I think my Kamaka strings are hard to press

markjaffemd

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I was at the Ukulele Festival in Cerritos, California this weekend. I played a Kanilea uke with Aquila strings and the strings seemed a lot easier to fret, then the black strings I have on my Kamaka. Has anyone else noticed this? Should I replace my strings with Aquila strings?
It was great to see Aldrine in person and the instructors in the courses were awesome. Everyone was very inspiring. Thanks for your time.
 
Your Kamaka might have a high nut/bridge/action that affects your playing.

Peronally, I find Aquilas a bit "clunky" (I prefer Worths) but it's always worth a shot to change the strings to see if a different set plays better for you. :)
 
There's a good chance that it's just high action that you can fix at the saddle pretty easily. I want to say that is not the reason because the action from the factory for both Kamaka and Kanilea are pretty good and low.

But it could also be that you don't like the Kamaka strings. One factor with Aquilas is that they are thicker and may make them feel better to some people. I thought they felt amazing when I was in my Aquila phase, and would buy nothing but Aquilas. Another thing could be that Aquilas are just naturally louder and that might make you think they're easier to press because they just make more sound with less effort.

Personally, I think that Aquilas are harder to press down than other types of strings now. I use worth clears now.

You should try Aquilas. They're good strings. I think they are just a bit harder to bend than other brands, and even harder to press, but they are loud and bright, and you might just like them on your Kamaka and make it easier on your fingertips.
 
I was at the Ukulele Festival in Cerritos, California this weekend. I played a Kanilea uke with Aquila strings and the strings seemed a lot easier to fret, then the black strings I have on my Kamaka. Has anyone else noticed this? Should I replace my strings with Aquila strings?
It was great to see Aldrine in person and the instructors in the courses were awesome. Everyone was very inspiring. Thanks for your time.

Hey I use D'Addario Pro Arte strings for my Kamaka tenor - you can get them from the UU store here:

http://ukeunderground.bigcartel.com/

The strings that came with my Kamaka were not too bad and I didn't have much trouble fretting them, I had even less as soon as I changed to the D'Addarios. I'd change strings then see what happens.

You may have to change the action as the others said but I'm never brave enough to even think about doing this.
 
There's a good chance that it's just high action that you can fix at the saddle pretty easily. I want to say that is not the reason because the action from the factory for both Kamaka and Kanilea are pretty good and low.

I was gonna say, I was very impressed with the setup on my Kamaka straight out of the factory. The action was perfect in my opinion.

markjaffemd, I’m guessing your Kamaka came with GHS strings. Definitely switch these out. It amazes me all the time spent on making such a fine ukulele and they put these strings on them.
 
Thanks for your responses

I will put Aquila strings on my uke (I happen to have some lying around) and let you know how that works. Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.
 
I love my Aquila strings

Thanks for all of your thoughtful suggestions. I watched the video on re-stringing an ukulele and removed my GHS strings that came with my Kamaka Concert ukulele and replaced them with Aquila strings. (Drum roll please......) I love the Aquila strings and find them easier to press and hold and the sound seems richer to me.
 
Wouldn't it be nice if all manufacturers listed the "tension at pitch" as does D'Addario, so questions like this could be easily answered rather than endlessly talked about? (Not that talking isn't fun. ...)
 
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