue or
whatever it is to break as well as the knob. Hopefully the replacement is in good shape if not im going to
just keep it and take it to be repaired at guitar center and mod it....but id rather not if i dont have too.



Replacement ukulele has arrived. its funny the tone knob on this one looks bent and when you turn it it doesn't turn straight kind of bit askew....but appears all the electronics are working, and this one has better intonation and no buzzes anywhere. The only thing i can think of is b orrowing another allen key from work taking off the knob and trying not put the thing on straight. (im very OCD) and this kind of thing makes me nuts! I also noticed on this one there are washers underneath the knobs where as the one im sending back did not have them. I'm going to go ahead and keep this on.....but i want to try to straight the knob or just flat out replace them for the black plastic ones that come on fender guitars like strats. In fact where would i purchase one of those ?????
 
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