Single w/3rd

Theblackegg

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I love playing with a wound third and carbon strings (high g).

I currently use D'Addario concert carbons on my tenor with a W/3rd sourced from an old pack of le belle strings.
This is obviously not going to be cost effective in the long run.
Does anyone know if its possible to source singular wound 'C' strings to create my own franken-sets?

Thanks for your help!
 
Thomastik-Infeld chrome flatwound classical guitar strings, sold as singles, the CF27 is the part # for the 0.027" dia. string that will have proper tension for a C string. Tension is 'average' (a good thing) and I've found it to intonate well on scales from soprano to baritone, as well as on all of my classical guitars, of course.

Note that these are CHROME FLATWOUND and nearly squeakless with almost zero finger noise, and lots of folks are also using the CF30 string for a wound G on tenor and concert, and on baritone, the CF35 for the D strings and CF30 for the G string....

LOTS and LOTS of past discussion here on UU if you search for Thomastik.

HMS, Strings By Mail and Elderly usually have them all in stock at a starting price of about $6/ea.
 
Also, cheaper and usually available ANYWHERE you can get classical guitar strings, look for a 'wound 3rd', i.e. a classical guitar 'G' string, which can be from 0.026" to 0.028" and while almost twice the length required, is the SAME string sold as a 'wound C for uke'...

It's long been established AND confirmed that 99% of uke strings are in fact just classical guitar strings, just cut shorter and put into neat little packs that say UKULELE instead of CLASSICAL GUITAR...

If not Thomastik and you get something else, I would AVOID the 'aluminum' wound strings as they tend to degrade faster and I've had intonation problems with them.

Most of the classical strings you will find that folks are calling 'METAL' strings are NOT metal, but in fact a silk, nylon or fluorocarbon core, with a silver-plated copper or brass 'over-wrap' wire, hence the 'wound' string nomenclature.

Hope this helps. :)
 
I tried the wound C string for a while. Sounds like a good idea, but was not for me. But I did some research I'm happy to share.

First option:
GHS sells a single wound tenor #3. It's their H-T13. I have used it and been satisfied. I further suggest the GHS H-T20 full set of florocarbon w/wound #3. I liked this set very much, so this is my strongest recommendation.

Option B:
Southcoast has a number of sets available with a wound #3 (their "W3" sets). Dirk is very secretive about the composition of the strings, so if you insist on carbon or florocarbon, best of luck. But, I recommend reading the information about the various sets on the site (Get comfy, there's a lot to read). You don't really need carbon if you get the sound you want. These will not save you any money, but you will find the very best strings for your needs (wants) at Southcoast.

Third (and fourth) Option:
Ko'Olau makes a set of monofilament strings with a wound #3, (their Alohi). Yeah, "monofilament" is nylon, not carbon. But you could give them a try. They're okay, but also pretty expensive. And, GHS makes a very good set of nylons w/a wound #3, but I too prefer florocarbon.
 
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