String tension question

I've been playing for only 6 months or so, so I haven't exactly worn out the current set of strings on the few ukes I have. However, I've been thinking of picking up a few extra string sets (Worth's, Aquila, D'Addario, etc) to try out latter. The intended targets for these strings are a Flea, a Kala KA-C and a Tallgrass concert. These currently have Aquila Nylgut strings on them.

While looking on the Elderly site at Worth's strings, I see for a Soprano/Concert the Worth Browns are marked as different "tensions": light, medium, strong. I did search the forums and from what I found it looks like "higher tension = louder sound"???

I'm not a performer nor am I currently playing with others, so perhaps louder is not necessarily what I need. What would be a good starting point for someone who likely won't be able to tell the difference (i.e. "me")?

TIA for your advice.

Steve

Ah, you've got three ukuleles. Why not pick up one set each of light tension, medium tension, and strong tension strings? Put one set on each ukulele and see how they feel.

A Southcoast combination pack of light, medium, and heavy gauge strings would do the trick...

http://www.southcoastukes.com/stringuide_files/combopacks.htm

Their site has a ton of information about strings and tuning that's worth exploring whether or not you're interested in their strings.

And if in doubt, you can't go wrong with "medium".

TheOnlyUkeThatMatters said:

Ah, you've got three ukuleles. Why not pick up one set each of light tension, medium tension, and strong tension strings? Put one set on each ukulele and see how they feel.

Click to expand...

Sigh, actually I'm up to 5 ukes right now: 2 concerts, a Flea, a Boat Paddle tenor and a Wolfelele tenor.

Both the concerts have Aquila Nylguts and both sound completely different. I think I'll take your advice of getting a set for each tension and try them out.

A higher tension gives you a cleaner sound...but affects playability and comfort for me..

mm stan said:

A higher tension gives you a cleaner sound...but affects playability and comfort for me..

Click to expand...

Me too. Since I don't play out, medium tension is fine for me. I tried hard tension strings; the sound was louder and brighter, but the ukulele played stiff.

i personally prefer very high tension...I keep most of my ukes tuned a step high for that very reason. A downside to floppy strings is a tendency for slopping playing to lead to poor intonation, as it is very easy to move the strings around. If you plan to bend notes i certainly think you need something a little on the softer side tension wise, but i personally always like something that isn't going to move aroundwhen i'm playing quickly

My boatpaddle came with Worth CHs. I have read that on soprano's high tension is not recommended. I run Worth Medium tension on my KoAloha concert.

I like Med better than Hard but on the boatpaddle the string arc was too great for med tension and seems to cause some buzzing issuers.

TWC

I don't much care for high tension with "nylon" strings. On steel string you can go higher than you care to play and sustain and volume just get better and better. It seems with the "soft" strings on classical guitars and ukes going much above "normal" tension actually reduces volume and sustain and they just go "tinkly." This actually surprised me when i first noticed it because it certainly wasn't what I expected from my years playing steel-string guitars.

John