I'm waiting for my new Worth strings to arrive for my tenor uke, and I was wondering if it is possible to speed up the settling in period for the new strings. I'm thinking of tuning the whole uke a step or so sharp and then letting the strings stretch out, hopefully faster than they might otherwise. Anyone tried this?
How sharp can you typically tighten strings?
Stretch the strings by hand after you've installed and tuned them. I repeat it 4-5 times just after I put them on and as needed over the next couple of days. Tuning them sharp won't really cut down the amount of time it takes.
Mike has some video of how to do it on GoogTube: CLICKY
As I string each new string, and tune it up a full step. Then when I get through putting them all on, and check that they're still all a step up and pull the strings upward at the sound hole, 12th fret, and 7th fret. Then I play really hard and fast for an hour or so. after that they're normally fully stretched.
I've always done the full step up thing with guitars and ukes. By the next day the've pretty much settled in to where they should be.
Nylon is a strange material. It has a stretch "memory" that wants to return to whatever state it was before tension changes. In the case of tuning sharp, I've retuned down to pitch the next day, and the following day instead of going flat, the strings have drifted *sharp* instead.
when i first got my tenor uke, it was strung with dgbe tuning stocks, and i tuned it all the way up to gcea. so yeah, those strings can take quite a bit.
Not sure how long the Uke will hold up under the increased tension though. Unless the DGBE strings were really just standard strings and were tuned low. If it came from the store that way, it's possible that they simply didn't know how to tune it properly.
From my classical guitar days. Before installing them, I grab the ends and give a few gentle pulls and release. Don't pull to breaking point or pull that the strings cut into your hands, just a 2 or 3 gentle pulls then install the strings.
Unless you're cleaning your uke, remove and install strings one at a time to make tuning easier and faster. You'll be suprised at how the strings settle right in, maybe just one more re-tuning required.
Ernest
PS: The music teacher would get all six (guitar strings) and pull them all at once. I still like to take each string out of it's wrapper, one at a time.
