Makala Shark ~ new strings

joneo

joneo

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So awhile ago I purchased a Makala Shark for the sole purpose of having a super cheap "beater" uke that I would not be too concerned about and could leave in the car from time to time. Purchased from ABC Music in Salem, OR it came setup with decent intonation. However, the stock Aquila strings sounded a bit boomy for my tastes. I replaced the strings and sanded down the bridge a little bit. Wow what a difference! Not only does it have (almost) perfect intonation all the way up the neck, it sounds much more pleasing to me now. In fact, I now like this little ukulele so much I don't want to leave it in the car!
* Thus is not to say it's on par with a Martin or anything. At the end of the day it's still a $50 uke.

The strings I put on are D'Addario Extruded Nylon. Even though they sound nice, they feel pretty loose. Apparently they are optimized for aDF#B tuning; I use gCEA. I think I will try Martin fluorocarbons next.
 
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Try the D'Addario Carbons, a bit more expensive than Martins, or the Fremont Blackline High Tension. I've been trying to find some Martins but am pretty happy with the D'Addarios and Fremonts. I used the Fremont HT's on an 11" scale sopraniono and they made a lot of difference.
 
D'Addario has the Titanium set, which is for C tuning (GCEA). The Famous/Kiwaya FS-5 came with those (and the bridge is compensated for them). Didn't think I'd like them, but they really surprised me in terms of feel and sound. So if you wanted a bit closer to nylon (more warmth than fluorocarbon), those would be worth trying.
 
My Shark came with Aquilas and I think they work well on it. I am not a fan of nylon strings (they feel too loose/floppy to me) so when it was time for changing the strings I put on some Martins and it came alive! I would give them a shot.
 
JackLuis said:
Try the D'Addario Carbons, a bit more expensive than Martins, or the Fremont Blackline High Tension. I've been trying to find some Martins but am pretty happy with the D'Addarios and Fremonts. I used the Fremont HT's on an 11" scale sopraniono and they made a lot of difference.
Click to expand...

I have heard good things about the D'Addario Carbons. May look into those too. ��

...then there's the Titaniums... hmmm.... Guess this is why people go through so many sets of strings! So many to try out!
 
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Worth browns...
shark3.jpg
 
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I believe i put Martin M600's on mine when i had it. Really not an Aquila fan. I had a Makala MK-S a while back and had M600's on it too.
 
joneo said:
Apparently they are optimized for aDF#B tuning; I use gCEA. I think I will try Martin fluorocarbons next.
Click to expand...

If you haven't done so already, before you take those strings off I would tune them up to ADF#B and see (or rather listen to) what it sounds like. I have one ukulele which sounds awful in C tuning but great in D and another which is just the opposite!
 
I would "second" Jim's observation. I used Martin M-600's on my Shark, and tuned it to aDF#B, and it really sounded very good, surprisingly good, whereas the gCEA tuning just didn't do much for it. I have since made disposition of it, but it was actually a great little uke! -Bill
 
I love my black makala shark. I dont know what kind of strings are on it but they sound pretty good. They are kind of these opaque white strings. I bought it from a brick n mortar, so perhaps they set it up and put good strings on them bc my shark is not a toy at all, no way (which I thought it would be for a mere $29 shipped brand new) but a technically refined student ukulele for me to practice the subtleties of finger picking on it w precise intonation and subtle differences in tone and resonances depending on how I pluck. A ton of bona fide musical instrument for the coin.
 
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oasis would be a good string to try. inexpensive and I like them.
 
joneo said:
So awhile ago I purchased a Makala Shark for the sole purpose of having a super cheap "beater" uke that I would not be too concerned about and could leave in the car from time to time. Purchased from ABC Music in Salem, OR it came setup with decent intonation. However, the stock Aquila strings sounded a bit boomy for my tastes. I replaced the strings and sanded down the bridge a little bit. Wow what a difference! Not only does it have perfect intonation all the way up the neck, it sounds much more pleasing to me now. In fact, I now like this little ukulele so much I don't want to leave it in the car!

The strings I put on are D'Addario Extruded Nylon. Even though they sound nice, they feel pretty loose. Apparently they are optimized for aDF#B tuning; I use gCEA. I think I will try Martin fluorocarbons next.
Click to expand...

I bought a chocolate Dolphin for the same reason as you; a small instrument I could throw in the car or otherwise trash w/o much heartache. It sounds better (to me) in aDF#B.
 
Debussychopin said:
I love my black makala shark. I dont know what kind of strings are on it but they sound pretty good. They are kind of these opaque white strings. I bought it from a brick n mortar, so perhaps they set it up and put good strings on them bc my shark is not a toy at all, no way (which I thought it would be for a mere $29 shipped brand new) but a technically refined student ukulele for me to practice the subtleties of finger picking on it w precise intonation and subtle differences in tone and resonances depending on how I pluck. A ton of bona fide musical instrument for the coin.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree, you do get a lot for the $ with these little ukes. I should clarify though, that when playing it side by side with my Kala Ka-KSLNG super soprano, there's a world of difference in the actual quality of the sound produced.
 
joneo said:
You got the Jockomo uke stickers! They look great on your Shark!
Click to expand...

thanks, it also has a set of upgraded tuners off of another uke...
shark4.jpg
my 9 yo grandson has it now, don't think he plays it much.
 
jimavery said:
If you haven't done so already, before you take those strings off I would tune them up to ADF#B and see (or rather listen to) what it sounds like. I have one ukulele which sounds awful in C tuning but great in D and another which is just the opposite!
Click to expand...

Well so I was just about to take those strings off when I decided to heed your advice and tuned them up to ADF#B... Looked up some easy songs to play in this tuning, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGTy0YDuif4 ...and y'know what ~ it sounds pretty good! (Just like Bill Sheehan's and Mutinous Doug's observations.:cool:) I guess I have enough ukuleles now that I can leave a couple in alternate tunings to experiment beyond gCEA. So thanks for the tip! :cheers:
 
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After liking the higher ADF#B tuning on this Shark for about the past 6 months, I want to put it in the rotation of the various ukuleles I'm taking to my local meetup group. So I just recently swapped out the strings for Martins (GCEA tuning). They produce a pleasant, even tone on my Shark. No booming C string like the original strings had. Very pleased!
 
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