String Sources

Chronos

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Hey folks.

I'm currently using D'addario strings on one of my ukuleles and Aquila strings on another. My D'addario strings are old, worn, and need to be replaced. I've been considering testing Worth strings after a recommendation from a local enthusiast.

Can anyone recommend an online retailer that I can purchase Worth strings from? And have you experimented with all three brands?
 
ive used all three brands. just from my own experience with the ukes i own:

aquila: sound nice when you first put them on. then after a couple weeks, they dont sound much different from the stock GHS strings that most of my ukes came with. they also fray pretty easily. so if like to bend strings a lot, they get chaffed and then start to fray. mine started fraying after about a month of daily playing with no bending.

d'addario j71: nice set. thick, so they have a deeper, richer, fuller tone. id say they gave me a good two months or so of good play time before i noticed them going a little dead. stilled played them for longer than that before changing them though. out of all the strings ive tried so far, these are probably my favorite.

worth BT: these guys are going strong. they are thin, so you get a little twang from them. and very bright sounding IMO. i havent tried any of the other ones, but im interested in the clears. one of the thicker models. wanna get a fuller tone out of the strings. cool thing about these BT's though is i took a used set off one uke, and decided to put it on my $50 makala. now it sounds like a $200 makala hahaha. but seriously it is one of my favorite ukes to play now. and the strings made all the difference... just dont really know where to get them online other than schmeebay.
 
You can try musicguymic, he sells worth clears and browns tenor size. I recently restrung my kanilea which had some aquila's on it. I've been playing aquila's on all my ukes for about a year now. I've been quite happy with them, maybe except they're just a little too bright on my kamaka, but on my kanilea they sounded perfect to me. But I wanted to try worth's because many people rave about them. I'm waiting for the strings to settle, I only restrung them yesterday. They do sound good, but so far it lacks the little extra oomph the aquilas had. I wish I did a video of the difference of sounds for comparison. As far as the d'addario's, I have no experience on them. But try musicguymic, I believe he even sells sample packs of 3 different sets of strings.
 
I got my strings from ukuleleworld.com. They've got every kind of string you could possibly want.
 
If he has the ones you're looking for Musicguymic is a good source for strings because he will only charge you like 70 cents for shipping.

I have used aquilas, worth clears and worth browns. It just depends on what uke you're putting them on. I like aquilas on my concert and my son's kala soprano; they really bring out the volume. I have a couple all koa tenors though, and they almost seem a little too bright for those. I like the Worth's better for those.

It's really a personal preference thing though, you won't really know unless you try them on your uke.
 
MGM seems to pretty much only have the Tenor strings right now.

Elderly has pretty much the whole Worth line, although it's not the best deal in town.

I use the CM strings on my standard Kala, and I love 'em. I've got some on order for one or both of my other ukes. They sound great, and I really like the FEEL of 'em.
 
How are the Ko'olau golds? I've heard mixed reviews of those. Anyone here have any experience?

I haven't tried them yet, but Nuke posted a video awhile ago that really made me want to try them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9F9YelMoSg

It's a comparison of Ko'olau Golds vs. Worth Browns on identical Ponos.

I really like the way the Golds sound.
 
I like Worth strings the most. On a tenor, use BT if you like less tension and CT or CH if you like higher tension. I find that Elderly Instruments actually offer the best prices if you buy several sets to spread out the shipping cost.
 
Yeah I sing bass primarily and the sound of the Worth strings brough out a much warmer mellow tone that I think would complement my style more... But I think they both have their own unique sound and niche. Thanks for the vid Seeso and NukeDoc!
 
I prefer the Ko'olau golds, but I like the brighter sound they give. Changed the strings on my Hilo soprano, made it much easier to play, but the intonation on the first string got worse than with the original clear strings.
 
you should email MGM and ask him. i asked him for something that wasnt in his ebay store and he put it up so i could buy it. he is cool like that.

Dude, seriously. I just sent him a note on ebay less than an hour ago, and he posted some Worth Brown Mediums, and I bought them... That's quicker turnaround than going to the local music shop in midday traffic!

He is seriously the bomb-diggity of ebay dealers.:D
 
well, someone prolly already mentioned this, but I'm to lazy at the moment to go and read all of the replies so. . .
I just order my srtings from Guitar Center, I get the D'Addario Tenor Ukulele strings, their like maybe 4 or 5 dollars a shot, but they sound wonderful!:D
 
mgm also has a couple different 'sampler packs' so you can try out several. Surely he'll put together something special for you if you like, just drop him a line, he's fast friendly and has good pricing -- have fun
 
ive used all three brands. just from my own experience with the ukes i own:

aquila: sound nice when you first put them on. then after a couple weeks, they dont sound much different from the stock GHS strings that most of my ukes came with. they also fray pretty easily. so if like to bend strings a lot, they get chaffed and then start to fray. mine started fraying after about a month of daily playing with no bending.

d'addario j71: nice set. thick, so they have a deeper, richer, fuller tone. id say they gave me a good two months or so of good play time before i noticed them going a little dead. stilled played them for longer than that before changing them though. out of all the strings ive tried so far, these are probably my favorite.

worth BT: these guys are going strong. they are thin, so you get a little twang from them. and very bright sounding IMO. i havent tried any of the other ones, but im interested in the clears. one of the thicker models. wanna get a fuller tone out of the strings. cool thing about these BT's though is i took a used set off one uke, and decided to put it on my $50 makala. now it sounds like a $200 makala hahaha. but seriously it is one of my favorite ukes to play now. and the strings made all the difference... just dont really know where to get them online other than schmeebay.

hey nuke, any suggestions for a soprano or concert? lol i have every size but that tenor. i think i'm gonna get that tenor from bugsgear.com. that thing is pretty sick.
 
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