*wound* low G string recos for my Kamaka HF-2 concert?

janeray1940

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Aloha all - never thought I'd be asking for recommendations for a *wound* low G set, but then I never thought I'd really get into playing low G that much :)

I've been using Worth CMs and I like them pretty well, but my uke instructor strongly recommended I try a set with a wound low G. Fair enough - only he didn't have any specific recommendations (I think he uses a guitar string for his), so, I figured I'd turn to the collective knowledge here.

So - let's hear it! Any Kamaka players out there with a favorite low G string brand? Thanks in advance!
 
I had requested low G turning on my Kamaka. It came with the factory wound low G. Wow, was that every BOOMy sounding. I've tried the Aquila wound low G as well on my concert Kala in the past and it was the same ie very boomy (is that a real word?). I now play unwound low G now. I'm liking Ken Middleton's LivingWater low G set on my tenor. I also really like the Fremont Blackline low G strings and Worth Clears but prefer the Fremont tension over Worth. Just a personal preference.

If you want a free Aquila wound low G for your concert, PM me your mailing address. lol
 
Mahalo Trinimon, PM sent.

I've tried Fremont before and while I liked the sound, I found the strings were kinda... sticky? to the touch - just didn't care for the feel. I know what you mean about the "boomy" sound - that was my first reaction as well, but I've found that for low G-specific arrangements and for bossa nova, I've really warmed up to the low G sound.

What I don't care for is how a low G uke sounds when playing an arrangement written for reentrant - that really just seems wrong to me.
 
I use D'Addario Silverwound NYL026 along with Worth CMs. The tension is in the ballpark and it's not incredibly boomy. This is Gordon at Mya Moes suggestion...
 
Best sounding wound low G I have tried is a Savarez Corum polished 504 RH. I also use Savarez Alliance KF 541 R, 542 R and 543 R for the trebles. This is the set recommended by Chuck Moore and William King. Singles available at juststrings.
 
I TRIED DIADORIO [SP?] t-2's ON MY MP. I liked the strings, but couldn't stand the squeaks, so I replaced the
G with one from a Worth low G set. I loved the tone, but if you slide on the G at all it will drive you crazy, at least it did me. I got them from Juststrings too.
 
Best sounding wound low G I have tried is a Savarez Corum polished 504 RH. I also use Savarez Alliance KF 541 R, 542 R and 543 R for the trebles. This is the set recommended by Chuck Moore and William King. Singles available at juststrings.

I second that but I don't mind the squeking.
 
I got to say, try out the Aquila Red's - you can get single strings for the G & C - they are GREAT! Love them, instead of wound strings on a concert.

Is your preference for '*wound*" strings a "must have" or are you you just looking for them because it is the usual route taken for that low g"
 
Is your preference for '*wound*" strings a "must have" or are you you just looking for them because it is the usual route taken for that low g"

This came up in response to my complaint that all low G strings that I've tried (which have all been unwound, fluoros) sounded kind of mudy or dull to me. My instructor said something like he didn't think it was possible to get a really crisp, clear low G tone out of an unwound string, and that I should try out something wound.

As others have mentioned - the squeak really bothers me! Like, nails-on-a-chalkboard bothers me :) But I'm willing to give it a try - I've never spent a lot of time playing an instrument with a wound low G, so who knows, I may get past the "squeak" issue if the sound is what I'm looking for.

I'm going to try the Aquila Reds too. I've had Aquila Nylguts on this uke before and they sounded pretty good even though generally I tend to prefer fluoros.

Thanks all for the suggestions so far, and please keep them coming!
 
Best sounding wound low G I have tried is a Savarez Corum polished 504 RH. I also use Savarez Alliance KF 541 R, 542 R and 543 R for the trebles. This is the set recommended by Chuck Moore and William King. Singles available at juststrings.

I "third" this thought. Any polished string will cut down on the squeak factor. I would also talk to Dirk at Southcoast and tell him what you are looking for. I'm sure that he can help you out.
 
