Mainland Mahogany Concert - Worths?

phanzo

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Ok so I have been playing my Mainlaind Slotted head for a while now with Low G Aquilas and I love it. I got some Worth Clears and Worth BE's for Christmas and I am wondering if anyone has tried a Mainland Mahog Concert with either of these? I have Worth Clears on my Honeybee Soprano and I always loved them. I really want to try the Browns. I always read about Brown Mediums and these, I believe, are supposed to be "brighter' than the mediums (I think).

So, for you Mainland Concert owners out there, what are your thoughts? Do you use/have you used Worths on it before? Browns (BE) vs Clears? Browns vs. Aquila? Clear vs Aquila?

BTW, the Worths are High G, so I'm gonna try them with the Aquila Low G before I take it off, may get something sweet out of it. I have always loved High G though so I will have no ish if the Worths sound awesome with the High G instead. Anywho, let me know. Even you Red Ceder owners can chirp in if you'd like :p
 
I've never tried Brown Extras, but I have worth Brown Mediums on my mainland and I'm a big fan. I think it brings out a lot more subtlety of the tone than the aquilas. It's a little less punchy, but it really makes it sound sweet
 
I tried the clear mediums on my Mainland mahogany concert and didn't like them. Sounded a bit "thin" to me. I ended up going with Aquila low-G's for now.
 
I have clear mediums on my Mainland mahogany concert. They have a certain "sparkle" to them that I really like. In comparison...the Aquilas were a little harsh on the attack. I haven't tried the browns yet.
 
I bought one set for a concert... and it snapped while I was stringing it. Haven't tried it again. So, all I can say is, tune s-l-o-w-l-y.
 
I have a Bushman Jenny Concert, which is virtually identical to a Mainland Mahogany Concert. (In fact, I believe that Mike set it up for me.) I prefer re-entrant tuning, so that is how I have always strung her. I have gone through many string changes trying out a variety of strings.

Aquilas: I really like these, and they are my defaults.
Martins: Bleah!
Worth clears: Tone was okay but thin and lacking volume.
(I love the Worth clears on my Risa Solid Soprano)
Bushmans: Pretty much the same as the Worth clears.
D'Addario Pro Arte: Loved the tone, nice volume, nice feel.
Unfortunately my pack had a bad E string so I ended up changing them.
Guadalupe Custom Strings (fibre core wound w/nylon): This is what I currently
have on my Jenny. The tone is sublime and almost harp-like.
The only drawback is that my somewhat sloppy technique means
skreeking nails on the strings.
 
I have Worth Clear on my Mainland Mango Concert, and it sounds really nice. My Mainland Boat Soprano, is Mahogany, and I currently have the Aquila strings on it. Also very nice.

I recently put Worth Brown Mediums on my Zebrawood Ohana Soprano. This uke sounded a little "off" with the Aquila or Worth Clear Mediums. Something was either a bit harsh, or just not sweet sounding. The Worth Brown Mediums are definitely the better string for that uke. To me, the Browns are a little mellower, yet still sweet. Some ukes are a little too barky, and it can be annoying to the ear. For those ukes, try Worth Clear first, and if it is still too harsh, go with the Worth Browns. Other ukes need a boost in the high end sparkle, and have no problems with Aquilas.

In general, Aquilas excel in the strumming department, and Worths in the fingerpicking department. In either case I always go for all non-wound strings. Even if it means having 3 Aquila strings and 1 Worth Low G.

Just my 2 cents...
Lori
 
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