Getting New Strings

As I was putting the strings back on a Fluke concert that I had painted, I noticed that they were notched at the frets, so I figured it was time to replace them. I bought the Fluke used, and the strings might have been the originals.

I didn't have as many strings as I thought I did, so I ordered some from Strings By Mail. I ordered Ernie Ball (with beads at the end of the strings), Worth Brown, Aquila Red, and Martin M600. They'll arrive on Friday, and I'll decide which strings to use. I'll have to check my other ukes for notched strings.

Jerryc41 said:

As I was putting the strings back on a Fluke concert that I had painted, I noticed that they were notched at the frets, so I figured it was time to replace them. I bought the Fluke used, and the strings might have been the originals.

I didn't have as many strings as I thought I did, so I ordered some from Strings By Mail. I ordered Ernie Ball (with beads at the end of the strings), Worth Brown, Aquila Red, and Martin M600. They'll arrive on Friday, and I'll decide which strings to use. I'll have to check my other ukes for notched strings.

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I cannibalized my last set of Ernie Ball, black nylon ball end strings. I used one of the strings from a soprano set ( the E string IIRC ) as a high D for reentrant on my baritone, along with the first three strings from a set of black nylon Ernesto Palla (Ernie Ball) guitar strings. That works very well for the bari, and surprisingly, the soprano strings were more than long enough for the bari, but I have been disappointed by the Ernie Balls on every other uke I’ve tried them on. They take forever to settle in, and honestly, they never really do settle in completely and need tuning constantly.

Swamp Yankee said:

...I have been disappointed by the Ernie Balls on every other uke I’ve tried them on. They take forever to settle in, and honestly, they never really do settle in completely and need tuning constantly.

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Maybe I'll put them on a cheap uke I seldom play.

I wonder if the constant tuning had something to do with the size of them. They're fat strings, so wouldn't work well on a uke with a nut setup for thinner strings. They'd bind in the slots. Of course the slots could be widened if someone likes the strings.

jer said:

I wonder if the constant tuning had something to do with the size of them. They're fat strings, so wouldn't work well on a uke with a nut setup for thinner strings. They'd bind in the slots. Of course the slots could be widened if someone likes the strings.

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Not in my case, no. The strings were not binding in the nut slots. Had they been binding, and had I actually liked the way they sounded, I would have at least considered cutting the nut slots to accommodate them as I have a full set of the proper nut slot files to do that.
They were just not stable. They just kept stretching for a longer period than I was willing to give myself to warm to the tone they brought to the ukes I tried them on.
The only exception being the baritone. I only play it rarely, however, so picking it up and having it so drastically out of tune is more within the normal range of expectations as it’s only once or twice a week that I do so.

Swamp Yankee said:

They were just not stable. They just kept stretching for a longer period than I was willing to give myself to warm to the tone they brought to the ukes I tried them on.

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I'll second that opinion. I had a similar experience on my concert.

Thanks for the reply on that. All that makes me want to try them even less. I had considered it til I saw the size, for my current player...but this doesn't really make me want to try them in the future either. The La Bella 200's I like are stretchier than the Super Nylgut and fluoros I've tried, but not terribly bad. I'd rather be playing than tuning.

jer said:

Thanks for the reply on that. All that makes me want to try them even less. I had considered it til I saw the size, for my current player...but this doesn't really make me want to try them in the future either. The La Bella 200's I like are stretchier than the Super Nylgut and fluoros I've tried, but not terribly bad. I'd rather be playing than tuning.

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One thing they have going... they’re cheap and they are LONG. Soprano strings out of the package are more than 36” long.

Swamp Yankee said:

One thing they have going... they’re cheap and they are LONG. Soprano strings out of the package are more than 36” long.

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Nice. That sounds like the La Bella's I mentioned too. If I'm careful I can cut those in half and have enough for two sets of soprano strings. I guess it's because they just repackage guitar strings for uke strings, which is fine. I'll take the extra length. It'd cost them more time cutting the lengths shorter than it's worth to them probably.

Bill1 said:

I use black nylon from D'addario. There are plenty of others to choose from as well. However, I don't use black nylon on the Flea and Fluke. My Flea came with Aquila white nylon/nylgut and my Fluke likes Worth browns.

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I was one who got a Fluke early on after they were released. It was my first ukulele. They originally came with black strings that were labeled as "Hilo". I wouldn't be surprised if D'addario was the one making those strings back then and it's the same ones they sell now under their own name still. From a quick search I just did it looks like Hilo still has some ukes, but I didn't see strings.
I remember after Worth coming out I put a set on my Fluke and liked them much better than those black Hilo strings.
According to D'addario the black strings have the highest tension of their offerings. I could see some liking them for that reason. I'm more of a low tension player.
I'm glad there are so many different strings available now compared to when I first started with uke.

Swiftsailor98 said:

I'll second that opinion. I had a similar experience on my concert.

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I can third this, had them on my plastic travel uke so can't comment on the tone so much, but they needed to be re-tuned a lot and never really settled in.

jer said:

I was one who got a Fluke early on after they were released. It was my first ukulele. They originally came with black strings that were labeled as "Hilo". I wouldn't be surprised if D'addario was the one making those strings back then and it's the same ones they sell now under their own name still. From a quick search I just did it looks like Hilo still has some ukes, but I didn't see strings.

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I am not familiar with Fluke brand but "Hilo" strings are a feature of Mele Ukulele (Maui) and it seems they are indeed manufactured by d'Addario. Mele still seems to sell them.

The notches on the bottom of the strings are a good sign of wear.
I check my strings and when I feel the notches I do a string change.
I am a flouro-carbon fan.

merlin666 said:

I am not familiar with Fluke brand but "Hilo" strings are a feature of Mele Ukulele (Maui) and it seems they are indeed manufactured by d'Addario. Mele still seems to sell them.

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Thanks for the info. That reminded me that I once had a Mele ukulele years ago. I'd completely forgotten about that brand. It was nice.