Okay, I'm a Savarez believer!

NatalieS

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I've been looking for some new low G strings to try on my Pono mango sprucetop tenor. The low G Worth clears were pretty good, but this uke has yet to "open up" and I found the strings sounding sort of muffled, like the whole instrument was wrapped in a marshmallow. With all the recent UU discussion about "how to make your uke sound more guitar-like", I started listening more to Craig Brandau's videos. That was exactly the sound I was hoping to get from my tenor. I emailed him, found out that he uses Savarez strings, and ordered a set.

Can I just say... WOW!!!!

I am so impressed with these strings! I consider Worths to be my all-around favorite strings, especially on my soprano. But they don't even compare to the Savarez on this particular uke. Every single note is now louder, more clarified, and yes, more "guitar-like". I feel like the sprucetop opened up overnight!

I made a "before" video yesterday with the Worths, and will make one with the Savarez strings today. I'll post both later. I am so so pleased. Thanks, Craig!
 
Hi Natalie, there are a number of threads regarding Savarez guitar string sets and a number of members have used them for quite some time. I didn't mean to dampen your spirits in any way. If you need me to link those threads, lemme know.
 
I'm glad you're happy with them Natlie! Strings are a very personal and subjective topic. I find they work best for me and I even use them on my Flukes & Fleas.
 
Anyone ever use them on a laminate? I keep my jazz archtop strung up with low g and currently have worths on it. I use it mainly for plugging in and find the worths to be fine. But the low g doesn't sound pure when I play accoustically.

I do think the g string is a heavy gage and the rest are mediums. So that could be the problem. I bought the g string separately and it wasn't marked either way.
 
Hi Natalie, there are a number of threads regarding Savarez guitar string sets and a number of members have used them for quite some time. I didn't mean to dampen your spirits in any way. If you need me to link those threads, lemme know.

That doesn't dampen my spirits at all! I just wanted to share my experience with them, and thank Craig for telling me exactly which ones to get.

Ronnie Aloha, I got the exact ones that Craig mentioned... the "Alliance Treble" set for the top three strings (their numbers are 541R, 542R, 543R) and then the low-G string is sold separately (544R).
 
Sorry for being a string idiot, but if we want to use these strings for high g, what would you guys recommend? and how does the treble set correspond to uke strings?

Q: Tina, don't you know anything at all about strings? Jesus Christmas.
A: Nope
 
Sorry for being a string idiot, but if we want to use these strings for high g, what would you guys recommend? and how does the treble set correspond to uke strings?

So for the reentrant, it'd goes like this high G = E guitar string; C = guitar G string (did I just say, "G" string? ;) ), E string = guitar B string and A = E guitar string. So, the two guitar E strings go on the outside strings (4 & 1; or 1 & 4). I hope this makes sense.
 
Sorry for being a string idiot, but if we want to use these strings for high g, what would you guys recommend? and how does the treble set correspond to uke strings?

Q: Tina, don't you know anything at all about strings? Jesus Christmas.
A: Nope
http://www.curtsheller.com/ukulele/strings.php#Koolau >Scroll halfway down the page to "Using Classical Guitar String Set on Ukulele". Shoots, Craig beat me to it .... E String for high G.
 
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I'm glad they worked well for you, and I'm happy you're happy with them and thanks for sharing your good experience
with us. As for me, I once bought a baritone and it came with D'Addario
strings and they were really loud, crisp, and deep rich with tones and a
nice substain....it was more of a guitar like sounding and I liked it very much..Try going to an earlier post by
IDavid ..More of guitarish tone..on the second page ...and on the 5th page of that thread...
I've listed one of brother Iz tunings using a high G set...
 
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Stupid question time. These are guitar strings so one set can do at least 2 'ukuleles, correct? :confused:
 
That really depends. If you do high G, one guitar set can barely do one ukulele. "At least 2" implies two or more. I think the "or more" is definitely out of the question. If you're talking cutting strings in half, you might get two sets for a soprano, and although I haven't measured it's pretty doubtful you could string two tenors with a single guitar string length.
 
I am pretty happy with my low g Fremonts but always game to try something new...anyone know if there is a non-wound way to do Savarez in low g? I am a big fan of those for re-entrant so I would like to try low g but I don't like wound strings.
 
Stupid question time. These are guitar strings so one set can do at least 2 'ukuleles, correct? :confused:

Not a stupid question. Answer is "no". And these match Tenors well. They're probably too thick for Standards/Concerts (okay, maybe not Concerts).

Natalie, personally, on a Spruce top, you should try the 540J series. Even though they are high tensions, they still "feel" softer than ProArte 46's. Don't be concerned about tuning up the 1st string, it stretches a lot initially. I string hardwood tops with the R's, but the J's are where its at for me when it comes to setting action and generating "kani".

Aaron
 
I am pretty happy with my low g Fremonts but always game to try something new...anyone know if there is a non-wound way to do Savarez in low g? I am a big fan of those for re-entrant so I would like to try low g but I don't like wound strings.

In regards to the Savarrez...Nope...:( Have you tried the Worth clears or browns?
 
Anyone ever use them on a laminate? I keep my jazz archtop strung up with low g and currently have worths on it. I use it mainly for plugging in and find the worths to be fine. But the low g doesn't sound pure when I play accoustically.

I do think the g string is a heavy gage and the rest are mediums. So that could be the problem. I bought the g string separately and it wasn't marked either way.

I may have answered my own question regarding why my worths w/low g sound off...But does anyone have any experience with these Savarez strings on a laminate like the Kala archtop? They're pretty pricey to just give em try.
 
I may have answered my own question regarding why my worths w/low g sound off...But does anyone have any experience with these Savarez strings on a laminate like the Kala archtop? They're pretty pricey to just give em try.

Not an expert at all but I think the lower the tone of the string the thicker it is. Thus, the low g string you have is probably the stock low g Worth string.
 
I'm a recent convert to the Savarez strings, myself, after thejumpingflea dialed me in to them. I still love the sound of Aquilas, but I found them to be to scratchy in the recording studio when close miked for solos. I do a lot of vibrato and the somewhat rough texture makes it difficult to be clean, particularly on the more gentle songs. Mostly, I didn't notice the scratchy stuff once it was brought into the mix, but while I'm tracking, I'm more conscious of it and tend to hold back . The Savarez are loud and smooth and I don't worry about it anymore. Someday when I'm a true multi-uker, I'll have Aquilas for my "rhythm ukes" because I do like the sound and soft touch they have.
 
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