Mixing Strings. Wound G AND wound C!

Hi Everybody!

Just a few days ago I got my first "real" Uke, a Kala Travel Tenor. There has been a lot of praise for this Instrument on this board, and all I can say is that every bit of it is true. What a lovely instrument.

I knew that i wanted to try the low G tuning, so I orderd a set of Aquila Nylguts for tenor with the uke. But I also wanted to try black strings (mainly for aesthetics), so I bought a Set of J54 Black Nylon D'addario as well.

So now i have the wound low G Aqilla, then the wound C from the D'Addario Set, and then two Black Strings.

Strange thing is that my C String is thicker than my G String, but the tention seems quite the same. How is this possible?

But I love the sound! Compared to the Aquila set with just the G string swapped, the sound is now a lot more mellower, with a wounderful bass to it. Its exactly the sound I was looking for in this instrument. and with two silver wound and two black strings it looks really nice.

What do you people think of this setup? Has anyone tried something similar? I know that wound strings have some drawbacks, but i just love their sound.

Just wanted to share my experiment and encourage others to try aswell!

All the best,

Karl

Strange thing is that my C String is thicker than my G String, but the tention seems quite the same. How is this possible?

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There's a lot of variables, especially with wound strings. Overall the things that matter are density, tension and string diameter. With a combination of materials in wound strings - inner nylon core and outer wound metal - you can alter these variables in many ways. So for example you could have a very thin inner with wound metal outer making up the denstiy, and have a thin string the same tension as one with a much thicker inner and a thinner metal winding.

What do you people think of this setup? Has anyone tried something similar? I know that wound strings have some drawbacks, but i just love their sound.

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Well, whatever works for you! Personally I'll choose an unwound string every time if possible, but I also like the slightly brassy sound of wound strings. I know a lot of classical guitarists who use 2 or 3 different types of strings as a set - one type for the clears and another type (or two) for the wound bass strings. They spend years finding exactly the right combo, so if you've found your ideal recipe already, you're doing well!

I've found that clear sounds more appealing to me than any black set I've had. Material matters, but so does your own opinion!