Strings & Favilla or Older Uke

prairieschooner

prairieschooner

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I have a 50's Favilla Soprano and would like some advice on Strings. I am concerned about Strings with too much tension or that could harm this older ukulele.
I was advised in another thread about Feemont Blacklines but when went to find them I read High Tension and that concerns me.

I bet that this is as personal as the Ukulele though. I know that there must have been a discussion about this but couldn't find it.
Thanks in advance!
 
Hi Prarierschooner, I am all about vintage. I happen to own three Favilla built instruments, and I love them. To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it unless you see a problem with your bridge already. They were built to hold string tension, and unless your Favilla bridge is problematic in some way, it shouldn't cause an issue to use any regular ukulele strings you like. Just because a ukulele is 60+ years old, it doesn't necessarily mean that the bridge is likely to give way. Now, if you leave it in a hot car for a while, I can pretty much assure you that the heat will soften the glue, and lots of glue joints will start to let go.

I tend to like Martin M600 on most of my vintage ukuleles, but you are right, it is personal preference.
 
You might want to try the Martins. I've heard/played one of RyanMFT's Favilas and it sound and plays sweet.
 
Yes any light fleurocarbons will work nice....martins, worths lights, and My favorite...Oasis strings...
 
I haven't seen any systematic studies comparing uke string tension, but in the world of classical guitar strings there can be a lot of variance. One brand's "high" tension might be equivalent to another brand's "medium" and vice versa.

I wouldn't put tenor or bari strings on a soprano. By design, they are intended for larger instruments and will have more tension and a heavier gauge.

Some brands sell the same set as soprano/concert. If you are really concerned about tension, I would stick with a brand that sells sets made solely for soprano, as they will generally be a thinner gauge/lower tension than a concert set.
 
I have Fremont blackline mediums on several Favillas ranging from the 20's to 50's. On a vintage uke, sometimes a bridge will pop off with modern strings but it typically can be reglued easily. There's another thread on this topic on the board right now.
 
garyg said:
I have Fremont blackline mediums on several Favillas ranging from the 20's to 50's. On a vintage uke, sometimes a bridge will pop off with modern strings but it typically can be reglued easily. There's another thread on this topic on the board right now.
Click to expand...
Please include a link or the title and Sub Forum. This is the sort of issue that I would like to avoid if in any way possible!
 
you can find it yourself fairly easily, it's titled Fremont Blacklines .....
 
Bill1 said:
When you are looking at the string blurbs look for a data field called string tension. As you go through the strings make yourself a table using this feild. The units are interesting, but you do not need to know what they are as long as you keep using the same units. In general, for a uke that you want to be careful with, you look for strings with low tension, this means that when look at the table you make, you look for the strings with the lowest number.
You will help a lot of people if you refrain from posting your table and letting people do the work to make their own.
Click to expand...

Now that is what I have been looking for although so far the actual Tension is harder to find than expected. So far at least Martin has a reference on their package, still don't know how accurate that information is since they don't reference a "Standard"
 
My Favilla baritone seems to like nylons over the fluros. They really bring out that deep, bluesy sound of a F. 'hog baritone; It beats out my Martin for that sound with the same strings.

Tom Favilla would tell you that unless you've strung the uke with steel strings there should be no issue with tension. Especially a soprano. I wrote him regarding the issue as My F. was strung with steel 1&4. He was pretty adamant about the imtegrity of the uke.

I wouldn't be too concerned with string tension other than if you like a high or low tensioned string for your style of playing. I fingerpick and like a high tension string.

Once you find the right string, you'll hear why Favilla is so well loved.


.
 
Patrick Madsen said:
My Favilla baritone seems to like nylons over the fluros. They really bring out that deep, bluesy sound of a F. 'hog baritone; It beats out my Martin for that sound with the same strings.

Tom Favilla would tell you that unless you've strung the uke with steel strings there should be no issue with tension. Especially a soprano. I wrote him regarding the issue as My F. was strung with steel 1&4. He was pretty adamant about the imtegrity of the uke.

I wouldn't be too concerned with string tension other than if you like a high or low tensioned string for your style of playing. I fingerpick and like a high tension string.

Once you find the right string, you'll hear why Favilla is so well loved.


.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I didn't think about emailing Tom although I would rather not subject this great older ukulele to undue stress. I know that the newer epoxy/glues are superior in many regards to those that were available in the day. From what I have been able to read, the Favilla was a very well built Ukulele and does have a great sound all to it's own.
Still no reason for a beginner to make a horrible mistake, great to have this advice!
 
I have a 50's Favilla soprano that sings like bird with Martin soprano strings (a very loud little bird when needed - it's louder than some tenors I own). Never had any problem with the bridge. Love that combination of uke and strings.
 
Oddly, I think, Aquilas seem to work great for many vintage Martin soprano owners. It's as if the old mahogany "tames" them.
 
PhilUSAFRet said:
Oddly, I think, Aquilas seem to work great for many vintage Martin soprano owners. It's as if the old mahogany "tames" them.
Click to expand...

I think Phil has an excellent point, but what I think is at the root of it is whether you like a very bright plinky sound from your vintage instrument (Aquilas) or if you like a richer, more complex sound (Fremonts, Worths, etc.). BTW Prairie, if everyone's using the same units then you don't need a standard, you just need to know what higher and lower values mean - it's the comparison that counts.
 
That is what I am questioning so far (garyg). Not sure if they all using some sort of standard and how that standard compares to other manufacturers. So Far I am seeing "Medium" "Fat" "Hard" or not at all while others are using Inch Pounds with the lower ones around 29.3 to 30 inch pounds.
This has opened an interesting thought process (thanks Bill1). I have a great older Favilla and want to be sure that a simple mistake doesn't ruin it.
thanks for all of the advice so far...what a learning curve!
 
garyg said:
I think Phil has an excellent point, but what I think is at the root of it is whether you like a very bright plinky sound from your vintage instrument (Aquilas) or if you like a richer, more complex sound (Fremonts, Worths, etc.). BTW Prairie, if everyone's using the same units then you don't need a standard, you just need to know what higher and lower values mean - it's the comparison that counts.
Click to expand...

To clarify what I'm saying, Aquilas do not give me a bright, plinky sound on my vintage Martin O. Based on several posts I've read on UU, Aquilas give that "richer, more complex sound that you assume can only be achieved by those other strings to some vintage ukes. We are talking about vintage ukes and I'm sure you will agree that no strings, including Aquilas, sound the same on all ukes. I have read some posts here where players have switched "to" Aquila strings and ended up with a mellower sound. Tough to generalize sometimes. But overall, I know what you are trying to get at, just doesn't apply all the time. :shaka:
 
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