Little strings problem

mrStones

Well-known member
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
195
Reaction score
2
Hi everyone,
I am not sure if I am writing in the right section.
Anyway, I have a little problem and so I would need an advice.
I have a Fluke Tenor with wood fretboard and I installed on it a Living water High G tenor set.
I really love the sound. It sings quite nice on strumming and on fingerpicking but since I am exploring clawhammer technique and I do really love to "slur" notes sliding 'em, I found that that kind of string on this uke make slides on 1st string and 4th string REALLY muted (oddly if I slide 'em on 5th fret or higher slide is kinda ok... but if I slide 'em in the firsts 5 frets the sound is muted) .
No problem at all with 2nd or 3rd and I think probably is the thin-gauge of the 1st and 4th string that makes slides really bad.
Same problem with Hammer-ons and pull-offs.

I restrung it with Aquila Super Nylgut and with Aquila Red. The slide was a little better (nothing great btw), but I didn't like the sound of the strings on the Fluke Tenor, so I switched back to Living water, but that limitation is really bogging me.

I have also a Concert Fluke that I strung with Low-G aquila Red and sounds great and is ok with those techniques, but since is low-G (and I don't plan to change it 'cause it sounds so great) I can't use it with clawhammer.

I considered to buy a set of Worth Clear or Brown for the Fluke Tenor (on my Opio Tenor that has Worth Strings the slide/hammer-on/pull-offs are great... but again Low-G so no clawhammer)... but I see the gauges are the same of Living water so I don't know if it would solve my problem.

Has anyone ideas ? Do you know some kind of strings that are great with those techniques and has a good sound ?
Maybe is the Fluke Tenor size with the wood fretboard that isn't good with that techniques or what ?

Thanks a lot !
 
I have both Flukes and Fleas in both concert and tenor, and each with plastic and rosewood fretboards, and have personally tried and tested over 100 different sets of strings on these ukes and more than a dozen others (yes, UAS is STRONG), and I've never experienced this, nor heard of anyone experiencing the problems you describe in the 3 yrs I've been on UU.

yes, those strings include ALL of the sets of Living Waters, and yes on Fluke and Flea ukes....

might I suggest that the cause of your problems here might be improper playing technique, and once you correct the technique the problem will be mitigated or remedied.

So in context, is UKULELE your first FRETTED string instrument?

How long have you been playing?

Have you had in-person lessons or are you following a book or online videos?

Can you enclose a video to demonstrate the problem?
 
If you feel pretty strongly that the string gauges are an issue (personally I have no idea either way and Booli may well be correct in suggesting that the problem lies elsewhere) then Worth do a 'fat' set - thicker than their other string sets but still with the fluorocarbon sound that you seem to prefer.

Edit: These strings will have quite a high tension (57ish lbs on a tenor) and possibly that will give you the less muted sound you are looking for.
 
Last edited:
If you feel pretty strongly that the string gauges are an issue (personally I have no idea either way and Booli may well be correct in suggesting that the problem lies elsewhere) then Worth do a 'fat' set - thicker than their other string sets but still with the fluorocarbon sound that you seem to prefer.

Edit: These strings will have quite a high tension (57ish lbs on a tenor) and it's possible that will give you the less muted sound you are looking for.

Yes the Worth BS and BF in the browns and CS and CF in the clears are the actual thickest fluorocarbon strings you can buy (as a set from ANY brand, worldwide), and as such will have greater tension, better intonation and will be LOUDER on most ukes than gauges of other thinner strings.

The problem is that if your uke is lightly built you could pull the bridge off, warp the neck, or have the bridge 'rotate' where you get a dish towards the soundhole and a belly behind the bridge and either the bridge will tear off, or the sound board will collapse if there is too much tension...

But a Fluke and Flea might be able to handle if, but PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK, and do your OWN research!

Nobody else is responsible if you damage your uke.

You can see all the Worth strings here (scroll down this page):

http://worthc.to/english/w_strings.html
 
Last edited:
Southcoast makes uke strings in various tensions and thicknesses. Booli is correct though, be careful with the tension.
 
Thanks Booli, thanks jollyboy and thanks stevejfc.

Yeah of course could be a problem of technique :)
I have played bass guitar for 8 years more or less but I left playing music for more than a decade and I play ukes for just an year, even though if I am following several books and online videos too and doing a lot of exercises, (kinda of enthusiast...), but yeah, I am quite green and not so cocky to say "hey, not my fault" ;)
It is almost for sure a problem with my technique.
What it made me think about a problem with strings is that with my Opio Tenor and Fluke Concert I have no problem at all with those techniques, but I am probably doing something wrong when I play the fluke tenor.

