Southcoast strings on vintage soprano ukes

garyg

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I'm curious about folks experiences with Southcoast strings on vintage ukes. I put some Southcoast mediums on one of my Martins and had problems fretting the strings without buzzing (my problem not the uke or strings) so I wrote Dirk and he suggested Light Mediums so I put a set of those on and the buzzing went away but I can't decide if I like them or not. Normally I like Fremont Blackline Mediums on these ukes (vintage Martins mostly pre-1932) because they really yield that bell-like tone and clear crisp notes that these ukes are known for. I'm not sure that I have the musical experience to properly describe the comparative differences between the Southcoasts and Blacklines but the volume is good, resonance and sustain are excellent, and the tones are richer and more rounded for the Southcoasts which are all positive aspects, but because they don't seem to produce that traditional Martin "ringing sound" I can't decide if I really like them on these instruments or not. Perplexing and I'd like to hear about others experiences. Although most flourocarbon strings have a similar sound, the Southcoasts's clearly are different and have some added sonic dimensions. I guess in the end it just gets down to personal taste but these string are worth trying.
 
I use Southcoast mediums as well as Worth and they are very similar, with the Southcoasts perhaps providing just a bit more sustain. As for the Martin bell-like tone? That's just inherent of the instrument itself, no matter what strings. Good strings like S.coast, Worth, Freemont, etc. will only bring it out more. Aquila Nyl-guts are too brash for vintage Martins and will take away from the sound, IMO, but they're great for making cheap ukes sound better.
 
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