Another String question (sry)

NoahOathKeeper

NoahOathKeeper

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Im looking for people to answer that has experience with Solid mahogany Tenor ukuleles please .Not a debate on what the best string brand is .
My Tenor is a cheap ohana tk35g ( yes i know its Chinese made) it was all i could budget the ukulele is about 5 years old i think
Ive seen a video review witch was stated that Aquilas might not be the best strings for solid mahogany tenors . what dose the good people here at Ukulele Underground Think , Is this true ? and if so ,what is a more suitable Brand for this particular type of ukulele
(sry for yet ANOTHER string question )
Site list it as
Solid Mahogany Top, Back & Sides
Rosewood Fingerboard & Bridge
Rosewood Binding & Head Overlay
Deluxe Geared Tuners
Aquila Strings
Bone Saddle and Nut
Gloss Finish
 
I like Aquilas. But all that matters is what you like. For $5 - $10 you can try other brands to see if you like them better. Some other great brands include: Worth, Living Waters, Southcoast, even Martin. Good luck and enjoy!
 
NoahOathKeeper said:
Im looking for people to answer that has experience with Solid mahogany Tenor ukuleles please
Click to expand...
Sorry, I'm not one of them but from what I read here on UU Ken Middleton's Living Water Strings should be a good (if not excellent) choice. Ken works as international marketing manager for Ohana so I am pretty sure his strings would fit your TK35....
 
First off, I would classify that Ohana as a really decent mid-level uke and a fine player. Secondly, the Aquilas are a subjective thing. Many people buy solid mahogany for the sweet, mellow, resonant sound and feel that Aquilas somewhat nullify those qualities with excess brightness. This is subjective....maybe someone wants their mahogny uke to sound "bright." That being said, as newkid pointed out, there are many fine strings including Ken Middleton's Living Waters, which were probably developed using Ohana ukes and which many new users seem to love. I just put Southcoasts on my mahogany Pono tenor 6 sstring and am quite happy with them. They have different string sets for each size uke and may be a good place to start. Tell them what you want that Ohana to sound like and they can recommend a specific set. I have Ko'olau Alohi's on my Pono mahogany concert and love them. Good luck.
 
Let me clarify , I said it was Cheap because it seams a lot of people are Brand Snobs :D and think you need a $1000 ukulele to get good sound the Ohana TK35G is Perfect for me i love the instrument . id be willing to bet set up exactly the same , you could play it in the dark with ANY High $ tenor and could not tell a nickles Worth or difference
 
I am with Phil and don't believe you (or anyone) should look down on your Ohana, it is a good instrument.
My TK-35-5 is a little different, but I like Orcas and PHDs on it better than the Aquilla it came with. Ken's Living Water strings are also a Florocarbon string that would probably be fine as well.
 
Let me clarify , I said it was Cheap because it seams a lot of people are Brand Snobs and think you need a $1000 ukulele to get good sound
Click to expand...

I can't help but feel that you are being a bit excessively pre-emptive.
I don't think there are a "lot of people" here who are "brand snobs". And those who prefer high-end ukes (and for good reason) should not be called that either.



Anyway, to answer your question, it depends on what kind of tone you want.
There's no right or wrong strings to put on a mahogany uke, or any uke. However, each set of strings do behave very differently on different ukes.

I have Aquilas on my brand new Gretsch solid-top mahogany tenor. Not by choice, because they are the stock strings, but I don't particularly dislike the tone.
It is brighter than I would prefer.

My string of choice to put on a mahogany uke is D'addario Pro-Arte, because it will bring out the maximum warmth and substance on such a uke.
But that is personal preference.

I know that some people follow an opposite train of thought: bright strings on mellow ukes/mellow strings on bright ukes - to get a "balanced" tone.
 
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kissing said:
I can't help but feel that you are being a bit excessively pre-emptive.
I don't think there are a "lot of people" here who are "brand snobs". And those who prefer high-end ukes (and for good reason) should not be called that either.



Anyway, to answer your question, it depends on what kind of tone you want.
There's no right or wrong strings to put on a mahogany uke, or any uke. However, each set of strings do behave very differently on different ukes.

I have Aquilas on my brand new Gretsch solid-top mahogany tenor. Not by choice, because they are the stock strings, but I don't particularly dislike the tone.
It is brighter than I would prefer.

My string of choice to put on a mahogany uke is D'addario Pro-Arte, because it will bring out the maximum warmth and substance on such a uke.
But that is personal preference.

I know that some people follow an opposite train of thought: bright strings on mellow ukes/mellow strings on bright ukes - to get a "balanced" tone.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your input , I said this because when i searched the site for this info , before posting the question , when Ohana was brought up there was Tons of Responses of the type " you get what you pay for " and " better to spend now then spend later " and did not want to get into the Quialty of the instrument debate and rather just get the issue out the way ,and move on to getting answers from people who own the Ohana TK35G or similar built tenors
 
I found my mahogany Pono sounded great with Worth Brown low G strings.
 
