Question about strings.

Just got me a Makala Dolphin a few days ago, and I'm having great fun with it my only annoyance with it is that the c-string is somewhat hard to tune. It appears that it not only falls in volume after it's strum but also in pitch. So the best I can do about it is to get I close around the clean note of c, but it still appears to glide a good 12-15 cents. Plus this particular string goes out of tune somewhat easier than the others.

Is this do to the cheap strings that come with the Makala, or is it just because they are new? I talked to a friend who plays guitar, and she tells me that as long as your strings are new and haven't been played a lot, you'll have to tune them a lot because they aren't used to being stretched.

Any words of wisdom?

Yes that is correct, new strings will take about 2 weeks to stretch out. What type of strings are on the uke? For a Makala I would suggest using Aquila strings. Those strings will really sound great, but again they will take some time to stretch.

Your friend is right. New strings, particularly nylon strings, require some time to stretch and "settle in". This process is speeded up by repeated tuning and frequent playing. The more often you play, the faster they'll settle in. The more often you tune, the faster as well.

From whom did you buy the uke? Some sellers of this model change the stock strings and install Aquila brand. Good move on their part. The Aquila Nylgut strings seem to enhance the tone and volume of inexpensive ukes, and are highly favored for that ability. Aquila strings are white in color, and just a tad less than smooth in texture. If you have stock strings, you can trade up to Aquilas for just a few dollars. It would be worth it, and I wouldn't even bother allowing the stock strings time to settle in before making the change....

mailman said:

Your friend is right. New strings, particularly nylon strings, require some time to stretch and "settle in". This process is speeded up by repeated tuning and frequent playing. The more often you play, the faster they'll settle in. The more often you tune, the faster as well.

From whom did you buy the uke? Some sellers of this model change the stock strings and install Aquila brand. Good move on their part. The Aquila Nylgut strings seem to enhance the tone and volume of inexpensive ukes, and are highly favored for that ability. Aquila strings are white in color, and just a tad less than smooth in texture. If you have stock strings, you can trade up to Aquilas for just a few dollars. It would be worth it, and I wouldn't even bother allowing the stock strings time to settle in before making the change....

Click to expand...

I bought it from Purple Turtle Music located in the UK, and it just came with the black factory default strings.

The Aquila seem to be the hype so I should probably do myself the favor and get me a set Could a n00b make the string change DIY without any trouble?

Yes, certainly. There are several threads available here that discuss changing strings, some with video. Search the forum using "changing strings" or variations like that, and see what comes up. Simple job, big improvement....

Odds are if they are stock, they've stretched out a lot of the way already. The problem is probably a junk job putting the strings on. A lot of times they just wrap the string onto the post one way without doing one wrap over and then the rest under to squeeze the string end and keep it from slipping. Usually there are about 10 more wraps than there need to be too - there is a lot of slack hiding in extra wraps.

My advice: buy a new set of strings and put them on correctly. Then you should be good to go.

Splendid !

Just snatched a set on ebay. I'm surprised to learn that they are that cheap.

BenAlex said:

Splendid !

Just snatched a set on ebay. I'm surprised to learn that they are that cheap.

Click to expand...

Wait until you hear how good your Dolphin will sound!

First thing I do with a new uke is bang a set of Aquila's on!
I did the same with my Makala Dolphin,and by repeatedly
stretching,playing and re-tuning,had the strings 'tamed' in
one day.Okay it took another three days to settle,but they
stayed in tune long enough to play a few songs,before they
needed a slight tweak! Aquila's for sure,you will love the
difference!

A newbies perspective- I strung my Ukes with Aquila's about three days after I got them- I bought my wife a Makala soprano and myself a Makala tenor. They sounded OK to my ears with the stock GHS strings, but they hurt like heck and from reading the forums, those strings ain't worth the $3.50 they cost.
Talk about an instrument sounding like garbage...day one I was distraught. I did my tenor first and the strings were so sloppy and held pitch for about 13 seconds. It was very close to going into the fire pit.
Day two- still garbage, but as I played and tuned repeatedly all day, the strings built tension. I got three minutes of "sweetness" from them so I plucked along, out of tune (probably matches my singing). I decided the soprano needed them because they were so soft- now all the ukes are out of commission.
Day three- OK, I played the $450 Kala, and know what...my little Makala tenor does not sound half bad next to it. MASSIVE improvement.
I still have to tune my Uke every two or three tunes, but it ain't so bad because it SOUNDS like a dream.
Meanwhile wifey is in the bedroom asking"what the heck did you do to my uke? I can't tune it"
"Tomorrow hun- play mine for now"
I also through them into my baby...a 40's Martin style 3 (that was strung with GHS strings many years ago and placed on a shelf). Want to hear a really nice Uke sound like complete junk? New Aquila's are exactly the way to do it...I cannot bare to play it because my $70 Makala sounds so much sweeter at this point.
But I know in a couple days they will brighten up and be great.
In any event- the moral here is...when you restring (watch a video or two first on the Youtube) your new friend is going to sound like total garbage...but the reward you are about to get is worth the wait. I wish I had known that when I was thinking I had done a horrible thing to my poor little jumping flea, but oh well, I know it today.
Oh yeah, and everything they say on here about what Aquila's make inexpensive laminate Ukes sound like is totally the gospel truth- should have a video up tomorrow (I hope)