Bariitone strings yet again.

ukuhippo

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My bari (Makala MK-B) will arrive tomorrow, and I'm already on a search for new strings allthough I will give the stock-strings a chance..
Couple of questions:

1. What is the 'general' difference in sound between wound and nonwound strings on a bari? Less bass, more uke, or is it something else?

2. Other than Worth, who else maken unwound DGBE-strings for the bari?

3. What are considerations when choosing between wound and non-woundstrings?

Bonusquestion: Why is Aquila the only company that understands that white strings look great on a uke?
 
My bari (Makala MK-B) will arrive tomorrow, and I'm already on a search for new strings allthough I will give the stock-strings a chance..
Couple of questions:

1. What is the 'general' difference in sound between wound and nonwound strings on a bari? Less bass, more uke, or is it something else?

2. Other than Worth, who else maken unwound DGBE-strings for the bari?

3. What are considerations when choosing between wound and non-woundstrings?

Bonusquestion: Why is Aquila the only company that understands that white strings look great on a uke?


Play the new uke with the strings that are on it while you order from Seattle USA. their Fremont Black line fluorocarbon tenor low G set. No wound strings, they are .023, .027, .031 and .036
They are long enough for the baritone, after all it's the sound you want. Not "white that looks great" although I use Aquila on my concert size.
Sounds great.....as far as looks.....who cares.
 
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I own the same model which you are purchasing and I think that the stock strings are alright. Not exactly the best but they will be good enough while you are waiting for the better strings to come
 
I have a baritone coming this week too. My understanding is the reason the strings are wound has to do with the tension on the lower note strings. If I remember correctly the regular strings would be too loose and that is why the wound strings.

Bonusanswer: What color strings look best is all a matter of opinion. I prefer the look of the darker strings myself and agree with 1931 jim, what it sounds like is what matters.
 
Like 1931Jim, I use tenor low G on my Kala baritone. (tuned DGBE)
I use Orca strings, I was surprised at the sound, deep and rich.
 
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Thanks all for replying, I will probably get some Worths, Aquilas', Orca's and Freemonts. I do want to stick with DGBE for now.
As for the wound vs. non-wound:
Is it true that it's basically a tension-matter? Or is there a sound difference to?
 
It seems to defeat the purpose (sort of) of getting a Baritone uke though.
Tuning a Baritone to GCEA is a nifty option, but it isn't usually the primary objective of getting a baritone.

Non-wound strings for deeper tunings are overrated in my opinion.
Wound strings are prevalent for a reason. It is a matter of physics.
Strings, when they have to get to a certain thickness for a lower pitched tuning, become rigid.
I have not yet found any set of unwound low-pitched strings that I have found to be satisfactory.
They're either too rigid or too floppy and overall sound dead compared to a wound string.

We don't see classical guitarists obsessing to get unwound strings.


Aquila's baritone strings have usually served me well. It depends on the actual uke, but generally it gives a vibrant, warm tone.

I'm curious to try Martin baritone strings. I really like their fluorocarbon strings for sopranos, and I would imagine that they would have the same effect on a baritone.

D'addario Baritones are quite economic and good quality too - has a crispier, drier sounding tone than Aquilas.
 
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Thank you kissing, that's a clear answer. I agree with the tuning, I didn't get a baritone to tune it as a tenor, I would have got myself a tenor if I wanted GCEA tuning. I just ordered some Aquila's to start with, we'll see what the future brings.
 
It seems to defeat the purpose (sort of) of getting a Baritone uke though.
Tuning a Baritone to GCEA is a nifty option, but it isn't usually the primary objective of getting a baritone.

Southcoast makes GCEA strings for baritone that are an octave lower than the GCEA strings for tenors, concerts and sopranos, so you actually get notes that are lower than those on a DGBE tuned baritone.
 
My favorite use for my bari uke has been to combine strings from GCEA and DGBE to make CGDA - mandola tuning. It's a great tuning for playing melodies, although chords are harder.
 
The Southcoast GCEA strings on a baritone are not an octave lower. They are low G. I have a set of the linear flat wounds on one of my baritones tuned to FBbDG and I like them. My other baritone has wound DGBE and I often capo at the second or third fret. Scroll down the page in this link to hear samples of the Southcoast strings in various tunings for baritones.
 
I ordered strings at thesouthernukulelestore only to find out later that I ordered the wrong ones. The nice people there cancelled the order and refunded to my paypal within minutes after my email, thumbs up for them.
The uke arrived and I love it, played my Dolphin afterwards and still love that to.
 
The Southcoast GCEA strings on a baritone are not an octave lower. They are low G.

That's what I thought too.. :)


Although, you can get octave lower GCEA strings for a Baritone, from Guadalupe.
It does change the playability of the instrument though.
 
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