Strings - wound or un-wound low G; & brand preference, PhD, Living Water, Fremont etc

Strings - wound or un-wound low G; & brand preference, PhD, Living Water, Fremont etc

Two-parter here-

1. if you've tried both wound low "G" as well as the non-wound variety, which is your preference and why?

I have a very long guitar back ground & only a short, though mounting, period of Uke experience (I can feel the impending UAS coming as I type! )

2. Although obviously a highly subjective topic...I'm wondering for those who have tried multiple string brands, which is their favorite brand?

I am considering trying a low G set of Jason Arimimoto's polymer PhD's on my solid Mahogany Tenor Kala cutaway that currently still has the factory installed Aquila's. Also contemplating Ken's Living Water strings for that Uke.

I also have a custom Koa built by a Big Island luthier with a slightly shallow body (a little "tinny" sounding or "thin") that I'd like to deepen up a bit, and was thinking of giving standard Worth browns or Fremont Blacklines a shot(?)

I realize it's somewhat of a trial & error process, as I've spent decades modifying my guitar preferences -- for my acoustics, I fairly recently switched to coated (& far more expensive) Elixir strings, which made an incredible difference in length between string changes and overall sound! Certainly a different ball game when it comes to the much more sparsely changed uke strings.

Anyway, appreciate any input & advice anyone would care to share..

Mahalo

I don't have any experience with low G tuning, so I can't help you there.
As for your second question, I've tried many sets of strings. My favourite of the standard ukulele strings have been Worth browns. They aren't too bright but I liked their sustain and they seemed a bit more receptive to hammer-ons/pull-offs than other strings.
But my very favourite strings are currently classical guitar strings. I use Thomastik-Infeld KR116 strings on both my tenors. They have a metallic core and the sound is very powerful and bright and slightly 'twangy'. The quality is also a little inconsistant; the nylon winding can come loose fairly easily.
I also had a look at the Elixir brand strings you mentioned. If you wanted to try them on your uke, I think you could put a set together which would have acceptable tension.

After running through a string a day for a week, I went to plain low G. I forget what brand they were.

Geeky- by "plain low G", I take it that you mean a "non-wound" string"? (Surmising that you were having problems with poor quality wound strings(?) )

Geeky666 said:

After running through a string a day for a week, I went to plain low G. I forget what brand they were.

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Mahalo for the replies! (& for those that have sent pm's..)

Rawks - I recently read a Uke 'guru's (can't recall whom, but someone held in high regard by many..) recommendation that his string of choice is similar to your Thomastik-Infeld KR116's - I believe he was using Savarez "Red Cards"(?) Lots of choices/options...keep the info coming!

Un-wound for me is hands-down better. You don't get string squeaks and they last way longer. The tone probably isn't as great, but I found the wound low g to really have a different sound than the rest. For me, string balance is really important so I'd rather have a little bit of a thump from the G string than a bright, out-of-place chime.

I play Worth. They sound great to me and I've learned to work with them. There might be something better out there, but I'm tired of chasing string types down the rabbit hole.

NoKaOi said:

1. if you've tried both wound low "G" as well as the non-wound variety, which is your preference and why?

Click to expand...

I have two tenors in low G, both have Worth browns (all plain/unwound) that I like a lot.

I have tried the wound low G (Aquilas) and didn't like it at all. Wound strings have a different feel, tone and sustain, and tend to overpower the other (non-wound) strings.

I have Koolau Golds on my bari (two wound, two plain) and they seem to work well. With 2+2 you have a balance (like with 3+3 on a classical guitar). I tried Worth browns and some Southcoast linears, and didn't like either on the bari. The non-wound basses were just too sloppy and didn't have enough oomph.

I tried the Guadalupe all-wound baris and thought the sound was fantastic, but I just couldn't get over the tactile feel of wound nylon trebles. Then one broke, and I couldn't see seeking them out since they're rather on the pricey side. I still have a set of Koolau Alohis and some D'Addario Titaniums that I haven't tried yet (both are 2+2).

With 1+3, however, there isn't a good balance between the two types of strings. It reminds me of trying to walk while wearing one high heel and one flat shoe.

On tenor, I'm going to stick with all plains. On the bari it will be 2+2.

I've experimented some - now, let me preface this by saying that I am not a big fan of low-g tuning so you can take all of the following with a grain of salt... (To clarify - there's nothing "wrong" with low-G tuning and lots of people love it - I'm just not one of them.)

