Living Water reentrant soprano stringset.

Skrik

Skrik

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I've just installed a new set of Living Water strings on my Bruko #6. I've had the same set of Aquilas on it for the last two years, so the change was well due. I thought I'd try Living Water strings after seeing people here recommend them.

My first impression is that I've lost some volume. The sound is milder - rounder - tamer - than the Aquilas, and I expressed a modicum of disappointment to my wife. She disagreed. She characterised the sound of the Living Water strings as sweeter than the Aquilas.

What I really think will come to me in the next few days, as I play the strings in. I'm hoping I'll come around to agreeing with my wife, but if not, I'll let you know here.
 
Thanks for posting. Some people hear the loudness of Aquilas as "brash," others hear it as "bright." I have Living Water Strings I haven't used yet, but I have a Kamaka tenor on which I replaced Aquilas with Worths last year (like LWS, fluorocarbon strings), and while the volume seemed to go down just a bit, I thought the sound was fuller, more resonant, and more bell-like, and brought out the full voice of the ukulele. I'm curious to hear whther you end up liking Living Water Strings on your soprano.
 
Skrik said:
She characterised the sound of the Living Water strings as sweeter than the Aquilas.
Click to expand...
:agree:
Trust her, she is right. Just as you are, noticing a little less volume.
But volume isn't everything when it comes to sound...
 
Living water strings do make the tone more mellow - maybe that's what you're hearing rather than loss of volume. My brighter ukes are still bright but have lost the brashness of Aquilas - I'm one of those who feel Aquilas are a bit brash. I've left them on one uke - an all laminate - because they suit that uke but all my others now have fluorocarbon strings, either Worth or Living Water.

I don't think there is much to choose between Worth clears and Living water they both seem to have a similar effect on the tone of the uke and I like both, though when I come to change strings again, I will most likely go with Living Water, after all they are locally made.
 
:agree: You may lose volume, but you gain in quality tone. That's been my experience so far.
 
Ah, new strings. Fun. I try not to judge the sound and feel of a new strings until they've been played for at least a couple of weeks. I've found some sets continue to improve in tone and feel for the first month. I'm pretty sure that's how long it takes me to learn to get the most from a set of strings. Heh.

Hope the Living Water set works out for you and your Brueko.
 
It is the same for me, I love the sound they produce but volume is something else.. I've lost some volume as well. However, I do believe the string set does produce better sustain.. now my kamaka is really humming with living water. Knowing my KoAloha has awesome volume, I am planning on using the strings on my KoAloha tenor when I need to change the worth brown linear G it has on currently.. should compensate the volume ..
 
Loss of volume can be a good thing. If you have a uke/string combo that just gets away from you, that's not good. That's the instrument playing you. You want something that you have control of the dynamics by how you play. I find these strings do that. If I demon-strum, they'll respond. If I play piano, they'll respond. Some ukes are more prone to want to get away from you, like a supercar (Koaloha concert, I'm looking in your direction... and it's part of why I love you), others respond by how you play them and need less taming (like my Kanilea, one of the reasons I love it). These can be good strings for someone who wants the dynamics to be their own choice. :)

And I probably wouldn't even think of it that way, if not for trying mouthpiece/reed/ligature combos that can give more control or let the instrument get away from you. It's kinda the same thing.
 
Aquilas seem to get either praise or a bad rap these days. Whether they sound bright or brash usually depends on the instrument they are on. They can also be sweet, and mellow with some tonewoods. Sooooo, they are like any other strings....albeit a bit "brighter" than most on most instruments. I have been hearing some great things about those Living Water strings as being good all around for a sweet and balanced tone. I'd listen to your wife and give them a chance. Nearly every string I've ever tried had to "grow on me." Hadn't previously considered how much better the listener can hear my uke than I can while I'm playing it.
 
I've just this morning ordered a set of Living Water Strings for my new Yew soprano to compare to the Aquilas it came with that I'm not too keen on. I have previously used them on two other instruments in comparison to the Aquilas they came with. A chinese factory koa soprano was improved with the LW strings, however to my ear the Mainland Red Cedar Soprano sounded better with the Aquilas.

It's a toss up whether to say trust your ears or listen to your wife. I would hate you to be exiled to the garden shed when playing your uke
 
If you replace Aquila strings with almost anything, you will typically notice a little volume loss but the improvement in tone is well worth it IMHO.

Some people really like the brashness of the Aquila strings but what I dislike about them on decent ukes is that you lose the "flavor" of the uke and just hear the "Aquila sound." Now, on a uke that doesn't have a lot to offer to begin with that can be a bonus. But on most good ukes you'll get more "character" from other strings.

There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Another characteristic of Aquilas is that they tend to be more percussive than other strings and if you're playing a style where percussive is important, the Aquilas might be the right choice for you even on a really nice uke. Although...if you managed to get two years out of a single set of Aquila strings then I suspect you aren't playing very percussively... :)

John
 
I find some ukes are just too harsh with Aquila Nylguts and some ukes are much better. As a rule, laminates and stiff-topped ukes need more movement to project any volume and on those instruments, Aquila is the best choice. For ukes with lively tops, like Ohana's solid-wood costruction ukes, the Living Water strings are a perfect choice. I am also very fond of Martin fluorocarbon strings.
 
Nearly a week later

The Living Water strings are settling in nicely, and I must admit I am enjoying them. The sound is mellower than it was with the Aquilas. I like the higher tension, too.

I picked up my daughter's* ukulele last night, a LU21 strung with Aquilas, and it's true -- it sounds the same as my Brüko did with the same strings -- the Aquila sound. I am coming around to agree that with other strings, you hear the sound of the ukulele, not the strings.

I think I'll keep these for a while.

* We have six kids: five teenagers and a five month old baby. Although I have bought ukuleles for the entire family, it is only the middle teenager who has caught the bug. I have nothing to complain about, though: the youngest teenager is aiming to become a professional violinist, the oldest girl plays guitar and piano, the middle one plays guitar, ukulele and keyboard, and my son potters around on midi controllers. With all of this music in the house, my wife playing violin and piano, and me making the god-awful noise I do, we're rather hopeful that baby will grow up musical. She already sings with the voice she has found she has. :)
 
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