New strings going sharp

snunez

snunez

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I am currently breaking in a new set of strings. After playing for a little bit right after tuning, I noticed that all 4 strings tend to go a tad sharp. I found this to be pretty odd. Logic tells me that as the strings stretch, tuning will go flat. Is this normal?

Also, I think I remember reading that Ko'olau Gold strings take a while to settle in.. I'm not sure if this is somehow related..
 
They might be sticking a little at the nut. A little graphite in the string slots may smooth that out.
 
That could be it. I really had to squeeze the strings in the slot.. What kind of graphite? Are you saying to use it to widen the string slots?
 
snunez said:
That could be it. I really had to squeeze the strings in the slot.. What kind of graphite? Are you saying to use it to widen the string slots?
Click to expand...

a pencil works well, just color in the slots.
it should not be necessary to widen the slots.
 
Ok, cool.. good tip, I'll try it when I get home from work
 
Are the temperatures cool where you are, snunez?

We are done with winter here in Nebraska. During the cold months I especially noticed the uBass going sharp as the instrument warmed up in my arms. The large strings and baritone sized instrument may show the effects of increased temperature more.
 
bigchiz said:
Are the temperatures cool where you are, snunez?

We are done with winter here in Nebraska. During the cold months I especially noticed the uBass going sharp as the instrument warmed up in my arms. The large strings and baritone sized instrument may show the effects of increased temperature more.
Click to expand...

It's not particularly cold here anymore, and it's a concert-sized uke.. so I'm not sure if that's the issue.
 
Wow, I've NEVER heard of this before. Great catch guys, I wouldn't have figured the nut would be grabbing 'em. That probably could have been avoided with a proper setup, no?
 
Golds are a little fatter then some other strings. Even with a good set up, it could just be the fatness making them stick a bit.
 
Yeah, it's only been 3 days so far, so hopefully the strings settle in soon.. they sound decent, but I should've listened to all the posts I read that said nylon takes FOREVER to break in.. much longer than the flouros I've had
 
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