When I did have ukes tuned low-G I preferred the idea of an unwound low G but never found one I really liked. That doesn't mean that a good one doesn't exist, just that I never found one. All of them I tried were a little "snappish" so the timbre didn't really work for me.

Wound low-g sounded better for the most part, but had that gosh-awful "squeak" of wound strings.

On baritones I do like a linear tuning (though I think of it as my "little guitar"). I've found that Thomastik-Infeld chromium steel flat-wound classical guitar strings work really well for the basses on a baritone (the .035 "A" string for the D and .030 "D" string for the G).

I suspect that one of them might also make a decent low G on a tenor - but I haven't tried it.

These Thomastik-Infeld strings are called flat-wound but they are not as smooth as my flat-wound bass strings. They are significantly quieter than typical wound strings, though, having maybe 25% of the "squeak" of typical wound strings.

HTH,
John

Aloha Bruddah,
50th Stater here also living on the Mainland, NorCal Valley. Anyway for me hands down Southcoast Linear Flatwounds, (no squeak) or their roundwounds (polished rounds with low squeak). Tried unwounds but the g string was too thick for my liking, felt like I was fretting clothes line.
To each his own, and that is my preferance........................Bo....................
Oh, just got a set of PHDs but haven't put it to use yet.....soon.....

NoKaOi said:

Mahalo for the replies! (& for those that have sent pm's..)

Rawks - I recently read a Uke 'guru's (can't recall whom, but someone held in high regard by many..) recommendation that his string of choice is similar to your Thomastik-Infeld KR116's - I believe he was using Savarez "Red Cards"(?) Lots of choices/options...keep the info coming!

Click to expand...

I know we spoke already by PM, but since you mentioned Savarez here is a thread that might interest you.

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?73700-Salvarez-Ukulele-Strings

I am not a big fan or low-g either, but I have tried a few sets. I think Southcoast linear sets make the most sense. They have two wound and two nonwound strings. I find the unwound low-g to be thumping on the sets I have tried. You can get use to it, but didn't seem natural to me.

I play almost exclusively low g, and have tried Worth, PhD, Living Water, Fremont, Savarez, and Aquila.

I didn't like the wound strings because I could never manage to avoid the squeak, so now I only get nonwound.

It depends on the uke for me. I liked the Worth CHLGHD best on my Kamaka, the PhD on the KoAloha and the Living Water on the Kanilea. Each if them are pretty well balanced and don't seem too be boomy. If I had to pick just one, it would be the Living Water for sound and feel.

Here's my two cents. I don't like the big (to my ear) drop off in tone from the low G to the C so I went through about a dozen sets trying to find a "balanced" sound.

Here's my take. The Southcoast linear G650 (it's my understanding they've changed the name) wound G, wound C are hands down the most balanced sounding strings I tried. They also increased the volume/projection of my ukes. I exchanged emails with Dirk many times and he suggested this set when I could finally articulate what I was after. The man knows his strings!

If you don't like wound strings, then the PhD strings are what you are looking for. PhD's are easily the most balanced of the non-wound strings. They also feel great. I thought the Worth's G felt floppy. Even the "hard" strings they carry.

Newportlocal mentioned the Sauvarez strings. They're good, but the Southcoast are better.

Hope my experience with strings saves you some time and money.


*EDIT: The two main ukes I experimented with are a Kala mahogany b/s with a solid spruce top and a Kamaka HF-3. I have a custom Compass Rose on the way that will come strung with Southcoast Strings (I sent them to Rick Turner otherwise he sends them out with Aquilas).

I just got a test set of Oasis fluorocarbon strings..with a wound LowG..which I put on a Kanile'a concert..i wanted to get a clear sound without losing the low tones of the uke..

I like how the strings feel and so far there is a cleaner/clear sound on the highs..i think I will keep the strings on this uke..I had aquillas on it before..

for a squeakless LowG I like the new Fremont Soloist flat wound string..i like the wound strings see nothing wrong with them

my 2 cents

gyosh said:

Here's my two cents. I don't like the big (to my ear) drop off in tone from the low G to the C so I went through about a dozen sets trying to find a "balanced" sound.

Here's my take. The Southcoast linear G650 (it's my understanding they've changed the name) wound G, wound C are hands down the most balanced sounding strings I tried. They also increased the volume/projection of my ukes. I exchanged emails with Dirk many times and he suggested this set when I could finally articulate what I was after. The man knows his strings!

