Good strings

bluute · Jun 1, 2009

Hi,
I've heard that the strings they put on alot of the lower end Uke's should be replaced with better ones, I've only be playing for a couple of weeks and I have a cheapie soprano Mahalo.I've stretched the strings alot and they hold tune for a couple of songs but then need tuning again, so I was wondering what are some of the better brands of strings ? and if better strings need less stretching in ?
Cheers

grappler · Jun 1, 2009

all strings need stretching.
Try using the search function to getting better understanding about strings.

band of strings you can use are
Aqualias
Worths
Hilo
GHS

seeso · Jun 1, 2009

Those Mahalos are tough to get in tune anyway, but I would put some Aquilas on there.

I'd also lower the action on it.

Good luck, bro.

bluute · Jun 1, 2009

Cheers Seeso, lowering the action , i think the only way to do that is to grind down or get a more shallow Bridge yeah ????

bluute · Jun 1, 2009

Cheers Grapp, thanks for the lesson ;-) I do have a limited knowledge of Nylon/gut strings but I wasn't asking for strings that didn't need stretching in, just if better brands require less. But thanks for the brands of strings.

seeso · Jun 1, 2009

bluute said:
Cheers Seeso, lowering the action , i think the only way to do that is to grind down or get a more shallow Bridge yeah ????

There's two ways to do it. You can sand the nut and/or the saddle down.

When fretting a string at the 3rd fret, you should be able to slide a business card between the string and the top (crown) of the first fret with a little bit of friction.

If there's no friction, then you should lower the action at the nut.

Take the strings off and remove the nut.

Get some 220 grit sandpaper, and nail it to a small, flat piece of wood or something. It needs to be flat, whatever it is.

Run the bottom of the nut over the sandpaper a little at a time, checking your measurements frequently. You'll have to restring the uke a few times and check your measurements until you've got it just right.

If you can't remove the nut, you can also file the slots in the nut a little at a time. Be careful if you choose this route. If the slots get too wide, you can have problems.

Now restring your uke and check the action at the 12th fret. The space between the string and the crown of the 12th fret should be between 1/8 and 3/16 of an inch.

If it's too high, you'll have to adjust the action at the saddle.

To lower the action at the saddle, calculate the difference between your action at the 12th fret and 3/16 of an inch. Loosen your strings, take out your saddle, and mark this difference on it with a pencil, starting from the bottom of the saddle. Sand the bottom of your saddle down to that pencil mark.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

John Colter · Jun 1, 2009

Better strings don't necessarily settle down any quicker. You can expect it to take about a week. Even then, you should tune your uke very regularly. I've heard it said that you should tune every song, but I think that's a bit obsessive. The uke I keep by my chair I just pick up and strum, and I only retune it if it sounds 'off'. If I was at an 'Open Mic', I'd tune before I get up to play, but would expect my uke to hold tune for two or three numbers, after which you can't hear me for the booing and the slow handclaps.

Ukantor.

bluute · Jun 1, 2009

Thanks Ukantor, I find I'm tuning it every two or three songs and Ive had it for two weeks now, so Im gonna try some better strings cant hurt to try

. Its only a cheapie Uke I have but I love playing it, havent picked up my steel string in two weeks !!

bluute · Jun 1, 2009

seeso said:
There's two ways to do it. You can sand the nut and/or the saddle down.

When fretting a string at the 3rd fret, you should be able to slide a business card between the string and the top (crown) of the first fret with a little bit of friction.

If there's no friction, then you should lower the action at the nut.

Take the strings off and remove the nut.

Get some 220 grit sandpaper, and nail it to a small, flat piece of wood or something. It needs to be flat, whatever it is.

Run the bottom of the nut a over the sandpaper little at a time, checking your measurements frequently. You'll have to restring the uke a few times and check your measurements until you've got it just right.

If you can't remove the nut, you can also file the slots in the nut a little at a time. Be careful if you choose this route. If the slots get too wide, you can have problems.

Now restring your uke and check the action at the 12th fret. The space between the string and the crown of the 12th fret should be between 1/8 and 3/16 of an inch.

If it's too high, you'll have to adjust the action at the saddle.

To lower the action at the saddle, calculate the difference between your action at the 12th fret and 3/16 of an inch. Loosen your strings, take out your saddle, and mark this difference on it with a pencil, starting from the bottom of the saddle. Sand the bottom of your saddle down to that pencil mark.

Hope that helps. Good luck.
Hope that helps.

Thanks Seeso

buddhuu · Jun 1, 2009

Seeso's instructions are spot on.

May I add a tiny tip? You want your bridge saddle to make as good contact as possible with the bottom of its slot. For that to happen it needs to be flat and level.

When you sand a saddle down it can put a bit of a slant on the bottom if you don't hold it absolutely vertical. After sanding, stand the saddle up on a flat surface. If you have the bottom sanded nice and flat it will stand vertical. If you have not held it upright as you sanded it will lean or fall over.

Check a few times as you sand and you can adjust the angle you hold it at as you work.

ukulele2544 · Jun 1, 2009

To get the true sound of the strings, you have to keep the same strings on the ukulele for about 2 months.

UkeNinja · Jun 1, 2009

ukulele2544 said:
To get the true sound of the strings, you have to keep the same strings on the ukulele for about 2 months.

Which is exactly the time that Aldrine changes his for new ones (or so he stated in some other thread). Two months is a bit long, the week or two should be OK for them to settle. Then again, if you play only very slow music... probably a lot depends on how much you play.

Good strings

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