Replacement strings for Kamaka soprano

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Astein2006

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I will soon be ordering a Kamaka soprano and wanted to know what strings I should have it set up with and why. Im sure this subject has been beat to death but i wanted to limit the responses to only those who have had Kamaka sopranos. Thanks all!
 
I have Living Waters on my pineapple and I love them. Volume, punch, sustain, it has it all. Very classic sound. Next best I think were Aquila Lavas, but they were a bit muddier.
 
+1 for Living Water strings on a Kamaka soprano. LW's transformed my Kamaka soprano from okay to sweet.
 
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janeray1940 said:
I've played Kamaka sopranos for years and have been loyal to Martin M600 fluorocarbons the whole time.

FWIW - I'm not a fan of the black strings that Kamakas ship with at all.
Click to expand...
How did the Martins change/help the sound?
 
Astein2006 said:
How did the Martins change/help the sound?
Click to expand...

To my ear, the factory strings are really dull and have very little sustain compared to the Martins. The Martins have a louder, bell-like tone that I think people tend to describe as "bright," and they sustain longer (well, longer for a soprano anyway - which isn't super long :) !).

Add to that the fact that they are inexpensive and easily obtainable (locally, for me, or via eBay or Amazon) and I've never seen any reason to use anything else. I've tried a few others - D'Addario Nyltech, Aquila Nylgut, Aquila Red, and Oasis (both warm and bright) are a few I remember. To me, none have topped the Martins.
 
Did you have any intonation or C string buzzing problems by going with the thinner Martins?
janeray1940 said:
To my ear, the factory strings are really dull and have very little sustain compared to the Martins. The Martins have a louder, bell-like tone that I think people tend to describe as "bright," and they sustain longer (well, longer for a soprano anyway - which isn't super long :) !).

Add to that the fact that they are inexpensive and easily obtainable (locally, for me, or via eBay or Amazon) and I've never seen any reason to use anything else. I've tried a few others - D'Addario Nyltech, Aquila Nylgut, Aquila Red, and Oasis (both warm and bright) are a few I remember. To me, none have topped the Martins.
Click to expand...
 
Astein2006 said:
Did you have any intonation or C string buzzing problems by going with the thinner Martins?
Click to expand...

Great question. I've only had those problems when the strings start getting old. I play two ukes, couple hours every day, and at that rate the strings start to wear out in about 3 months or so. Haven't had issues with the C string, but when my strings start getting old, the A string is the first to go - it's in tune when played open but pretty consistently starts going sharp when played up the neck. So - it lets me know it's time for a change.

Another plus for the Martins: they settle in almost right away, unlike other brands I've tried, so putting on new strings is no big deal.
 
janeray1940 said:
Great question. I've only had those problems when the strings start getting old. I play two ukes, couple hours every day, and at that rate the strings start to wear out in about 3 months or so. Haven't had issues with the C string, but when my strings start getting old, the A string is the first to go - it's in tune when played open but pretty consistently starts going sharp when played up the neck. So - it lets me know it's time for a change.

Another plus for the Martins: they settle in almost right away, unlike other brands I've tried, so putting on new strings is no big deal.
Click to expand...

The reason I chose the Kamaka is because i wanted a top quality simple designed soprano. I had a Kiwaya soprano before and although I loved the tone and look the c string buzzed so I sent it back. Now I'm on to the Kamaka soprano. Any light you can shed on their soprano that would prepare me for when I get it? Tone, action, intonation etc etc.?
 
Astein2006 said:
The reason I chose the Kamaka is because i wanted a top quality simple designed soprano. I had a Kiwaya soprano before and although I loved the tone and look the c string buzzed so I sent it back. Now I'm on to the Kamaka soprano. Any light you can shed on their soprano that would prepare me for when I get it? Tone, action, intonation etc etc.?
Click to expand...

Will you be able to try it before buying? I've never encountered one that was just plain bad, but I have been able to choose between several models when buying and have found that like most ukes, no two are identical. That being said - after owning 6 or 7 Kamakas (both sopranos and concerts) over the years, only one of them had intonation issues. It was one that I had bought sight unseen, second-hand, so who knows what the history was. It was fine for strumming first-position chords, but further up the neck the intonation was really off (on the C string, IIRC).