If you don't like wound strings, then the PhD strings are what you are looking for. PhD's are easily the most balanced of the non-wound strings. They also feel great. I thought the Worth's G felt floppy. Even the "hard" strings they carry.

Newportlocal mentioned the Sauvarez strings. They're good, but the Southcoast are better.

Hope my experience with strings saves you some time and money.

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In PM I told him my current favorites are PhD, and the Southcoast G650 now L5-RW were on my list to try on my custom when I get it. I only added the Savarez thread link due to his mentioning it.

WOW! What an incredible array of relevent information & great opinions you folks have shared in this thread! Mahalo again to everyone for their input!

One thing I have definitely determined, is that I am fairly pissed off at several of my touring musician pals that have full-time guitar techs to: switch, swap, file, adjust & do just about anything Mr. "Demanding Rock Star" wishes on a whim, in order to make his short time on stage as peachy as can be!

In all seriousness, I can see how the UAS can REALLY become almost a necessity - heck, we gotta have: WOUND & Un-wound low-G tenors (for the shredding ; perhaps a standard concert for the banjo rolls, a travel Uke we don't need to insure, maybe something small when we're simply lazy.. & so on.. I guess being in possession of multiple instruments comes in handy to do direct comparisons with strings -- well, assuming you don't have the stellar pro-tools set-up in your in home music room! I know I've done that a few times with new guitar strings that have come out. No shortage of 6-strings around the crib, that's for sure!

I suppose I better simply make peace with the fact that I'm going to be winding more than a few extra tuning heads in the near future..

Gary (gyosh)- I saw you mention Ukulele Source previously somewhere, so I guess you're acquainted with Smiley, eh?! My daughter's close to SJSU campus, so I try to roll by his shop when I visit her. Great to have a resource like Smiley's shop so close to home!

Hope to see you NorCal folks (& any others making the journey..) at the Uke Fest in a few weeks!

Malama Pono,
Sean

I prefer Hi G most of th times....however when I go LOW G....I prefer unwound as to me it is a much more balanced tone......

I prefer low G, and have tried aquila, worth, freemont and southcoast. I found the unwound low g to be either too floppy or just too booming. When I first tried the wound low G, I hated the string squeak. I've settled on the southcoast flatwounds, which have 2 flatwound strings (3rd and 4th). The balance among the four strings is excellent, and the winding of the flatwounds is such that I don't notice any string squeak when I'm playing. They are a bit delicate compared to non-wound, but one just has to be careful when installing. I've not had any issues with longevity, although I have heard that complaint about wound strings (generally, not specific to southcoast), so YMMV.

NoKaOi said:

. . .snip . . .
Gary (gyosh)- I saw you mention Ukulele Source previously somewhere, so I guess you're acquainted with Smiley, eh?! My daughter's close to SJSU campus, so I try to roll by his shop when I visit her. Great to have a resource like Smiley's shop so close to home!

Hope to see you NorCal folks (& any others making the journey..) at the Uke Fest in a few weeks!

Malama Pono,
Sean

Click to expand...

Hey Sean,

I live about 1/2 a mile from Ukulele Source You should come down and visit your daughter on Saturdays when Smiley starts up the Kanikapilas again. Roy's Station Coffee & Tea hosts the events and Rodney Takahashi, an instructor located in Japan Town usually MC's. Get on Smiley's email list or I can let you know when they start again. See you in Hayward!

-Gary

I, at first, didn't like a wound string because of the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sound when moving about the fret board. But, after listening to some of the very best classical guitar players in the world (thank's youtube), I understand that this is the nature of the beast and perfectly acceptable in their realm. It is now acceptable to me. In my limited experience with non-wound low G strings, they seem noticably dull (thud) in comparison.
This is my opinion, but I'm quite sure I will continue to experiment.

I've tried a number of Low-G strings and settled on Fremont Blacklines with a non-wound Low-G. I prefer non-wound Low-G strings for sound and feel. I have them on my Lanikai Spalted Mango Tenor. I've tried some other brands on my Mainland Mahogany Concert and found I liked Worth BM with a non-wound Low-G the best. Just haven't found a brand/set with a wound Low-G that I prefer although my Lanikai O-8 *-String Tenor came with a set of Nylguts with a wound Low-G. Still getting used to the feel of the 8 strings but it sounds OK with the Nylguts.