D'addario EJ65S soprano D tuning strings

Pirate Jim

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I have found that I much prefer D tuning on a soprano to C. You lose some of that soprano warmth but you gain plenty in clarity and I like the extra string tension. I also find a lot of songs I play with others suit open position chords in D tuning better than in C which is a happy side-effect.

I've used the Aquila D tuning strings before. Whilst I liked the tension, keeping that soprano relaxed feel, they were very light gauge. The combination of low tension and light gauge meant my strumming fingers felt a bit snagged on them at times and I didn't feel I could dig into them properly. I also like to play a bit of tenor so I get quite used to digging in on higher tension strings.

I've done the usual of tuning regular soprano strings up but, for higher tension strings in particular, I find they get a bit strangled higher up the fretboard. I decided to try the D'addarios to see if they were a happy medium.

Long story short, they definitely are! Comfortable gauge / tension balance, still allow higher frets to ring out and enough there to dig into when I want to. The added bonus is the length of them - with care when stringing you get enough to string two sopranos, which is exactly what I've done. Not bad at all for £6!

Anyway, there's very little discussion of these strings around so I thought I'd post this in case it's of use to someone else at some point.
 
Hey Jim, are the EJ65S strings too floppy when tuned to standard C6 tuning? I use the EJ65T on my tenors and like them, but passed on the Soprano because they are made for D6 tuning. Thanks
 
Hey Jim, are the EJ65S strings too floppy when tuned to standard C6 tuning? I use the EJ65T on my tenors and like them, but passed on the Soprano because they are made for D6 tuning. Thanks

Just gave it a try and they're not too bad, you know. The 3rd string is too loose for my tastes but certainly playable. Worth the 6 quid to try them out, certainly.
 
Thanks for the tip! So far I've been really impressed with the Harley Benton soprano strings, but you're right thinner strings like that won't take a really heavy strum and I've found that on a couple of my ukuleles, the thinness of the string seems to knock intonation out of kilter at the first fret or two. On the other hand Pyramid nylon strings are way too thick. I'm hoping those D'Addario ones might strike a happy medium. I've not tried the Aquila strings for D tuning yet either.
 
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