RISA solid/stick strings

Croaky Keith

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I'm wondering if there would be any/much difference if I changed strings on my concert scale RISA solid/stick.

It has, I believe, Aquila on it, high G, & I have an Aquila low G string set, & was just going to swap the high G for the low G, but then wondered if different strings would make any or much difference on this kind of uke.

Being an electric, I'm thinking it wouldn't, but am I right?
 
They come supplied with Worth Browns. They sell Risa Badged strings on their website and they're double length as are Worth Strings. I have changed mine for Worth Clears. I recently swapped the high G for a low G by buying a single Worth Low G string. I haven't found any difference between Worth Brown and Worth Clear strings on my Risa stick, nor on my Risa Uke'Ellies.
 
I'm wondering if there would be any/much difference if I changed strings on my concert scale RISA solid/stick.

It has, I believe, Aquila on it, high G, & I have an Aquila low G string set, & was just going to swap the high G for the low G, but then wondered if different strings would make any or much difference on this kind of uke.

Being an electric, I'm thinking it wouldn't, but am I right?

You mean for the sound though the pickup? Good question, I'm curious to. My understanding of the working of pickups is zero.
 
You mean for the sound though the pickup? Good question, I'm curious to. My understanding of the working of pickups is zero.

Yes, that is what I was asking.

My understanding of how pickups work is that they receive the string vibrations & convert it to a digital electronic signal that goes to the amplifier.

Therefore, I wouldn't expect to hear any difference if I were to use Aquila or Worth or any other strings on it, but I'm not 100% certain.

:cool:
 
If your strings are not worn and you like the way they feel I would say keep them. Of course if you want to go linear tuning on the stick that is understandable. Keep in mind Risa recommends you "do not use a wound low G" due to the plastic bridge. Having examined mine on both the soprano and my 1st gen concert stick one could reproduce it in a different material if they are a tinkerer. My 2nd gen soprano stick (geared tuners) will not work with a low G Aquilla red. While I believe I can mod it to work the reentrant set of Aquilla reds Ive had on it for over a year are great.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music_technology)

Now to answer your question directly yes different strings will sound different on your stick but perhaps not in the way you think. The question is will it make a difference to your hearing/playing style. Piezo pickups inherently pick up more string noise, this is one reason Jimmy Hendrix had one on his Strat. Aquila reds have a different feel one described by many as papery. I was having much fun going through a Digitech RP 360 making the ukulele sound like it was breathing and out of breath as this texture is amplified by the piezo. Sadly the low G was best for this.

~AL~
 
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First off - if you're asking whether there is a difference between high-G and low-G tuning on an electric ukulele, the answer is obvious.
Low-G and High-G are definitely different.

As for different types of strings on electric, they DO make a big difference. In fact, electric pickups are probably even more sensitive to different string types than acoustic ukuleles. The sensitive pickups amplify the sound to high levels through amplifiers.

Furthermore, it is not all about the inherent "sound" of the strings. How the strings feel for the player is just as important.

My personal favourite strings for Risa ukuleles are D'addario Pro Arte Concert clear nylons or black nylons.
They give it a very crisp, full-sounding tone, while the tension feels great to play.

I am not a fan of the stock strings that come on the Risa. I believe they are fluorocarbons, Risa's own version of Worths.
Personally I feel like they are too much tension to feel comfortable for the way the Risa's are setup.
The Pro-Arte Tenor Clear nylons feel a bit too hard for me, so I prefer using the Concert strings, even on a Tenor ukulele.

Aquila are 'ok', but I'm not a fan of Aquila strings in general.

As for low-G on Risa sticks - do not use wound strings on them!!. The plastic saddle cannot handle them - a metal wound string will chew into it.
As AL has stated above, unwound low-G strings work best - I have tried Aquila Red low-G and Worth Brown unwound low-G with success on the Risa.

Here is an old video of me playing a Risa with D'addario Pro-Arte clear nylons:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNIimZxy3iw

(note to AL: This is not the same Risa Tenor that I sold you. This is a different one that I owned before buying the one I sold you - I have owned multiple Risa sticks in my history)
 
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Well I'm glad that I asked, because my planned low G is a wound string - so that's a no go.

