Anyone have a Lanikai S-TEQ? Have a question about its volume

Hi ya'll,

Just reaching out to anyone that has a Lanikai S-TEQ (Solid Spruce Top, laminate mahogany back/sides) because I wanted a second opinion on the ukes "loudness" and ability to project. I bought my daugther a used Lanikai S-TEQ a couple years ago off craigslist for a pretty great deal. It came with the normal aquila strings but I noticed that it didn't project very well, or much at all. I was ehh at the time because it was used and I wasn't sure if my daughter would really play that much and it was a great looking uke and it wouldn't be to big of a loss if it ended up collecting dust in her room somewhere.

Long story short, she is in college (in SoCal) now playing much much more. I was watching her play the last time when we were together and she was strumming it pretty hard to get some volume (same for me). I was seeing her this weekend and pickup up some Kooalau Alohi (w/ wound 3rd) strings and decided to swap out the strips, hoping that it would improve the sound and increase the volume of the uke. Well it got worse with the Alohi's (could be the nylon was a bad choice).

Could anyone w/ a Lanikai S-TEQ tell me if that is the experience with theirs? Sounds pretty tight and dense, similar to an unamped solid body. I figured the Aquilas are naturally loud but I chalked up the lack of volume to maybe the strings were super old when I bought it used. I have seen videos youtube of this uke and the volume and clarity seem fine. I also read a bunch of reviews of people loving this uke.

Well anyways any insight would be helpful. Not sure if I'm beating a dead horse and wasting money on strings. I will be buying other strings, maybe another set of Aquilas and maybe some flourocarbons (Oasis or Worth).

I don't own that particular uke...That said:
Nylon strings definitely sound warmer and a bit quieter to me. You mentioned maybe trying Worth strings. The Worth clear tenor strings might be a good choice...OR just grab some D'addario carbon EJ99T flouro strings. See what that does for the sound. They should offer more clarity/brightness, which sometimes tricks the ears into thinking the sound is louder I've noticed. It's worth a shot.

Also to note, a lot of instruments can sound a lot different to the person playing than the one listening. If it's just a matter of her wanting to hear herself better maybe look into adding a sound port to the side of the uke.

jer said:

I don't own that particular uke...That said:
Nylon strings definitely sound warmer and a bit quieter to me. You mentioned maybe trying Worth strings. The Worth clear tenor strings might be a good choice...OR just grab some D'addario carbon EJ99T flouro strings. See what that does for the sound. They should offer more clarity/brightness, which sometimes tricks the ears into thinking the sound is louder I've noticed. It's worth a shot.

Also to note, a lot of instruments can sound a lot different to the person playing than the one listening. If it's just a matter of her wanting to hear herself better maybe look into adding a sound port to the side of the uke.

Click to expand...

Thanks jer. I'll give those strings a try. I didn't think about the EJ99T :shaka: