3 year old vs. new fluorocarbon strings sound comparison

Doc_J

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I purposefully kept strings one of my tenors for 3 years. This was to hear the effect new strings would have. The tenor was a cherry Compass Rose tenor and the strings were Oasis brights, low g.

During the entire time (3 years) the old strings sounded good to me and kept intonation. Upon replacement the difference in sound was small, a bit more resonance and harmonics on the treble end was what I noticed most. Based on this and other experiences, I'm not in a hurry to replace strings.

See what you think about sound of the older and new strings.
Here's the two sound samples. The Yeti mic and Audacity record settings were the same for both.

  1. Cherry CR tenor with 3 year old strings: https://app.box.com/s/4cpxns2zj5de6nztehql7y9odbq59wcs
  2. Cherry CR tenor with brand new strings:https://app.box.com/s/d43jfkgultfodg25a52awnwpvbceyjz0
 
Careful Hodge, the bigwigs in the string industry may sponsor a hit on you! ;-)

Do you have any idea how many hours you played that uke? If you played it an average of an hour a week, that's only about 150 hours playing time.
 
Nice. I can't say that I've ever "worn out" a set of strings yet. I usually change when I'm just hankering to try something new.
 
Interesting experiment. I haven't been playing long enough to have any personal experience with that length of time. I will say, I played one uke around 2 hours a day for a couple of months, and though the strings are still ok, they do feel looser, and it is getting noticeably harder to fine tune them with the tuner. So, I think it is likely a question of hours played more than years on :) Nice thing about the fluorocarbon, is they do not seem to be impacted be the elements like steel strings, and classical wound strings are.
 
Careful Hodge, the bigwigs in the string industry may sponsor a hit on you! ;-)

Do you have any idea how many hours you played that uke? If you played it an average of an hour a week, that's only about 150 hours playing time.

Sorry, I have no real idea how many hours were on those strings. I do play the uke often (weekly for sure). Your estimate is reasonable. My string philosophy is, if strings sound good, intonate well, aren't damaged or changed colors, why change? I replace strings often enough in my group of ukes that I know what new strings sound like.
 
I listened to both samples and I think what you are describing is accurate. For me, as long as there were no intonation issues I would keep the old ones too!
 
Sorry, I have no real idea how many hours were on those strings. I do play the uke often (weekly for sure). Your estimate is reasonable. My string philosophy is, if strings sound good, intonate well, aren't damaged or changed colors, why change? I replace strings often enough in my group of ukes that I know what new strings sound like.

I sometimes change strings frequently on a uke when I first get it, but once I've decided on what I like on any particular uke, I change as you describe.
 
Like Eddie, I experiment a lot with strings on a new to me uke. When I settle on the strings I prefer, I tend to leave them on for as long as they sound right,............ unless of course, they fray, break or become too stretched. I had a set of Southcoasts on my Kanile'a concert in excess of 3 years.
 
While the new strings sounded better to me, the old ones still sounded great!

I also have a uke that has had the same strings for 3 years... though with mine they sound a little dead, and are ready to be changed. No clue what they are, as its a small manufacturer cigar box uke, and it was the string that came with it.
 
To my untrained ear, the new strings sounded better. But then maybe that's what I wanted to hear.
I am pushing my strings farther than ever, now that I have found what I like.
 
Interesting. Kind of nothing like my experience over the years. Anytime I change strings (flurocarbon - every one or two months) it's like "wow!" Possibly the recording? Possibly your playing style? Possibly a lot of things. Definitely a cool listen. Thanks for the comparison.
 
Interesting. Kind of nothing like my experience over the years. Anytime I change strings (flurocarbon - every one or two months) it's like "wow!" Possibly the recording? Possibly your playing style? Possibly a lot of things. Definitely a cool listen. Thanks for the comparison.

Brad, I agree lots of things may decrease string life for folks, as they say.... YMMV. :) I'm pretty particular about washing and drying my hands before playing, and don't oil the fretboard until I change strings.

The recordings reflect the same as what I experienced hearing the uke live. There was some improvement on the treble end, but it was small. I would not call it a "wow" moment, like when you finally put the right strings on a uke and it really sings.
 
I have kept previous ukuleles for a year then changed the ukulele rather than the strings. The only time i have changed strings is at the start to take aquila's off... Not a fan.

I'm happy with my current ukuleles so predict i will go past the year this time. Thank's for the comparison. Love the ukulele, such an easy breezy instrument. Guitar was a pain for string changes. Yeah the guitar does needs a string change... it can wait hehe.
 
Thank you very much for sharing this great comparison. I follow your string philosophy. :)
 
Interestingly, to my mind, there's more of a noticeable difference between the tone of the voice intros than the tone of the different sets of strings. Just goes to show how a slight change in position (or whatever) can affect things!

Both sound very nice :music:
 
I, too, am reluctant to change strings too often. Not just because used strings are "still good", but because it always takes a while to break new strings in, get them to hold tune etc. To me, this outweighs some of the possible disadvantages of older strings (unless they are fraying, which I've had with some sets of Southcoast HML-RWs as well as Worth Browns and Clears).
 
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