Strings

New to the world of ukes, I decided to go with a second already. My first choice was excellent, albeit sheer luck. I bought a Kala Travel Tenor from MGM. I love it, but wanted to see if a smaller uke might be to my liking. So, from ebay I purchased a Koa Pili Koko in concert size. It arrived today and must say that I am very happy but I have some questions. The strings on the tenor were like fence posts. Playing chords such as a Bb on the nylgut strings was on the border of hopeless. The strings on the KPK are very soft in comparison. That's the good news. The less good news is that they are muted compared to the Kala. Additionally, the strings on the KPK are stretching like nothing I have seen.

Does anyone know what kind of strings they typically ship with the KPK? They are black in color. Should I replace them, or since they are easier on my fingers should I use these for practice? I am able to use chords on them that would have made me the mayor of Buzz City on the nylguts.

How much difference would a set of different strings make on this little concert?

Sounds like the strings on your KPK are new and still stretching.
When I put new strings on a uke, it takes a couple of days for them to stretch and stabilize.
Just give it some time.

If I remember correctly, I think KPK used Hilo strings. If you like the tone, feel and playability, continue to use them. Strings are subjective and usually a personal choice. Let me say, it is an inexpensive upgrade one can make on an 'ukulele.

I'm wondering why you have buzzing issues on an MGM uke. I have the Travel Tenor and absolutly LOVE it! MGM didnt set mine though. I get all of my ukes through Mike at Uke Republic and I love his setups. The action is nice and low but with no buzzing, whatsoever. Maybe try another set of strings and shoot MGM an email in the meantime. I would suggest buying another set of Aquilas and maybe some Worth Clears. The Worths are much softer to the touch than the Aquilas but have a lovely tone and response. They are great for picking and although I prefer Aquilas for strumming, the Worth's do the trick, very well.

As for the stretching, I like to tune my strings about a whole step up when I first put them on and play tghem until the detune down to GCEA. I keep repeating the process until the stay at GCEA without detuning further. IME, it reduces the stretching time, greatly. Let me know if you have any questions!!

Good luck and like Kanaka said, string changes are one of the cheapest and best "upgrades" you can do to a uke. Try em all. You never know what you will like until you try them. I have tried Worths and Kala Reds on my Thinline Tenor and decided to go back to the Aquilas. They have a perfect bright tone which I think matches that thinline just perfectly. Change some strings. Have some fun. Let us know how it goes.

I agree with the love for the travel tenor. Great sound and incredible volume for such a light uke. My only problem with it is the strings are like fence post. For example, when I try to play a Bb, I end up with a poorly fretted A string as I attempt to hold down the G. The little concert does not have that issue. Slightly smaller fretboard and soft strings allow me to shape chords successfully that were driving me crazy on the Kala.

Guess I am fortunate. For someone who has very little idea what he is doing, I now have two ukes that I love.

Bb was a bear for me.
Finally figured out that if I barred all the way across it got better.
Then, that would be the chord I would try each time I picked up the uke.
After about five days, it worked.

fahrner said:

Bb was a bear for me.
Finally figured out that if I barred all the way across it got better.
Then, that would be the chord I would try each time I picked up the uke.
After about five days, it worked.

Click to expand...

The other advantage playing Bb as a barre chord is you can easily move it up the neck.
On the 2nd fret is "B", 3rd is "C"...etc.

New strings stretch, also the knot you tie gets tighter, I like to tune up a step and let them come down too.

practice, practice, practice. I know what you're saying about the Aquilas being tough to fret certain chords with, but trust me, it will get easier. Just keep plugging away

Yeppirs the KPK's came with Hilo strings, which sounded sort of dead and dull to me. I swapped them out for Koolau golds at first and they were very mellow and "richer", then I tried Aquila's on her and the throat of the uke opend WAY up...niice! One thing I found was the saddle had some burrs on the bottom edge...nothing drastic, but when I removed them carefully and gingerly with fine sandpaper the sound got noticebly louder and cleaner, aparently it was enough to muzzle my gurl! Check yours out when you change the strings, you may be pleassantly surprised!