Aside from that - every other Kamaka I've owned has sounded and played great, straight out of the box or off the wall, pretty consistently. I've never had to have my luthier modify anything.
 
Martins generally provide a much warmer tone while the oasis are brighter. Depends what your preferences are
And your specific uke. You need to try them for yourself to really know which you prefer
What others perceptions are may differ from yours or your particular uke may respond different
Slight build variations in all ukes may vary the tone and voiceing of your uke
Strings are relatively cheap way to upgrade and fine tune to your preferences, happy strummings
 
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I'm interested to hear of string buzz with the Martins. When I recently bought my Kamaka soprano pineapple in the UU marketplace the seller kindly put a fresh set of Martins on for me. Previous to this I had always strung Kamaka sopranos with Worth clears. When I got the new-to-me K pineapple I immediately noticed a string buzz on the open E string.

I hadn't had string buzz before on a Kamaka so this surprised me.

I wasn't sure whether to just swap the strings out...back to tried and true Worths, though I do like the sound of the Martins...or to take the uke to a luthier to see what the buzz is about.

Anyways, not to hijack your thread but this is the first time I've read about buzz possibly relating to the thin Martins on a Kamaka soprano.
 
fretie said:
I'm interested to hear of string buzz with the Martins. When I recently bought my Kamaka soprano pineapple in the UU marketplace the seller kindly put a fresh set of Martins on for me. Previous to this I had always strung Kamaka sopranos with Worth clears. When I got the new-to-me K pineapple I immediately noticed a string buzz on the open E string.

I hadn't had string buzz before on a Kamaka so this surprised me.
Click to expand...

One possibility - you might just have a bum string. I've had that happen a couple of times in the 6+ years I've been using them on my Kamakas.
 
Martin strings may be thicker than worths, depending which one your get.
Your can try to shim the saddle with a thin sliver of a credit card under the saddle to check if the buzzing goes away
It hard to diagnose with having the uke in my hands, relying on your accessment may not be always accurate at time
Otherwise you can replace the same guage strings as before if its easier for you. Whenever changing strings its
A good rule to use the same guage for beginners, or have it check for a set up with your new strings
Does the buzz happen open or fretted. Is where i ususally start.
Good luck and happy strummings
 
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I've tried Worth BMs, Martins, Oasis, and the aforementioned LWs and Lavas. They were all thinner than the stock strings but I have not had any problems with intonation or buzzing with any string set.
 
Yeah, makes sense to swap out the strings first and see what happen before handing my precious uke over to a luthier for a more drastic fix. It just surpised me because I don't exoect to see 'Kamaka' and open string 'buzz' in the same sentence!
 
wayfarer75 said:
I've tried Worth BMs, Martins, Oasis, and the aforementioned LWs and Lavas. They were all thinner than the stock strings but I have not had any problems with intonation or buzzing with any string set.
Click to expand...

Which ones did you like best? I know oasis has warm and bright soprano sets.
 
janeray1940 said:
Will you be able to try it before buying? I've never encountered one that was just plain bad, but I have been able to choose between several models when buying and have found that like most ukes, no two are identical. That being said - after owning 6 or 7 Kamakas (both sopranos and concerts) over the years, only one of them had intonation issues. It was one that I had bought sight unseen, second-hand, so who knows what the history was. It was fine for strumming first-position chords, but further up the neck the intonation was really off (on the C string, IIRC).

Aside from that - every other Kamaka I've owned has sounded and played great, straight out of the box or off the wall, pretty consistently. I've never had to have my luthier modify anything.
Click to expand...
No I am buying online from HMS.
 
wayfarer75 said:
I've tried Worth BMs, Martins, Oasis, and the aforementioned LWs and Lavas. They were all thinner than the stock strings but I have not had any problems with intonation or buzzing with any string set.
Click to expand...

Have you tried Fremont Blacklines med tension? Or heard about them being used on the HF-1?
 
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