Just out of curiousity, @Booli how do you string the Flukes ? I mean the 1st and 4th string should be on the inner side of the peg (making the angle of the of the "turn" at nut height more wider) or on the outer side (making it almost straight) ? I hope it is clear... english is not my main language so I could be not so clear.
Thanks again
 
@OP: Thinking about it a little more it sounds as though maybe it's an issue of not enough sustain. You say the strings sound muted when you slide on them which I'm interpreting to mean that the slide itself is quiet. Since, when sliding, you are essentially 'riding the sustain train' it could indeed be to do with string gauge/tension as you suspect.

I have seen it stated that lower tension = more sustain about as often as I have seen it stated that higher tension = more sustain. Personally I think it comes down to finding the sweet spot. Too little tension and the strings won't have enough energy in them to give you a really good twang (technical term). Too much tension and the strings will choke (ie they will be so tightly wound as to impede their own ability to oscillate freely).

Maybe worth some further investigation. Changing strings is fun :)
 
Last edited:
@jollyboy : yeah changing strings is really fun :) and I have a lot of strings at home (damned UAS) You gave me an idea. I could try to tune a bit up (like on 448Hz on A or so) and see if it get better and if not do the opposite (like 432Hz). 8Hz should be near a quarter of tone and will change the tension...
Does it make sense ?
 
@jollyboy : yeah changing strings is really fun :) and I have a lot of strings at home (damned UAS) You gave me an idea. I could try to tune a bit up (like on 448Hz on A or so) and see if it get better and if not do the opposite (like 432Hz). 8Hz should be near a quarter of tone and will change the tension...
Does it make sense ?

Sounds like a good idea - tuning up a half-step and then down a half-step should give you some idea if a change in string tension will make a difference.
 
@jollyboy : You're right, probably half-step will give me better idea than a quarter. Thanks a lot, man.
I will try it tonight and will write the results here tomorrow, in case anyone is interested.
Thinking about what you said earlier I am convincing myself you hit the problem. The Fluke concert has Aquila red that have a LOT of sustain (but I don't like on a Tenor :) ), and Opio Tenor (sapele) has ton of it.
That's why probably I can do those techniques on those ukes without a problem... sure, if I were good enough I would probably be able to do a good powerful slide with ANY string or ANY uke, but right now I am just tryin' to not get frustrated :)
 
I made some experiment with tuning and guess what... tuning down a half tone suddenly slide, hammer-ons and pull-offs are great even in the first frets and without any effort like I have on fluke concert and Opio Tenor.
So I guess the problem is that with Living Water, the string tension is a little too high for me to make a good slide and so.

But now another problem comes in : I really would not to have my fluke tenor tuned in different way than gcea... so I'd need an advice on lower tension strings with a lot of sustain and a good sound...
I tried almost all Aquila (Reds, Lava, super Nylgut) but I am not satisfied with the sound on this uke (but I really like on my other ukes).

What I could try ? Fremont blackline (that I really would like to try but I don't know if they could be what I am looking for) ? Martin ? Worth Clear/Brown ? Living Water low-tension set ?

Thanks everybody!
 
South Coast makes many different gauges of strings ranging from extra light to heavy. These are truely matched and engineered for different tensions. I have used many of their sets and the mediums are indeed lesser tension than any of the strings you mentioned above. Their heavy mediums are very similar in tension to the Living Waters, Oasis, Worth Ct and Fremont Blacklines.
 
Hi DownUpDave, thank you.
I am just checking their site, sounds interesting (though I need a lot of time to read everything) :)
Living in Italy, while I would like to find some strings I could find on a online store in EU or UK (still in EU... for now...), I will take South coast among the possible choices.
Thanks a lot.
 
What I could try ? Fremont blackline (that I really would like to try but I don't know if they could be what I am looking for) ? Martin ? Worth Clear/Brown ? Living Water low-tension set ?

Thanks everybody!

Fluorocarbon strings will have MORE sustain than nylon or any Aquila strings except the REDS.

'concert' strings on a tenor uke will be thinner and ALSO have more sustain and less tension on a tenor uke.

I do this all the time. The compromise is with lower tension the intonation may suffer, so yes as Dave has said there is a 'sweet spot'.

I just went through this myself on tenor, and will list below the strings in guage and tension from HIGHEST to LOWEST (higher tension first) that I have found on tenor (these are all high-g re-entrant sets):


  1. Worth CF or BF
  2. Worth CS or BS
  3. Worth CT or BT
  4. Living Water Tenor
  5. Fremont Blacklines HARD/tenor
  6. Oasis WARM
  7. Fremont Blackines MEDIUM/concert
  8. Martin M620
  9. Oasis BRIGHT
  10. Living Water Soprano/Concert
  11. Worth CM or BM
  12. Martin M600
  13. Worth CL or BL

No, I did not include any non-fluoro strings, I do not use nylon or Nylgut strings often.

Fluoro strings always have a chimey, bell-like, crisp tone, I find nylon and Nylgut flavors to be the opposite.

I have not scientifically measured the above tensions, but this is based upon playfeel in BOTH hands, and on MANY different ukes, on concert, tenor and baritone scales.

