Would D'Addario J53 strings be any better than stock Hilos on a Fluke?

J_Tay81

J_Tay81

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bump. Just curious. The Hilos don't sound too bad to me, but the nylon D'Addarios are on their way.
 
Let us know your thoughts when you get them
 
Yes, do let us know how you like the D'Addarios. I disliked the Hilos and switched to Aquilas, much better sound.

I knew when I got my Fluke I'd be changing strings immediately, though. It would have been the same with a new Kamaka, I don't favor those stock strings, either.
 
I ended up buying some concert Aquilas since I like them so much on my Flea. I don't know if Ill try the D'Addarios first or not - they are nylons like the Hilos. I'll let you know what I decide to do.
 
I had the Hilo black nylon strings on my Island design Fluke (concert), but it was too quiet and/or the strings were getting old. It now has Aquilas, but it sounds too treble-y. :( So I'm probably going to go with getting a set of D'Addario Pro-Arte Concert J92 Clear Nylon sold here at the UU store. I have them on my red cowboy Fluke (concert) and like the sound.

I have Kala Red Strings on my concert Denim Flea--love the sound!

CountryMouse
 
Kala reds are really cool to look at and they play well, but it seems to me that every thread of this nature ends on one thing.
Fremonts
http://www.elderly.com/brand/STUK_fremont.html
I have a set I have not yet tried, but even MGM recommends them (and yeah- he really is that good)
But I have found that my other love with tis new Uke addiction is trying every kind of string I can get my hands on. So far I love the Lucy's the best, not for their sound (which is not bad), but because they make me smile
 
Well I ditched the Hilos and have the D'Addarios on now. They are still settling, but the volume has increased and they seem to have more sustain. They don't sound half bad to me. The Hilos seemed flat by comparison, whereas these have a brighter quality.
 
J_Tay81 said:
Well I ditched the Hilos and have the D'Addarios on now. They are still settling, but the volume has increased and they seem to have more sustain. They don't sound half bad to me. The Hilos seemed flat by comparison, whereas these have a brighter quality.
Click to expand...

I think I'll get a set of these and try these on my Island design concert Fluke. Not happy with the overly-bright Aquilas, but the Hilos were too dull.

Thanks for the update! :)

CountryMouse
 
I think anything sounds better on Fleas/Flukes than the stock Hilos. I personally like Aquilas on mine. Really makes it sound like less of a toy and more like a true instrument.
 
I really dont like the Hilos, and own a Flea and a Fluke on which I swapped them out.

For the Fluke, I have tested, Aquila, Worth, Ko'olau, Martin strings. Without any shadow of a doubt, Worth CM's suit my ear on the Fluke. The Aquilas were close, but the Worths a tad sweeter.
 
I too have heard that MGM recommends Fremont Blacklines for Flukes and Fleas. I had a set on my Applause soprano, and they were the only things that made it sound palatable (to my ears). I haven't tried Worths yet, but maybe that will be up next. The nice thing about the D'Addarios is that they are pretty cheap, so if I get tired of them, I won't feel too put out chucking them and trying something else :)
Experimenting with things like strings to get different sounds is part of the fun if uke ownership IMHO!
 
Just in the interest of full disclosure, I ditched the D'Addarios nylons on the Fluke and put Aquilas back on. The sound difference is really night and day. By comparison, the D'Addarios just sounded lifeless, though better than the Hilos.
 
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