Baritone Strings - Worth Clears

igorthebarbarian

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I just tried putting some new Worth Clears on an old Harmony Baritone and yuck. It has a super-floppy D string. I do not like the feel of it. I mean, I like low action/low tension, but sheeesh...

I love Worth Clears in general, but not in baritone. In looking on here, it sounds like they had to increase the size of the string to make it hit that low D sound. And since they're Clears, they had to be fluorocarbon, which I generally prefer, but it feels goofy on this size.

I had a cheap set of Martin M630's on before and those were nice, even though they had wound D & G strings which wore out quick. As a bonus, the Martin M630 baritone strings are really quite cheap on Amazon at $4.56, which is great value.

Seeing that Worths cost $16.30 on elderly (granted you do get two sets) but they're quite the premium vs. the Martin M630's.

Given the "value" consideration, do you have any other baritone string suggestions?
 
I have three baritones. I tried many sets for my Favilla, Flurocarbons, Ko'olau Golds, Living Waters etc. It never really sounded right til I put on a set of wound nylon strings which brought back that smokey, bluesy sound of a vintage Favilla.

I'm on the same quest you are; finding a good string for the baris. Right now I have the Ko'olau Golds on my Webber, they sound a bit bright. It's a Koa/Spruce top so that may be the reason. Mike at hMS suggested trying Worth Browns for the 1&2 string with wound Hilos for the 3&4 for my Martin. I like the thicker string and they seem to be the ones for the Martin. the Worths were really expensive considering I just used the 1&2.

I'm finding my vintage baris prefer a nylon string while my newer Webber prefers the flurocarbons. Both the vintage ones are Mahogany so I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I think a wound D string has more tension that a non-wound making it less floppy. I may be wrong but that's the impression I get.
 
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I like Living Waters on my Bruko bari. I have a "custom" set which I think is really a low G tenor set. I have it tuned to Linear A tuning, so two semitones above normal DGBE. If you're really floppy at normal tuning, you could try going up a semitone or two and see if you like that. I'm guessing an old Harmony has 19" scale like the Bruko so your mileage may be similar to mine
 
I've tried many baritone strings,,, so far my favourite is Ko'olau Alohi.
It's the only baritone strings that I find has the ideal tension, thickness and tone.

It will feel heavier than the Worth's.
 
After trying 4-5 different brands, I'm back with Worth clears plus a guitar wound 4th string. I've not found an unwound 4th that isn't floppy and muddy.
I prefer them on my old Martin as well as my recently made Graziano and Mya Moe.
I'm glad there is a wide variety in strings. We're all looking for a different sound I think.
 
I've tried many baritone strings,,, so far my favourite is Ko'olau Alohi.
It's the only baritone strings that I find has the ideal tension, thickness and tone.

It will feel heavier than the Worth's.
I like these too. lots of options too. I just ordered 2 sets with the 2 wound bases from HMS, one tenor and one bari., only about a buck for shipping too. I have heard these are made by Diaddorio and are the same as the titanium, just slightly diff diameters. great strings at a great price.
 
I like the sound of the martin 630's but its ridiculous how fast the 2 wounds wear out. I seems after only 2 or 3 sessions they are leaving metal dust on my fretboard.
 
I really like Worth Browns on my tenors. Put some on my Ohana BK-20 and hated them for the floppiness.

Put on some Ko'olau Golds and they're much better. Still have a couple other sets to try, but I'm not one who enjoys string changing so these will stay on for now.
 
I've tried many baritone strings,,, so far my favourite is Ko'olau Alohi.
It's the only baritone strings that I find has the ideal tension, thickness and tone.

It will feel heavier than the Worth's.

I had Southcoast Light Guage Linear strings (GCEA) and like them very much. I decided today to go back to DGBE tuning and put on some Worth Clears. The D string was WAY too loose. Then I put on some Ko'olau Golds and am liking them so far.
 
Southcoasts or Guadalupe fiber core's. With either each string is chosen for optimal tension for a given scale length, not just lengthened generics
 
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Wow, thanks for all of the advice. I laugh that nearly everyone recommended a completely different set of strings from each other!

Anyway, after posting this originally last night, I "wound" up (pun intended!) using an extra "D" wound string from a D'addario regular acoustic guitar EJ-16 set, which is basically what jackwhale suggested above, and that sounds pretty good.

There are almost too many options! There is UAS, but then there is also some sort of string-neurosis-syndrome, in continually tinkering and trying to find the perfect set for each uke.
 
What about Aquila Nylguts? They feel and sound great on my baritone.

I find that Aquila baritones only work (at least according to my experience) on ukes with a high-action.
On a uke that is professionally setup with a low action, the tension is way too low, and I really dislike the thin and floppy feel.

The tension of Aquila nylguts is really good on soprano, concert and tenor... but I feel that the baritone is too loose.
At least on ukes with a comfortably low setup.
On a cheap factory uke with a high setup, it works OK.
 
I've found this discussion interesting. I have a Pono Baritone that's been strung with the strings Mim sends out. I've been so happy with it that it's about the only things I've been playing the last couple of months. This morning I went to take it down to use at a Senior Center and the D string has come apart at the bridge. The metal core is the only thing still attached. Okay, I can take my Kamaka and try to remember where to put my fingers, but now I need to replace what I had or something stronger. I really liked having the D & G wound. (Our local shop is closed cause of the Holiday so I do have a day to think about what to get. I pluck down on the D string every other strum down so that might have made it fray sooner? Thanks.
 
...the D string has come apart at the bridge. The metal core is the only thing still attached... now I need to replace what I had or something stronger. I really liked having the D & G wound. (Our local shop is closed cause of the Holiday so I do have a day to think about what to get. I pluck down on the D string every other strum down so that might have made it fray sooner?
Wound strings simply do not last as long as plain strings. On classical guitar, I typically go thru 3 sets of (wound) basses for every set of (plain) trebles.

Fraying at the saddle is common because there is more tension at that point.
 
I have Living Waters on my Favilla Baritone, and I love them - but I am probably going for a different sound. I mostly play classical on bari, so I am not looking for a "bluesy" sound.
 
I have tries several sets on my LoPrinzi model B mahogany baritone. The Martins are fine, but the wound strings wear too quickly for me. I have a set of Living Water Low D on it now. The low D is too large for the nut slot and I didn't want to commit to them yet, so I took a wound low D from a set of Martin 630s. It came strung with Southcoast linear GCEA strings from another UU member and they sounded nice too, but I want a low D. Think I'll try the Ko'olau Alohi. The experiment continues.
 
I have tries several sets on my LoPrinzi model B mahogany baritone. The Martins are fine, but the wound strings wear too quickly for me. I have a set of Living Water Low D on it now. The low D is too large for the nut slot and I didn't want to commit to them yet, so I took a wound low D from a set of Martin 630s. It came strung with Southcoast linear GCEA strings from another UU member and they sounded nice too, but I want a low D. Think I'll try the Ko'olau Alohi. The experiment continues.
just put the tenor set of Alohi w/ 2 wounds on my MP. I still settling in, but the tension felt high so I drop tuned it and I like it better.
 
Can't speak on when they'll get packaged (we just finished up the tension), but the new GHS baritone set (which is a mix of wound and fluoro strings) is really nice. I've been playing my bari at home quite regularly, and they're holding up well, and sound very nice. They let the instrument speak, and are a nice tension.
 
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