Mainland Red Cedar Concert question

Jake DPR

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The Mainland Red Cedar Concert is the second uke I purchased. The first was mu Kala KA-15S. I love the looks of the Mainland, but it sounds to twangy for my preferences. It is to the point where I have been thinking of selling or trading it for something else. However, it is still equipped with Aquila strings, which I know are super bright to begin with.

Doy ou think if I tried different strings I could get closer to the warmer sound I prefer, or is the Mainland not for me? Thanks for any info. (I know this is very subjective, so all opinions are very welcome)
 
Changing the strings can make a very big difference. Also, the nut and saddle material is important, going to an ebony nut and saddle can make it sound warmer.

Brad
 
Aloha Jake,
I'm with Brad ...change the strings to a worth browns or martin m600 first...and if you want it warmer, drop tune it...and if you still desire more fuller and richer earthy tones, it is the most difficult,
change the nut and saddle to wood..
 
change the strings. Aquilas are not really that great. I'd try what has already been recommended. Worths.
 
Thanks guys, I will order a set of Worth Browns and try them out. I should learn to change uke strings anyhow, with the tying and what not. If that doesn't work, are trades allowed in the UU marketplace?
 
Also consider Ko'olau Mahana strings. They have a nice warm sound to them.

Yes trades are allowed. I trade quite frequently. If you do decide to trade it drop me a line. I have some coming up on the trading block soon.
 
Also consider Ko'olau Mahana strings. They have a nice warm sound to them.

Yes trades are allowed. I trade quite frequently. If you do decide to trade it drop me a line. I have some coming up on the trading block soon.

Also Koolau Alohi's, but Worth Brown should do it.
 
Second the worth browns. I have them on a Mainland Red Cedear soprano, but I will say that the red cedar has more of "bark" than other woods. Definitely a different tone altogether.
 
+1 on changing the strings. Aquila strings are great for making a somewhat dead uke a bit more lively. The Mainland ukes, especially the red cedar, are anything but dead. Almost any flourocarbon strings will make a big improvement. It will still be brighter than a Mahogany with fluorocarbon strings, but is a huge improvement over the Aquila.

John
 
change the strings. Aquilas are not really that great. ...

Second the worth browns. I have them on a Mainland Red Cedear soprano,.....

+1 on changing the strings. Aquila strings are great for making a somewhat dead uke a bit more lively. The Mainland ukes, especially the red cedar, are anything but dead. Almost any flourocarbon strings will make a big improvement. It will still be brighter than a Mahogany with fluorocarbon strings, but is a huge improvement over the Aquila.....

John



Crap. I just bought some Aquilas to put on my Red Cedar concert Mainland. Just sat down to to it, too, when I read this thread. :mad:
 
Crap. I just bought some Aquilas to put on my Red Cedar concert Mainland. Just sat down to to it, too, when I read this thread. :mad:

Heh, heh. Well, some people really like bright and brash - if you're one of them you're set!

John
 
Crap. I just bought some Aquilas to put on my Red Cedar concert Mainland. Just sat down to to it, too, when I read this thread. :mad:

Heh - changed out my Aquilas for Martin M600 fluorocarbons on my mainland mahogany concert - completely different sound - initially seemed almost muted compared to the aquillas... Lotta peeps seem to like the m600 on the Mainlands... YMMV as they say :D
 
I just put Worth Browns on my Mainland cedar/rosewood pineapple and love the difference in sound. Much more balanced and less harsh than the Nylguts it came with.
 
Also Koolau Alohi's, but Worth Brown should do it.

The Alohi's might not be a good fit- they're more for making a uke brighter sounding... Brown's or Mahana's are much more mellow :)
 
Worth Browns are designed (or so the literature claims) to mellow out the tone. I like Worth strings in general, and use Clear Mediums on a few of my ukuleles. I've tried Browns as well, but honestly, I cannot discern too much of a difference. I find that Martin fluorocarbons have more bark and less chime.

The real issue here / hear ; - ) is the cedar. It is a bright tone wood, guitar-like. The OP can alter the tone quality somewhat by changing strings, but I don't think it will transform it into a mellow, mahogany-like instrument. The second (post-laminate) ukulele I got was a Kala cedar top concert. It is quite loud and raspy. I, too, wanted a mellower tone after a while and tried a bunch of strings, including Worth Browns. Indeed, the Browns mellowed it out a little, but overall I felt as though I was fighting the inherent qualities of the ukulele. So, I got some mahogany and koa ukuleles, put Worths on them, and put Aquilas back on the Kala. To me, Aquilas sound good with guitar woods like spruce and cedar. It's just a different sound.
 
I had a similar problem with my OU6LCE and had it set up with Fremont black lines low g they were great. But several here recommended the worth browns and I ordered a set to try. Low g also. My opinion , both were new sets of strings, the browns were much milder than the original Aquila's but not as mellow or blusey as the Fremont's. the browns are probably better picking strings as they have more tension. Over all I personally prefer the mellower sound of the Fremont's and will put another set back on when its string time. The Browns are a big improvement and the uke is not screaming in my ear like it did with Aquila's but This is the second uke I like the Fremont's on. I may go to the browns on my mahogany uke as the Fremont's almost muted it too much. Went back to Aquila's on it as I lost a lot of volume and they didn't scream there.
 
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