(I have some Living Waters, but they are planned for my electro acoustic.)

Thanks for your comments - so I will leave it as high G for now.
 
Yep. Years ago I learned the hard way and did end up with a saddle with a bite out of it.
Fortunately, Rigk at Risa Ukulele sent me a replacement saddle.

Individual low-G strings are quite cheap online. Just search "aquila red low g" and it should come up on eBay, etc.
 
That's why I mentioned it as I believed the standard Aquila low G was wound.

Interesting to read the red low G worked on a tenor stick. When I first started looking I was reading that the guy behind the Risa line said Aquila reds were fine for a stick. After popping two very quickly on my soprano both between the tuner and crossover bar at the back of the uke I did more research and dug up a post which said they were NG for a stick due to the design.

The Aquila red is a fat string where the worth brown seems much more similar in size to a standard high G from what I can tell from pictures. Just missed the sale from strings by mail but a complete set of Aquila reds is still only $6, a single low G is around $2. Worth single low G strings are $4 before shipping.

~peace~
 
As a RISA outsider, i have an innocent question. Why do they use a soft plastic nut? Does the design work poorly with bone or hard material? Do the nuts pop in and out fairly easily? Seems you could consider it a disposable if you really, really wanted to play a wound G.
 
Aquila reds were a no-go for me, as the metal spool it winds around kept biting and breaking them. Good reminder I've been meaning to pick up some fluorocarbon low g strings for it.
 
Living Water concert low G strings are:-
1 (A) = 0.52mm
2 (C) = 0.66mm
3 (E) = 0.74mm
4 (G) = 0.91mm

(They work great on my Kala KA-SLNG giving it a better tone & more sustain than the Aquilas that were on it.)
 
I have a concert stick and am very happy with Worth clears (Come to think of it, they could be Living Water but I've used both on different ukuleles and find them virtually identical)

I recently put a low G on my Risa stick and just bought a single Worth Low G from Southern Ukulele Store and it went on fine.

Mine is a 2nd generation version with the planetary tuners. So far I've had no problems with breakage but when tuning, there tended to be a delay before the strings reacted to adjustment of the tuner which made tuning tricky at times. When I changed the strings recently I smeared plastic recorder joint grease on the metal bar and that has improved matters considerably.
 
I too was warned by Rigk (who owns Risa) that Aquila reds tend to snap on the Risa sticks.
However, I do recall Mimmo updating and updating again his Aquila reds so they are less fragile.

The Aquila low-G never snapped on my Risa tenor. Maybe I got lucky? :)

As a RISA outsider, i have an innocent question. Why do they use a soft plastic nut? Does the design work poorly with bone or hard material? Do the nuts pop in and out fairly easily? Seems you could consider it a disposable if you really, really wanted to play a wound G.

The saddle, bridge and overall structure of the Risa stick is quite different from a conventional ukulele.
The plastic piece fits into the aluminium bridge like a jigsaw puzzle - it seems to be a part of Risa's proprietary system believed to increase sustain and generate the tone that it does.

Yes, it is a darn shame you can't use wound strings on the Risa sticks. I wouldn't consider replacing the plastic saddles to be a viable option.. the metal wound string will pretty much ruin it straight away.

I think if you wanted to use Wound strings on a Risa - the model to get would be the Uke Ellie electric model.
This model seems to have a more conventional saddle/bridge:

https://www.ukulele.de/shop4/en/risa-ukeellie-tenor


(but much to my annoyance, this model comes with friction tuners only. Make a peghead version already Risa!)
 
I think if you wanted to use Wound strings on a Risa - the model to get would be the Uke Ellie electric model.
This model seems to have a more conventional saddle/bridge:

https://www.ukulele.de/shop4/en/risa-ukeellie-tenor

(but much to my annoyance, this model comes with friction tuners only. Make a peghead version already Risa!)

I love my Uke'Ellies I have both the tenor and soprano models and the tenor is tuned dGBE with Worth Fats.

I don't have a problem with the friction tuners but I do think they missed a trick not fitting either pegheads or GohTo (SP?) planetary tuners, even as an option. If it was not too much of an extra cost I would have gone for them.
 
Thanks! So the Uke Ellie has a conventional bone saddle?
 
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