Kiwaya KS-1 & D'Addario Nyltech Strings... Yes!

I got a Kiwaya KS-1 via Uke Republic (good job Mike) that shipped with thin fluorocarbons. I don't know what kind - they looked kind of gray and transparent. The problem with those strings, in gCEA tuning at least, was they felt all plinky and floppy. Yes, tuned up to a higher tuning was AOK, but in the tuning that I use the C string droned louder than the others and overall the strings did not seem to drive a balanced sound out of the instrument.

I put on the D'Addario Nyltech strings for soprano, which are fat and beefy and designed well for the g tuning. I love these strings - had them on my Mainland mango concert for a while. On the Mainland, I went back to the Martin M600s after some experimentation. Concert scale length seems perfect for the Martin fluorocarbons - and on a soprano, I am really very happy with these Nyltech strings. They have a round and clear sound that emphasizes the mid-range (different than a sparkly harp-like fluorocarbon sound). Maybe it's the combination of string tension and string diameter that help bring a fuller sound. They feel right to me on this instrument.

By the way, the Gotoh friction tuners are just fine after getting used to them. I'm still feeling out the balance between tight and too tight and jumping from -6 to +17 and starting over and all that. Getting better though. I got a good stubby screwdriver to help.

That's great to hear. I have a few packs of those, and, believe it or not, we were just talking about them in my office - probably as you were typing your post. How weird is that. I said that I was going to try them over the weekend, probably on the Outdoor Uke, which now has M600s* and is the subject of much experimentation.

...oh, and congrats on the Kiwaya - they're super!

* oops, edit, my brain is fried - I forgot that I put Worth Browns on two days ago.

kvehe said:

That's great to hear. I have a few packs of those, and, believe it or not, we were just talking about them in my office - probably as you were typing your post. How weird is that. I said that I was going to try them over the weekend, probably on the Outdoor Uke, which now has M600s, and is the subject of much experimentation.

Click to expand...

I'd like to hear the results of this experiment. Especially regarding how the sustain compares to the m600s.

Thanks for starting this thread - it was the motivation I needed to put the D'Addario Nyltechs on my mahogany soprano (after lamenting the loss of "old" Aquila Nylguts here). They are still settling in a bit but so far sound fantastic - great volume and tone and a really nice feel.

I'll see if I can put a sound vid of the two kinds of strings tomorrow. It's kind of like the difference between single coil and humbucker pickups on an electric guitar.

Here it is, with the Nyltech strings and then the Martin. I'm singing "Jerusalem," a song that was on Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery and is a hymn by Hubert Parry and poem by William Blake...



I can sing it better, but those chord changes had most my attention here .