Wearing down strings?

EDS

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Hi everyone,

I purchased my first ukulele a week ago (an Oscar Schmidt Ou3). I'm also a guitarist who fingerpicks with nails.

After a very short amount of playing (a matter of hours) the strings on the uke began to show wear from my playing - the A string became rough to the touch and it was audible when i played.

I know the strings on the Oscar Schmidt are probably not the best, so I'd like to know what kind of strings will hold up to playing with nails?

Thanks for your help!
 
Try a set of fluorocarbon strings fluorocarbon being allot tougher than nylon. I'm a die-hard fisherman and I prefer fluorocarbon as leader material when fishing for this very reason, it's abrasion resistance. Worth, Fremont, Orca, Ko'olau 'Alohi being just a few.
 
I really like the Worths. I'm a classical guitarist who fingerpicks with nails and I play the same style on uke. The Worths are very smooth and fluid feeling for me and show no signs of wear after months of fingerpicking. :)
 
That's interesting. I also pick with fingernails and find the top string (A), gets a bit rough. The others are magically not affected. I use Aquilas and don't bother about the slight roughness and have even smoothed it off with some very very fine sandpaper (!).
 
I think Worths would do you well. I always have great luck with the Clear Mediums, but I also hear great things about the Browns. I had a set of Brown Extras that I thought were terrible, so I can't suggest them, but Brown Mediums may be a good bet for you as well. 1 pack of Worths makes for 2 sets of strings, just FYI. That's why they are 2x the price.

According to Worth, the Browns provide a bit of a softer, more mellow tone, compared to the Clears, but I always thought of the Clears as pretty mellow strings (especially compared to Aquilas), so you may want to start with CM's and move to BM's if you desire more "mellow-ness"

Let us know what works for you! It's all about what sounds right to YOUR ears and YOUR individual uke. Have fun with it and try them all!!

And WELCOME TO UU!!! ENJOY YOUR STAY :)
 
Consider too the easily available Martin fluorocarbon strings. Not as delicious in sound variants as Worths (which is what I happen to have on my OU3), but still an improvement and definitely will go the distance.
 
Out of curiosity, what strings were the ones already on the Oscar Schmidt?

Were they Aquila (white strings)?
or GHS strings (black)?
The stock strings on an OS are from DaVinci, and are pretty "dead" to my ears, try Aquila's or Worth browns...the difference will be night and day...and both wear better than stock, too! :cool:
 
yeah, it was the stock clear (not black) strings - I was told there were "Nyl-gut" strings, not sure of the brand. The shop only carries D'addario ukulele strings (i think its the J65 strings)

Are these good strings? I use D'addarios pretty much exclusively on my classical and steel string guitars since they're cheap, consistent, easy to find, and sound good. Are the uke strings similarly good?
 
yeah, it was the stock clear (not black) strings - I was told there were "Nyl-gut" strings, not sure of the brand. The shop only carries D'addario ukulele strings (i think its the J65 strings)

Are these good strings? I use D'addarios pretty much exclusively on my classical and steel string guitars since they're cheap, consistent, easy to find, and sound good. Are the uke strings similarly good?

Nylguts are made by Aquila but they are not clear they are dull solid flat white in color. The newer Aquila Nylguts are still white but supposed to be smooth and glossy but I doubt that's what you had. I get the feeling they were clear D'addarios. I personally don't like D'darrio strings except their now discontinued J4804 guitar string used as a low g string. I still think you be better served with fluorocarbon strings. Easy to get thru the US mail. ;)
 
Actually, I think the stock strings are Aquila Nyl-gut. I didn't describe them accurately before - they are white, not clear (and a pain to keep in tune!)

I may try the D'addarios since they're easy to buy, but I'll also try to mailorder the fluorocarbon strings too.

If anyone has other suggestions, I'll keep watching this thread. Thanks everyone!!
 
I have the Worth Clear strings on my KoAlana Concert, and I use the D'Addarios Porte Artes on my Pono concert. I also do a lot of finger picking and strumming when I play.
 
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