jollyboy
Well-known member
Hi,
A few days ago I realized that it was time to put some new strings on my Kala KA-ACP-CTG cedar top concert. I decided that I would try out some different options, including fitting a wound c.
The Kala had been, up to that point, strung with Living Water fluoros and a Fremont Soloist wound low g. I had been quite happy with these and was mostly motivated to try something different out of curiosity. Also, I am hoping to get another UAS fix soon - acquiring my first Pono (or possibly a Risa stick). So, I decided that it was time to see if I could make wound c work for me at concert scale.
I'd already researched wound c a bit. There didn't seem to be a lot of information relevant to concert scale. A big clue I found was that Mya Moe offered a D'Addario silverplated wound string as a low g option - .026 gauge for a concert scale instrument. I also figured out that, at tenor scale, wound low g hovered around .030 gauge and wound c around .027. From these numbers I extrapolated a theoretical wound c gauge of .023 for concert scale (yep, that's the 'science' i used ). Hmmm, no such gauge - okay let's go with .024 then
Blimey it worked!!!
I got the two individual D'Addario strings - .026 and .024 - from Strings Direct here in the uk and fitted them to my uke. For A and E I ended up with Fremont blackline fluoros (medium tension), which I'm yet to make my mind up about - thinking they are maybe just a little too bright sounding on the Kala.
Anyway...
My uke sounds great! The D'Addarios are well balanced, both with each other and the fluoros. Projection and sustain are good (the best I've experienced so far with this instrument). String tension feels even across all four strings. I am very, very happy. I will definitely be trying a wound c on my next acquisition.
Also... I slightly prefer the D'Addario low g to the Fremont Soloist. It's a little livelier I think. At concert scale anyway.
Also... The two white 'basses' and two black 'trebles' look cool
Also... There is some squeak. Just thought you ought to know. Hasn't really bothered me so far. Doesn't outweigh the good in my mind.
Also... Thanks to Booli, who offered me advice when I was doing my wound c research. It was his suggestion that I report back my findings, so if you have found this boring then blame him
A few days ago I realized that it was time to put some new strings on my Kala KA-ACP-CTG cedar top concert. I decided that I would try out some different options, including fitting a wound c.
The Kala had been, up to that point, strung with Living Water fluoros and a Fremont Soloist wound low g. I had been quite happy with these and was mostly motivated to try something different out of curiosity. Also, I am hoping to get another UAS fix soon - acquiring my first Pono (or possibly a Risa stick). So, I decided that it was time to see if I could make wound c work for me at concert scale.
I'd already researched wound c a bit. There didn't seem to be a lot of information relevant to concert scale. A big clue I found was that Mya Moe offered a D'Addario silverplated wound string as a low g option - .026 gauge for a concert scale instrument. I also figured out that, at tenor scale, wound low g hovered around .030 gauge and wound c around .027. From these numbers I extrapolated a theoretical wound c gauge of .023 for concert scale (yep, that's the 'science' i used ). Hmmm, no such gauge - okay let's go with .024 then
Blimey it worked!!!
I got the two individual D'Addario strings - .026 and .024 - from Strings Direct here in the uk and fitted them to my uke. For A and E I ended up with Fremont blackline fluoros (medium tension), which I'm yet to make my mind up about - thinking they are maybe just a little too bright sounding on the Kala.
Anyway...
My uke sounds great! The D'Addarios are well balanced, both with each other and the fluoros. Projection and sustain are good (the best I've experienced so far with this instrument). String tension feels even across all four strings. I am very, very happy. I will definitely be trying a wound c on my next acquisition.
Also... I slightly prefer the D'Addario low g to the Fremont Soloist. It's a little livelier I think. At concert scale anyway.
Also... The two white 'basses' and two black 'trebles' look cool
Also... There is some squeak. Just thought you ought to know. Hasn't really bothered me so far. Doesn't outweigh the good in my mind.
Also... Thanks to Booli, who offered me advice when I was doing my wound c research. It was his suggestion that I report back my findings, so if you have found this boring then blame him