Guitar strings on uke

Yesterday, my new tenor arrived from classy MGM. (will post review in a separate thread; he really went above and beyond on the customer service) Unfortunately, the A string snapped and I am too impatient to wait for a new set of strings to come by delivery.

I'll hit the local Guitar Center on the way home from work today, and although they have uke strings on their website, I'll want to pick some some classical guitar strings as a backup in case the in-store inventory doesn't match what is sold online. I have reviewed this thread:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?p=68565

and will probably follow its suggestion, although it is not clear to me what tension of strings to use (normal, hard, extra hard).

I would appreciate comments and shared experience of those who have string their ukes with guitar strings. TIA.

I've used guitar strings on uke since I was a kid in the 70s. Classical guitar strings and uke strings are made of the same stuff (nylon or flurocarbon), so you can use them on your uke if you get the right guages. If you hold your uke up to a guitar with the saddles together and then check which fret of the guitar your uke nut is closest too, you'll get some idea of the pitches that work.

Generally, using the guitar 1231 strings for the uke's 1234 is going to give you a tension close to a classical guitar or a little lower (that is: a guitar e'gb and another e' string for a uke in reentrant g'c'e'a'). But that's still a little tight for most ukes (and uke players). So go for low-tension guitar strings at first, if you have a choice.

Tuning a baritone or tenor uke with a low 4th, I sometimes use the guitar gbe' strings and get a thin (.024") nylon single string for the 1st string. So if the tension still seems high, you might use just the b and e' strings for the middle two, and get something else for the 1st and 4th. Though at that point you might as well buy uke strings.

Here's another trade secret: monofilament nylon or fluorocarbon fishing line, 30lb test, is about .024" and makes a good uke top string. I've been using them since 1975. A 50 yard spool goes a long, long, way.

Here are some other threads about guitar strings:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12022
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9117
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7737

Kanaka916 said:

Here are some other threads about guitar strings:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12022
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9117
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7737

Click to expand...

Thanks to you and all the other contributors. The lackeys at GC don't have uke strings, so I'll be going with guitar strings.