MikeR
Well-known member
After a visit to the Aloha Warehouse in SF, I decided to start playing around with ukulele strings. Note that I'm not an expert, but in the spirit of these forums wanted to share some of my experience.
I have a Lanikai LU21 soprano (upgrading to a pono atd as soon as HMS gets them back in!), and was noticing some bad intonation on the C string and fret buzz on the A string. Lanikai's come with Aquila strings, which I learned are very soft and move around a lot.
Edgar, at the Aloha Warehouse, suggested that I try harder strings to eliminate the fret buzz, even Classical guitar strings if I had them.
So I found some D'addario Classical Pro-Arte EJ45's sitting in my string drawer and used the the D G B E strings as G C E A.
Results: Intonation is still off on some strings, and on the C string maybe even more pronounced. The instrument is less bright and much warmer. I like the feel of the D'addario's as they aren't gritty to the fingers like the Aquilas are. The fret buzz is gone on the A string and I'm loving the low G. All in all, if you are looking for a warmer sound with a more gliding feel on a soprano ukulele, I would venture to say the D'addario's are passable.
I'd like to learn more about the factors of intonation, and when I get the pono, with a much better build quality, I'll start experimenting with different strings.
Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions or something to add!
Thanks,
Mike
I have a Lanikai LU21 soprano (upgrading to a pono atd as soon as HMS gets them back in!), and was noticing some bad intonation on the C string and fret buzz on the A string. Lanikai's come with Aquila strings, which I learned are very soft and move around a lot.
Edgar, at the Aloha Warehouse, suggested that I try harder strings to eliminate the fret buzz, even Classical guitar strings if I had them.
So I found some D'addario Classical Pro-Arte EJ45's sitting in my string drawer and used the the D G B E strings as G C E A.
Results: Intonation is still off on some strings, and on the C string maybe even more pronounced. The instrument is less bright and much warmer. I like the feel of the D'addario's as they aren't gritty to the fingers like the Aquilas are. The fret buzz is gone on the A string and I'm loving the low G. All in all, if you are looking for a warmer sound with a more gliding feel on a soprano ukulele, I would venture to say the D'addario's are passable.
I'd like to learn more about the factors of intonation, and when I get the pono, with a much better build quality, I'll start experimenting with different strings.
Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions or something to add!
Thanks,
Mike