I would also talk to Dirk at Southcoast and tell him what you are looking for. I'm sure that he can help you out.

Hey that's a great idea, thanks. Not sure I can intelligently convey what I am looking for since I'm still figuring it out myself, but I'm going to shoot him a PM right now :)
 
Try a polished wound low G.
They have a similar feel to unwound (no squeaks)
Nice and clear sound, no thud.
 
Hey there, I should have a couple of extra wound low g strings around somewhere. They might be used but at least you can try them out before you buy. I'll try to remember to bring some to class on Monday.

That being said, I would second the recommendation on the Living Water strings. They are not boomy at all, and maybe are not crisp enough for Steve's liking but I'll bring my KoAloha with them so you can hear that as well if I remember. PhD strings are pretty nice too...

Off to go through my string stash to find some stuff for you to try...I almost definitely have an Aquila and might have a Savarez as well. I'll see what I can find for you, admittedly these are all tenor strings but you can at least try them out to see what brand you prefer.
 
Hey there, I should have a couple of extra wound low g strings around somewhere. They might be used but at least you can try them out before you buy. I'll try to remember to bring some to class on Monday.

That being said, I would second the recommendation on the Living Water strings. They are not boomy at all, and maybe are not crisp enough for Steve's liking but I'll bring my KoAloha with them so you can hear that as well if I remember. PhD strings are pretty nice too...

Off to go through my string stash to find some stuff for you to try...I almost definitely have an Aquila and might have a Savarez as well. I'll see what I can find for you, admittedly these are all tenor strings but you can at least try them out to see what brand you prefer.

Awesome, thank you so much! And it hadn't occurred to me before but I may actually prefer tenor strings on my concert uke since I like higher tension to begin with. Before I made the switch to fishing line for my sopranos, I often used concert strings on them - similar logic :)
 
Wouldn't tenor strings on a concert be lower tension at the same pitch? to get the same note from a shorter scale length you'd have to reduce tension..
 
Wouldn't tenor strings on a concert be lower tension at the same pitch? to get the same note from a shorter scale length you'd have to reduce tension..

Not sure - I'm terrible at the "science" of all of this! All I know is that concert Aquilas on a soprano uke feel a lot less mushy to me. I figured it was because they have a thicker diameter? So my guess is the same would hold true for tenor strings on a concert uke.
 
+1 for PhD low G string, I have it on my long neck concert and it sounds great.
Also you may wanna try LWS low G too, I have bought one but dont have chance to put it on (yet).
 
Aloha janeray,
For squeakless low g string set, try the Southcoast G-650 flatwound's for a well balanced set, no excessive boominess. Heard good things about Living Waters but have'nt tried them yet..........................BO...................
 
Also you may wanna try LWS low G too, I have bought one but dont have chance to put it on (yet).

I'm not familiar with "LWS" strings and Google doesn't seem to be either :) Got a link by any chance?

Aloha janeray,
For squeakless low g string set, try the Southcoast G-650 flatwound's for a well balanced set, no excessive boominess. Heard good things about Living Waters but have'nt tried them yet..........................BO...................

I've been having an interesting discussion with Dirk re: Southcoast strings. May give them a try, but the fact that they aren't intended for C tuning on a concert uke could prove problematic. Bo, are you using them, and if so, what tuning do you use?

As for Living Water, PhD, and other fluoros - I've been told that there are only a couple of manufacturers worldwide of fluorocarbon, and all fluoro strings come from this/these same factory/ies, and are basically just different combinations of different gauges of fishing line with a different brand name stuck on the package. Can anyone comment on this - is there really that much difference between fluoro brands, or does the loyalty have more to do with whether or not one is a Daniel Ho fan, or a Ken Middleton fan, or a Martin loyalist (or just cheap like myself and likes the $5-ish price point of Martins!) etc? I mean, honestly, I can't really tell much difference between Martin M600s and Worths other than price and ease of availability - in fact, I've played around with mixing the two (Worth CM low G string, Martins for CEA; or alternating Martin and Worth strings; etc) and again didn't notice much difference.
 
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