The thicker/higher-tensioned strings will allow you to pluck like a bear and really dig in with the strumming (think crazy hard flamenco) and the thinnest strings, such as the Worth CL and BL require almost a completely different technique, more like that of an Angel's touch to make them sound sweet, for if you attack them vigorously they sound dead, like rubber bands and over-driven. The Thinner gauge strings do not respond well to hard playing technique.

So changing strings may require one to ADAPT their technique.
 
Just a really stupid question : so thinner strings has less tension ?
What if I mount a Living Water Concert Set (that I already have) on my Fluke tenor ? Would it be better with tension ? Or would the string be tighter and will probably broke ? (Don't worry It is my responsability... just asking for your personal experience)
 
Ok delete my previous post... I was writing it while Booli was writing his...
THANKS BOOLI !
Your post is illuminating. And it answered my question : yes I can mount my Living Water concert set on Fluke tenor.
I will try it and keep you posted, if anyone is interested
Thanks everybody, guys!
 
Hi, glad to hear the tension adjustment worked :) I would echo Booli's recommendation for trying concert strings on a tenor - I have Martin M600s on my Kala cedar top tenor and they sound great. Martin strings are relatively easy to come by too (and pretty reasonably priced). Then again, if you have a Living Water concert set on hand it's definitely worth giving them a go :)
 
Aloha,
I think you may be using the wrong terminology here, correct me if I'm wrong.
You mention muted right? Do you mean thuddy? From the high tension thicker strings? Just breaking in?
If so, go with lower tension strings and thinner strings you get a thinner tone, high tension you get clarity, but may get thud and lose playability.
You have to decide which you prefer to gain and maybe decide to give up a bit to get what you want in your selection
Of strings. Nothings perfect you know, but like booli said, it may be your techniques, style or experience
Good luck and happy strummings
Hi everyone,
I am not sure if I am writing in the right section.
Anyway, I have a little problem and so I would need an advice.
I have a Fluke Tenor with wood fretboard and I installed on it a Living water High G tenor set.
I really love the sound. It sings quite nice on strumming and on fingerpicking but since I am exploring clawhammer technique and I do really love to "slur" notes sliding 'em, I found that that kind of string on this uke make slides on 1st string and 4th string REALLY muted (oddly if I slide 'em on 5th fret or higher slide is kinda ok... but if I slide 'em in the firsts 5 frets the sound is muted) .
No problem at all with 2nd or 3rd and I think probably is the thin-gauge of the 1st and 4th string that makes slides really bad.
Same problem with Hammer-ons and pull-offs.

I restrung it with Aquila Super Nylgut and with Aquila Red. The slide was a little better (nothing great btw), but I didn't like the sound of the strings on the Fluke Tenor, so I switched back to Living water, but that limitation is really bogging me.

I have also a Concert Fluke that I strung with Low-G aquila Red and sounds great and is ok with those techniques, but since is low-G (and I don't plan to change it 'cause it sounds so great) I can't use it with clawhammer.

I considered to buy a set of Worth Clear or Brown for the Fluke Tenor (on my Opio Tenor that has Worth Strings the slide/hammer-on/pull-offs are great... but again Low-G so no clawhammer)... but I see the gauges are the same of Living water so I don't know if it would solve my problem.

Has anyone ideas ? Do you know some kind of strings that are great with those techniques and has a good sound ?
Maybe is the Fluke Tenor size with the wood fretboard that isn't good with that techniques or what ?

Thanks a lot !
 
Last edited:
Just out of curiousity, @Booli how do you string the Flukes ? I mean the 1st and 4th string should be on the inner side of the peg (making the angle of the of the "turn" at nut height more wider) or on the outer side (making it almost straight) ? I hope it is clear... english is not my main language so I could be not so clear.
Thanks again

I string my Fluke and Flea similar to most ukes.

If you have friction tuners or pegheds, put the string in the hole and when you turn the tuner, the string should wind AWAY from the hole, DOWN the tuner shaft, TOWARDS the tuner button (button is thing your fingers grab to turn)

One might think the the inner strings should wind AWAY from the button and the outer strings towards, but this puts undue stress on the tuner shaft IMHO.

The zero-fret and nut on Fluke and Flea ukes needs to have enough angular and downward pressure, otherwise the string can move inside of, or even jump out of the nut slot.

Winding TOWARDS the tuner button makes sure of this.

See:
fluke_head.jpg


Photo credit to Ian Chadwick and used without permission from here, where there is also more information in his review of the Fluke ukulele.
 
Ok delete my previous post... I was writing it while Booli was writing his...
THANKS BOOLI !
Your post is illuminating. And it answered my question : yes I can mount my Living Water concert set on Fluke tenor.
I will try it and keep you posted, if anyone is interested
Thanks everybody, guys!

No worries. Glad to help. Yes, please keep us posted here in the thread, and please do not hesitate to ask further questions if needed.
 
Top Bottom