oscar schmidt ou5 owners - need some help

aven

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2008
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
i just received my first ukulele today, the ou5. it was ordered brand new and had a tag on it that says "equipped with ghs strings", in all the pictures i saw of this model it's shown with standard colored golden strings. my model has black strings. does that seem correct? they just seem a little flimsier than i thought they'd be.

also when tuning the top 2 strings, tuning the top string tighter loosens up the second string considerably without turning the 2nd string knob. is that right or could this not be stringed correctly?

any help appreciated. just googled "ukulele forum" and went with this one, if there's a better board to make this post at i'd be interested.
 
Last edited:
As far as I know, GHS only makes black strings, so it's pretty safe to assume that you've got GHSs on there.

As far as the de-tuning it's probably just like Deach said, the new strings stretching out...give it some time and they'll settle in.
 
Hi Aven!

Welcome to the forum!

Totally normal stuff there -- your new strings are just stretching, and will take a while to settle in. Check out the thread that Deach mentioned as well.

Have fun!
 
thanks all for the information guys.

so are these GHS strings regarded as quality then? do the more experienced players generally upgrade strings and if so to what? i'm a casual guitar player and this being my first uke and all was just expecting the strings to have a bit sturdier feel to them. i feel like one of these things could snap at even just the slightest bit of "rocking out" too hard.

i was also curious about picks i hear that are made specifically for ukuleles? these big felt picks. is there anywhere i can just buy one or is there a reason to need several? i for example searched woodwind brasswind and came across a 12 pack of felt dunlop picks. i'm not sure why i would need that many.
 
The string thing is normal like everyone said. And yes, you have GHS's, I also have black ones on my Ohana.

As far as changing the strings, it's really your opinion, I like GHS strings and I also like Martins (I have 2 packs of each handy at all times). About the pick thing, most Uke players use their fingers. I like to use Wedgie rubber picks the most, they sound almost like a finger. Felt picks are also an option but the best way to go is to try fingerpicking first. I suppose that you wouldn't need 12, but they do wear down and (in my case) get very dirty.
 
i'd also like to sneak a tuning question in here

to any of you that play guitar, are the G E and A strings similar enough? it sounds right and how fast they go out of tune (one strum), i'm content. but because i'm using a standard guitar tuner, what's the best way to tune the C if GEA are already tuned?
 
thanks all for the information guys.

so are these GHS strings regarded as quality then? do the more experienced players generally upgrade strings and if so to what? i'm a casual guitar player and this being my first uke and all was just expecting the strings to have a bit sturdier feel to them. i feel like one of these things could snap at even just the slightest bit of "rocking out" too hard.

No, they're not quality strings. Go on ebay and get some better ones ASAP. Your uke will sound a hundred times better the moment you change those suckers out. Personally I like Worth strings, some others seem to prefer Aquilas, or the D'adario Pro Artes.

As for them feeling "flimsy," not so much... They're actually pretty thick and tough. Is your guitar a nylon-stringed one? If not, adjusting from steel to nylon will just take a little adjustment. If is, it might be because the guages for uke and guitar strings are pretty different... But GHS's are tough little strings. They just don't sound good. (IMHO)
 
The string thing is normal like everyone said. And yes, you have GHS's, I also have black ones on my Ohana.

As far as changing the strings, it's really your opinion, I like GHS strings and I also like Martins (I have 2 packs of each handy at all times). About the pick thing, most Uke players use their fingers. I like to use Wedgie rubber picks the most, they sound almost like a finger. Felt picks are also an option but the best way to go is to try fingerpicking first. I suppose that you wouldn't need 12, but they do wear down and (in my case) get very dirty.

Splurge a bit and get some Worths... You'll never want to string your uke with Martin or GHS strings again. :D
 
the strings are starting to ease themselves in, which is a relief.

to anyone though with both experience on schmidts and kalas, are kalas generally a little bit bigger? i played on a kala (not sure the model) which is what prompted me to buy a uke in the first place but from where i read schmidt seems to be generally more favorable over the similar priced kalas. i just know i'm holding the schmidt the same way i did the kala but am having to readjust a lot from pushing it into my arm too hard, i also feel like the frets are just a bit closer together on the schmidt. am i just imagining things? can't make a direct comparison at the moment.
 
the strings are starting to ease themselves in, which is a relief.

to anyone though with both experience on schmidts and kalas, are kalas generally a little bit bigger? i played on a kala (not sure the model) which is what prompted me to buy a uke in the first place but from where i read schmidt seems to be generally more favorable over the similar priced kalas. i just know i'm holding the schmidt the same way i did the kala but am having to readjust a lot from pushing it into my arm too hard, i also feel like the frets are just a bit closer together on the schmidt. am i just imagining things? can't make a direct comparison at the moment.

Likely when you played with the Kala, it was a Tenor scale uke, which is slightly larger than the concert size you bought, this COULD be why the frets seem closer together to you, and maybe even why its more difficult to keep in place for you. I have a soprano, a concert and a tenor, and they all 'hold' different, but similar to your strings, you'll adapt soon enough I'm sure. :)
 
just got word back that it was definitely a tenor i had a test run on. while i'm warming up to the schmidt because i got it from amazon it'd be very easy to make my return with nothing lost and get a kala instead. sorry to steer the thread into a whole other direction.

i'm trying to decide about what would be about equal if not superior to the ou5 in kala tenor terms. looks like my two best bets are the Mahogany KA-T or the Spruce Top KA-ST. any opinions?
 
Top Bottom