My tuppence (for what it is worth) pretty much follows the general vibe above.
String choice is very subjective and the "correct" choice is the one that works for you. Some strings may be brighter some more mellow, some may give more sustain some may even project better, but as long as YOU like what you are hearing then they are correct. Unfortunately the only way to work out what is best for you, is to experiment and try different strings on your uke. I have Aquila's on a Mahalo soprano and they sound great to me, but when I put them on my Laka tenor I don't like them, preferring Worth clears, but you may listen and prefer the opposite.
You say above there is brand snobbery about uke's and I suspect that is true to some extent. I also believe the same about strings, some people will sing the praises of there preferred brands and sniff at those they don't like, but it doesn't necessarily mean those are bad strings. I also think that subjects like this are maybe "overthought" a bit. Just play the damn uke and enjoy it! :D
 
Believe it or not, I think GHS black nylon strings are actually pretty decent and sound mellow/warm on mahogany.
They have a bit of a bad name, because they are quite cheap to purchase, and lots of cheap ukulele companies used GHS as their stock strings.

Ironically, recently it seems that Aquilas are now the new stock string of choice. They are replacing the role that GHS strings once had, and becoming more and more the generic stock string...

*conspiracy face*
 
kissing said:
Believe it or not, I think GHS black nylon strings are actually pretty decent and sound mellow/warm on mahogany.
They have a bit of a bad name, because they are quite cheap to purchase, and lots of cheap ukulele companies used GHS as their stock strings.

Ironically, recently it seems that Aquilas are now the new stock string of choice. They are replacing the role that GHS strings once had, and becoming more and more the generic stock string...

*conspiracy face*
Click to expand...

I prefer the feel of Aquilas on my fingers. Each of my ukes sound different anyway, so the finger feedback is important to me. My Ohana TK35G plays beautifully through them. That said, my Koaloha concert will always have Worth clears. I tried switching to Aquila strings on my Lanikai LU6 but didn't like it at all. I experimented a bit and came to the conclusion that the stock GHS strings sounded the best. I was playing the 6-string just Friday and am still very pleased with the sound.

Look there, I gave you a string answer and there still is no one string answer. Have fun with it, don't beat yourself up too bad.
 
Heck ive never stopped playing it , played about a hour on it this morning ,, will hit it again later i guess i should has added in the OP that the REASON i buy Mahogany is for the warm tones and asked what strings people thought accompanied and brought out that warm tone the most
 
NoahOathKeeper said:
Heck ive never stopped playing it , played about a hour on it this morning ,, will hit it again later i guess i should has added in the OP that the REASON i buy Mahogany is for the warm tones and asked what strings people thought accompanied and brought out that warm tone the most
Click to expand...

The LU6 referenced above is all nato wood, very similar to mahogany, though redder in color.
 
I enjoy living waters and PhDs. Good luck on your quest.
 
Worth clears & browns are nice strings. Living Water are excellent, but went 'off' quite a bit quicker than I expected, don't know if it was me or the strings. The key is to experiment though. I've just put some concert Aquilas on my soprano Bruko, and I'm loving it! (Those were the only strings I had at the time.)
 
Most folks around here aren't going to look down on an Ohana TK35, especially not if it's all you can afford! (A Mahalo, now, that's another story... LOL)

The current Ohana solid-wood models are quite nice, and a lot of people feel the SK38 compares favorably with the Martin S-1 (haven't played the SK38 myself and the one S-1 I've had my hands on didn't impress me so I'm not a good spokesman for that comparison, just passing on what others have said).

As for the strings, I've found that solid mahogany ukes are about the only solid-wood ukes that I can tolerate Aquilas on. Even then I prefer fluorcarbon strings (Worth clears) unless the uke is kind of lifeless, then it's back to the Aquilas.

But, strings are the cheapest improvement you can make for your uke, so try several different kinds until you find the ones that push your button!

John
 
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NoahOathKeeper said:
i should has added in the OP that the REASON i buy Mahogany is for the warm tones and asked what strings people thought accompanied and brought out that warm tone the most
Click to expand...

Well here I am strumming away at my solid mahogany tenor with Aquilas, wishing I had a warmer, mellower string on them.

Give D'addario Pro-Arte tenor strings a shot. I don't think you'll regret it.

Jake Shimabukuro uses D'addario Pro-Artes, and gets a buttery mellow tone out of his koa Kamaka.
 
Thanks for all the Great responses guys This is my first "Store Bought" Tenor . im going to try 2 types D'addario Pro-Arte tenor strings and Worth browns that seams the general for whats good for a more mellow tone when get them all strung up ill post a recording and my review of each , thanks for your time on this
 
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