Strings

bravesat2

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Hey guys.....

I made the dreaded mistake of letting my friend who plays banjo mess around with my uke. Turned out he tuned the G and octave higher and ended up breaking a string :(. Just wondering What kind of strings I should get for a tenor and how i put them on.

Im just wondering how steel strings sound on a uke as well.

Thanks
 
there's lots of threads about strings around here so take a look around, use the search function, and you're bound to get a lot of information. in the end though, the same answer will probably come up.

straight from the FAQ:
Q: What kind of strings should I use?
A: The type of strings that you should use depends on the ukulele you have. Different strings will sound different on different ukuleles. The best bet would be to just try em out. Some common brands that people like to use are Worth, Aquila, D'addario, Hilo. However, changing string types too often is bad for the saddle of the ukulele. So If you put something on, try and stick to it for a while.

everything is subjective so it's hard to get a clear answer. the same for wound strings. they tend to ring out longer and they also have that "scratchy"(?) sound like when you slide your finger across a steel string of a guitar. if those are what you're looking for, give it a shot.
 
You can find out how to re-string a ukulele in Uke Minute #5

As for steel strings on a uke, I wouldn't advise it at all. The tension of a steel string on a ukulele would either...

A) warp or crack the neck and/or heel of the uke because the tension would act on the uke as if it were trying to fold it in half.

B) completely rip the bridge off of the soundboard of the ukulele.

I would suggest just trying out different brands of ukulele strings (some are all nylon while others have 1 or 2 nylon-wounded strings). The FAQ answer that tripl3thr33 provided should be a good starting point on which brands you might want to look into when you're purchasing a set of strings for your uke.
 
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There are loads of opinions on strings and loads of threads on them too. Check out:

Strings and things...

you'll find that people love a bunch of different strings for different reasons (feel, volume, brightness - or lack thereof, etc). The most popular suggestions are Aquilas and Worth Browns.

The next question that inevitable comes up is high G vs. low G tuning. Check out this thread for that one:

High G String or Low G String

As far as attaching the new strings, check out Uke Minutes 5"
http://ukuleleunderground.com/2008/02/18/uke-minutes-5-how-to-re-string-your-ukulele/
 
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