For a while now, I had a 1920s Lyon&Healy Washburn soprano that I wasn't quite sure what to do with. It's in great condition, but C tuning (gCEA) wasn't very impressive on it. I had it strung with D'Addario EJ99SC, which is an all nylon set, and that didn't help with brightness, either. I tuned it up to aDF#B (D tuning), but the tension was too high for comfort and peace of mind.
I read some older threads on the topic of D tuning and the consensus seemed to be that any C tuning strings can be used for D tuning, too, but I figured more specialized strings may be a better, perhaps safer route to go. I saw that Aquila had a dedicated D tuning set, though it isn't as widely offered as their other sets and I couldn't really find much information on it. To settle the question whether there is a difference for myself, I went ahead and bought both the C tuning set, which is Aquila 4U, and the D tuning set, which is Aquila 33U, both are New Nylgut. The packaging is the same, except for the legend and the sticker on the back.
I didn't measure the strings (no tools), but the 33U set does have visibly thinner strings. The picture is too large to upload, but you can view it here. The red-marked and white(unmarked) strings show the difference in diameter (I hope!). Perhaps this helps someone down the road who is also wondering about the differences between those two sets. (The background is the cover of a baritone chord book, not a real ukulele!)
I really like those strings. The tension is surprisingly comfortable. They do have some bite, but they aren't so taunt that I worry about the bridge coming off. I'd say the tension is comparable to Living Water gCEA strings on sopranos, neither painfully tight nor floppy. They definitely bring out the voice of this soprano, and they're loud with good projection. I also like that they are thinner, since I never quite liked the thickness of the white nylguts overly much. The 33U set strikes a happy medium and matches my preferences perfectly.
This little uke is going to get a lot more playtime now. (Tempted to put the U33 set on my Black Bear soprano, too.)
I read some older threads on the topic of D tuning and the consensus seemed to be that any C tuning strings can be used for D tuning, too, but I figured more specialized strings may be a better, perhaps safer route to go. I saw that Aquila had a dedicated D tuning set, though it isn't as widely offered as their other sets and I couldn't really find much information on it. To settle the question whether there is a difference for myself, I went ahead and bought both the C tuning set, which is Aquila 4U, and the D tuning set, which is Aquila 33U, both are New Nylgut. The packaging is the same, except for the legend and the sticker on the back.
I didn't measure the strings (no tools), but the 33U set does have visibly thinner strings. The picture is too large to upload, but you can view it here. The red-marked and white(unmarked) strings show the difference in diameter (I hope!). Perhaps this helps someone down the road who is also wondering about the differences between those two sets. (The background is the cover of a baritone chord book, not a real ukulele!)
I really like those strings. The tension is surprisingly comfortable. They do have some bite, but they aren't so taunt that I worry about the bridge coming off. I'd say the tension is comparable to Living Water gCEA strings on sopranos, neither painfully tight nor floppy. They definitely bring out the voice of this soprano, and they're loud with good projection. I also like that they are thinner, since I never quite liked the thickness of the white nylguts overly much. The 33U set strikes a happy medium and matches my preferences perfectly.
This little uke is going to get a lot more playtime now. (Tempted to put the U33 set on my Black Bear soprano, too.)
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