The Search for the Holy Grail ...

I am new to the ukulele, having been at it for three months, and but a month away from having upgraded to a great instrument, a nicely-used Pu'uwai tenor in koa from Rev. Woodley White, of the Big Island.

I have played classical guitars for some years, and having gone on the hunt for the Holy Grail for those, i.e., The Perfect Strings, I knew how to do that.

For my guitars, after twelve or fifteen different brands, I came to Aquila Nylguts, and stopped. Great sound on my instruments. So when the first uke I got, a Mainland tenor in mahogany, arrived bearing Aquilas, I thought, hey, perfect!

(The Mainland, by the by, is a great deal for the money, sounds and looks much better than it ought to for the price. It's just been swapped for another uke, which should be crossing in transit even as we speak. Doesn't take long to develop UAS, does it?)

But the Aquilas didn't do it for me. They were brighter and louder than I wanted, so I saddled up my steed, donned my armor, and went off looking for the Grail ...

It's all subjective, I know, but I tried Ko'olah Golds, Southcoasts with the C and G wound -- I'm a low-G guy -- and Worth Browns. Like the three bears, they were -- to my ears -- too soft, too hard, and just right. So I settled on the Worth's.

White apparently ships his with Worth Browns, and I could hear why, so I have been using them. Nice, woody tone, warm, just what I like.

However, I had also gotten a set of Living Water strings to try and I figured, what-the-heck, might as well ...

On this uke, they are the bees knees. They seem to the perfect blend of warm and loud, nice sustain, and I think maybe I've found the Grail. Least for this instrument and for now ...

Not that there is anything wrong with the other strings; only that to my fingers and ears, the Living Waters resonate.

Your mileage will almost certainly vary, but another vote for LW here.

Congratulations on finding strings that work for you. There's been lots of praise for Living Water strings. I've bought several sets but haven't tried them yet, although it's finally time for me to replace the Worth clears on my Kamaka tenor.

when the new Oasis Tenor strings come out give them a try..
I had a test set that I used with a Fremont Soloist polished wound LowG and it made my Kamaka HF3S sound more clear..and cleaner...and the strings felt better on my fingers than any other string I tried..

There is no over all uke strings...every uke would require their own strings according how they are built and what materials...you have to match them with their voice and use the
strings to make adjustments, you need to keep testing what work for your particula uke...but I do prefer, Oasis, martin, alohi's, and clear worths on some ukes...Happy testing and good luck....
Congrats on your new arrival to come the Puuwai....Happy Stummings..

mm stan said:

There is no over all uke strings...every uke would require their own strings according how they are built and what materials...you have to match them with their voice and use the
strings to make adjustments, you need to keep testing what work for your particula uke...but I do prefer, Oasis, martin, alohi's, and clear worths on some ukes...Happy testing and good luck....
Congrats on your new arrival to come the Puuwai....Happy Stummings..

Click to expand...

hey stan, out of curiosity, why alohi and not gold?