After more than a year I still have the original strings on the Farallon. I never was compelled to change them unlike other ukes. I was surprised to return from walking the dog and find the low G had spontaneously snapped. Anyone else ever experience SUSS (spontaneous ukulele string snapping)? Fellow Farallon enthusiasts, what are your string recommendations? Definitely staying with the low G.
Snapped between the nut and tuner. I wasn't surprised the string broke per-se as I have been trying different tunings (a lot) but it was odd to have it happen when it was not being played.. Thanks for the recommendation on strings. I forgot to mention I think I'm sold on a wound low G which the Farallon had originally..
I have never had a string snap on me while playing......well maybe once. All of mine snap when in the case, makes sense as they spend all their time in the case when not being played.
If you liked the sound of the original strings Oasis warms will do it, one time they were the stock strings. I went through many string changes chasing a certain tone. If you like a wound 4th and 3rd the Thomastik CF30 and CF27 respectively were great. I paired those up with nylon classical guitar strings in the 2nd and 1st spots for a warm sound. Worth CT worked well with a Fremont Soloist wound 4th for a nice neutral sounding low G set.
If you go the Oasis low G set and want to try a wound 3rd buy the D'Addario Silver wound NYL028W. It is a wound classical guitar string and can be bought single for under $2.00 from Strings by Mail. They have a huge range of diameters and you can really fine tune the tone you want by going larger or smaller in diameter. The NYL030W makes for a great wound 4th. The numbers are the diameters, 0.030" is a G string and 0.028 is the C string diameters
Snapped between the nut and tuner. I wasn't surprised the string broke per-se as I have been trying different tunings (a lot) but it was odd to have it happen when it was not being played.. Thanks for the recommendation on strings. I forgot to mention I think I'm sold on a wound low G which the Farallon had originally..
I had the same string snap between the niut and the tuning machine twice on the same ukulele, so I contacted the builder. He said it could be a sharp edge of the hole into which you thread the string on the post of the tuning gear. He suggested I file the edges of both holes on the tuning post, and that solved the problem.
As for strings for Farallons, I've stuck with fluorocarbons (Oasis, Worth), which is what my Farallon came with. I don't remember offhand what I use for low G; on my other ukes, I prefer Thomastik Infeld CF30 and CF27 for a wound G and a wound C, respectively, but I also like Fremont Soloist low G (the nonsqeaky one). It's possible that I'm currently using Living Water low G on my Farallon.
I have never had a string snap on me while playing......well maybe once. All of mine snap when in the case, makes sense as they spend all their time in the case when not being played.
If you liked the sound of the original strings Oasis warms will do it, one time they were the stock strings. I went through many string changes chasing a certain tone. If you like a wound 4th and 3rd the Thomastik CF30 and CF27 respectively were great. I paired those up with nylon classical guitar strings in the 2nd and 1st spots for a warm sound. Worth CT worked well with a Fremont Soloist wound 4th for a nice neutral sounding low G set.
If you go the Oasis low G set and want to try a wound 3rd buy the D'Addario Silver wound NYL028W. It is a wound classical guitar string and can be bought single for under $2.00 from Strings by Mail. They have a huge range of diameters and you can really fine tune the tone you want by going larger or smaller in diameter. The NYL030W makes for a great wound 4th. The numbers are the diameters, 0.030" is a G string and 0.028 is the C string diameters
My experience coming from guitar was the opposite- I used to break strings while playing quite regularly but never had one break in the case. So that's interesting.. Thanks for the string ideas! Can't wait to do some string study on the Farallon.
I had the same string snap between the niut and the tuning machine twice on the same ukulele, so I contacted the builder. He said it could be a sharp edge of the hole into which you thread the string on the post of the tuning gear. He suggested I file the edges of both holes on the tuning post, and that solved the problem.
As for strings for Farallons, I've stuck with fluorocarbons (Oasis, Worth), which is what my Farallon came with. I don't remember offhand what I use for low G; on my other ukes, I prefer Thomastik Infeld CF30 and CF27 for a wound G and a wound C, respectively, but I also like Fremont Soloist low G (the nonsqeaky one). It's possible that I'm currently using Living Water low G on my Farallon.
