What a difference it made...

Nickie

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
11,197
Reaction score
3,508
Location
Tampa Bay, FL
Yesterday I finally got 'round to putting new strings on my mahogany Kala concert uke.
I'd had several kinds of Aquilas on it, and finally got fed up with the way they made my fingers hurt. I found a set of Oasis sitting around from who knows when or where.
So I set about trying to mount them in the 8 hole bridge. No way. They are TOO slippery!
So, getting madder by the minute, I stopped. I took it to my luthier, he took one look at the bridge, raised his eyebrows and said "Hmmmm". I said, "you do know how it works, no?"
He said, "of course, I've restrung hundreds of Classical guitars".
He couldn't do it either.
So he tied them off like a regular tie bridge, saying, "man, those things are slippery, did you put butter on them?"
After tuning and allowing them to stretch, I played it today, and wow.
My old uke has new life breathed into it. mmStan always swears by Oasis strings, and now I know why.
That uke has NEVER EVER sounded this good. I feel like I have a new uke.
My UAS is....
what UAS?
 
+1 The fluorocarbon strings being thin are so much more friendly to fingertips than nylon or nylgut strings. Also more sustain.

It does not matter how much I play and how thick my fingertip skin gets, thick strings when pressed down to fingerboard will cause bruise like soreness under string.

My theory is this:
The fingertip "wants" to press the string down so the tip touches the fingerboard same time to send that sensory feedback. If one has quite small fingertips like mine, thick strings will cause problems with that. Could also lead to some intonation sharpness maybe.
 
Finding the best strings for each of your instruments is a long journey but worthwhile.
 
Are Oasis strings slippery compared to other fluorocarbon strings? I haven't yet tried that brand.

I changed a ukulele from Martin strings to Living Water recently, and it really changed the sound. I like both sounds, but will probably stick with the LW strings for that one. It's amazing how much of a difference the strings can make.
 
I wil confess, I take my ukuleles to my local acoustic guitar/ukulele shop & let them change the strings. I am easily frustrated with "fiddly" things, and the shop is on my way home from work. It's worth 15 minutes of my time, and $5 out of my pocket to have them do it. I changed the Aquila super nylguts that came on my Teton laminate starter concert to Oasis Brights and man did it make a difference in feel & sound. So much better. I don't recall the guy in the shop commenting on slipperiness. The Teton had a standard tie bridge. I've since gifted that uke to a friend, but I do miss it sometimes. A nice uke that was made even nicer with the Oasis Brights. For the most part I'm a Living Waters fan though.
 
I've used Oasis for trebles, and not found them to be any more slippery or hard to install than any other types of strings that I've tried... (shrug)

bratsche
 
I'm a huge fan of Oasis Warms - particularly on my Clara. I also put them on my kids school's ukuleles and I did have some trouble with them slipping. Part of that was that I was trying to get three string sets instead of two out of each package.
 
There is a difference with an 8 hole bridge (guitar 12 hole). I have a 12 hole ukulele bridge and have an issue with the A string slipping. I have to reverse loop it to keep it in place. Some people knot the end to keep it from slipping with these type of bridges.

The purpose of these multiple string hole bridges is to improve the break angle over a traditional tie bridge because the loop on a tie bridge is pulling the string towards the back of the bridge. That said, I'm not sure if there is any discernible improvement in tone, especially on a ukulele.

John
 
I used to use Martin Tenor 620 Fluorocarbons. And D'Addario Low-G Tenor Fluoros. I received a couple of sets from both companies that were very slippery. So much so, that the A wouldn't stay tied with just two wraps, I had to use three to make it stay put on the tie bar. The E was almost as bad. Other packs were not as slippery, or not at all slippery.

I suspect, though I don't have any evidence for this, that there is still a little lubricant on the strings. Lubricant is often sprayed on plastic/polymers as they are extruded. Plastics/Polymers heat up a lot from the process due to friction from the metal dies. So, quiteo often the product is coated with something to keep the strands from adhering to themselves as it coils up. Much like an injection mold release that makes the plastic part easier to remove from the mold dies. Or spraying PAM on a pan to keep the food from sticking. It's usually removed after the item cools. Before it is packaged. My guess is that there is a little residue left from this.

Just a guess based on working with other polymer products during summer jobs at a rubber & plastics company.
 
Top Bottom