High tension fluorocarbons?

Dan Gleibitz

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TL;DR: Can anybody recommend some high-tension flourocarbon strings for my tenor?

Long version:

I recently purchased a Kaka solid mahogany tenor, and it's a great player. A significant element of this is the strings, which are Enya brand PVDF. They're bright yet sweet and feel great under the fingers. I swapped in the D string from a set of Martin M160 nylon guitar strings as a low G and decided I'd found my perfect string set.

But I can't buy the strings. No worries I thought, PVDF is just a fancy name for flourocarbon, so I bought the first set I saw - Martin M620s. Whacked them onto my other uke tonight, and found out how wrong I was. These sound... okay I guess, but nothing like the clear harp-like tone I was hoping for. And they feel awfully mushy and floppy.

So, where to next? I think I need some higher tension flouros. Any suggestions? Or should I skip straight to fishing line?
 
The Fremont Blacklines come in a hard tension option. IIRC HMS had them in stock.

Hmmm maybe not in tenor...
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't realise Worth clear strings came in different varieties.

Their website has me confused though:
"Light Gauge(CL/BL) has a very bright sound.It is easy to barre(touch) the strings, so women and beginners, often like this.
Medium gauge(CM/BM) is our standard for solo and stroke(strumming) play.
Extra(CE/BE) is set 4th to be thicker than Medium one.The stroke players like this gauge very much.
Custom gauge(BC) has a bright and glossy sound.
Tenor gauge(CT/BT) is a powerful sound.
Fat gauge (CF/BF) gives a more fat sound.

2. According to the material
There are two materials for Clear color and one for Brown color.
The fluoro-carbon material for CL, CM, CE, CT and C-LG is our standard.
On the other hand,the fluorocarbon material for CD, CH, CF and C-LGEX is harder than CL ,etc.
So you can feel that CD etc. have a clearer sound than CL, etc.

3. According to the length,
We prepare 46 inched and 63 inches.
46inches version is basically for soprano and concert size ukulele.
63inches is basically for more than the Tenor size ukulele.
But you can set CL63 or CM63 for the Tenor size ukulele instead of CT. It is all free and depends on your taste.
We can provide 63 inches of 46 inches version with extra charge."

I hadn't thought about trying concert strings instead...

And:
"About the label change of Worth Strings and Worth Strings for Bass,
We changed Worth Strings package design from 14th March,2016. It expresses powerful,bright and mellow sound as Worth Strings feature. Then based on the Idea that doesn’t waste the resource,we use the old label until the stock finish. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."

Hmmm.

Meanwhile, I've found a source for the Enya strings. Gah, I swear this wasn't there before, I've been searching for a week:
http://www.banggood.com/Enya-E6-E31...ings-for-21-23-26-Inch-Ukulele-p-1079459.html

Might grab a stack while they're available.
 
"I hadn't thought about trying concert strings instead..."

Yeah I lately realized that it is possible :) (thanks to UU guys) but you will have the opposite effect from what you are seeking. The string will be LESS tense (and will have more volume and sustain, but hard strum will produce a dead or uncontrollable sound).
 
Well let the new string 'set up' it takes them a day or so to get right. I had that problem with some D'Addario EJ99's I just put on my Tenor, which I de-tuned to dGBE so I expected them to be floppy. After about 24 hours they gained a lot better feel. They are still a bit floppy but pretty good now.

I have the Fremont Blacklines (Hard) on my sopraniono and found them to be great. It has only ~11 inch scale so the Hards really helped.
 
I have found that people who like to experiment with higher or lower than average string tension usually end up with Southcoast strings. Dirk has several different sets available along with a tension chart so you can know what type of tension to expect based on your instrument's scale length. Looking at his chart the HML-WB or HML-CM "step up a bit in tension from our Medium Gauges." It is on the higher tension end of the spectrum for a 17" scale length.

http://www.southcoastukes.com/linear.htm

I am not a tenor player because I find the tension too high, so I put a set of the LL-NWs on my tenor and found them to be perfect. Since you want higher tension these would not be the strings for you, I just wanted highlight that utilizing the available string tension guides is a great way to find a set of strings you like.
 
These strings are PVDF:
http://www.danielho.com/physical-shop/premium-ukulele-strings

Maybe the PhD strings would be a good substitute for you?

I haven't tried them yet myself, so can't share with you any first hand experience with them.

I've used PhD's on my Tenor and concerts and find them very nice. Clear crisp sound and a good feel. Iknow GHS has some hard tension stings, I tried a set, not really knowing what they were and hated them but I have tender dainty finger tips. :)
 
Thanks again for all the help. Just thought an update was in order. While awaiting the bulk order of Enya strings, I was surprised to find a parcel of strings in the mail. Anuenue Clear Water Flourocarbon, with diameters of .62, .76, .66 and .57mm (according to the packet). The good news is that they're very close to what I wanted. Sometimes tipsy online shopping works out!

Tighter and brighter and more resonant than the Martins, and no more spongy feeling. They've changed my (very) solid acacia uke from a dead sounding box to a sweet singing harp sound, particularly on the C and A strings above the 7th fret.

But of course, the bug keeps biting... Anuenue offer a black set of flouros with thinner gauge and higher tension, and now I just have to know...
 
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