I'll have to check that tuning post though in my case I'm sure all the tuning up and down weakened the string. And thanks for the string info. I've got some good data now to start with. The forum never disappoints.
I just changed the original strings on my low G Farallon. My low G is a no brainer... I am a huge fan of the Thomastik-Infeld chrome steel flat wound .030. The first set of plain strings I tried were Ko’olau ‘Alohi. No bueno... very dull and muddy. Next set was D’Addario Pro-Arte Titanium. An improvement, but still too muddy and undefined for my taste. I now have Worth BT63 Brown tenors on it, and they are much more articulate and chimey on the high end. I realize this is a personal preference, and there is no right or wrong choice. For me, the Worths are easily the superior choice.
I'm interested to know if the Farallon is as sensitive to strings as I've heard the Clara is. I usually run Oasis warms on my Clara with a brief excursion to Oasis brights and one to Aquila Reds - neither was particularly great and I've read elsewhere on this forum that strings make a huge difference for the Clara.
I just changed the original strings on my low G Farallon. My low G is a no brainer... I am a huge fan of the Thomastik-Infeld chrome steel flat wound .030. The first set of plain strings I tried were Ko’olau ‘Alohi. No bueno... very dull and muddy. Next set was D’Addario Pro-Arte Titanium. An improvement, but still too muddy and undefined for my taste. I now have Worth BT63 Brown tenors on it, and they are much more articulate and chimey on the high end. I realize this is a personal preference, and there is no right or wrong choice. For me, the Worths are easily the superior choice.
I too tried the Ko'olau Alohi strings since my original post (discovered I had this spare set) and they're just OK. So I'll try your suggestion, ordered through "Just strings"..
I too tried the Ko'olau Alohi strings since my original post (discovered I had this spare set) and they're just OK. So I'll try your suggestion, ordered through "Just strings"..
I hope you like them. I am also going to pick up some Fremont blacks the next time I am at my local store. They sound pretty similar (there is a nice string demo on The Ukulele Site using a Kamaka tenor), and they are half the price of the Worths.
I hope you like them. I am also going to pick up some Fremont blacks the next time I am at my local store. They sound pretty similar (there is a nice string demo on The Ukulele Site using a Kamaka tenor), and they are half the price of the Worths.
Just one thing to remember Worth are double length in the package. Fremont are single length so the price works out to be the same. Just for any one that didn't know Worth are always double length.
Just one thing to remember Worth are double length in the package. Fremont are single length so the price works out to be the same. Just for any one that didn't know Worth are always double length.
I'm interested to know if the Farallon is as sensitive to strings as I've heard the Clara is. I usually run Oasis warms on my Clara with a brief excursion to Oasis brights and one to Aquila Reds - neither was particularly great and I've read elsewhere on this forum that strings make a huge difference for the Clara.
I have always used fluorocarbon on my Clara. I found a set of Worth Browns in my string box and thought they would look cool on the Clara. Much to my surprise not only are they cosmetically good, the sound awesome as well. The Uke is not as loud, but the tone is super.
I have always used fluorocarbon on my Clara. I found a set of Worth Browns in my string box and thought they would look cool on the Clara. Much to my surprise not only are they cosmetically good, the sound awesome as well. The Uke is not as loud, but the tone is super.
I've run through lots of string sets in search of a nice balanced clear sound on the Farallon (which, as you all know, is both very responsive to string changes, and thus somewhat picky). Aquila Sugars (high G, unwound C) sound sublime on my Farallon. Eliminates the tendency toward oominess on the C string, and with very clear chimey sound and nice plonky initial attack. So far (3 days in), they are holding up well. The Aquila Carbon Blacks (which I also really like on the Farallon) have a serious tendency to break, even when strung precisely as directed. My only complaint about the Sugars in the gauge - they seem both thick and hard, but the tension feels just right. My fingers will get used to it, given the tonal benefits they confer...
I contacted Blackbird for Farallon string low G recommendations and they said Oasis Warms (wound G) or PHD's (unwound). Mine came with the Oasis and I think I'll try the PHD's at my next change. I also have a Savarez KF 95A (gauge: 0.95 mm/0.374 inch, 2.00 M length) that someone with a Farallon recommended for low G and at some point I'll give that a try.
