revdj
Well-known member
Okay, so I started playing a couple of months ago, with a Malaka Dolphin. Fun, fun, fun! Some people said, "Oh! Get good strings ASAP!" Others were like "Oh! Don't worry about it." I decided not to get new strings for these reasons
1) I didn't know if I would like playing ukulele
2) I would be bad enough starting out that it would not make a difference
3) It is easier not to do something, than to do something
4) Good strings were going to be expensive
After a couple of months, while lord knows I'm not good, I can't honestly say I'm "bad." I strum chords in reasonable succession, and they sound like they are supposed to, and if it weren't for my singing the result would be pleasing to the ear.
So I was messing around on the internet and found out that Aquila strings (the kind lots of people here suggest) were... cheap. Like, "under ten dollars" cheap. I shopped around, found the least expensive price, and bought them.
Now - of course - was stringing them. I saw a you tube video, and it looked really hard, so I called a guitarist friend who agreed to help me. But me being a Dad and him being a Dad we were finding it hard to get together... so I watched another video.
This one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhC7b9XfRu4
There were clear explanations of what he was doing, a very clear camera angle, and he made it look straightforward. I got out my Uke, and followed along, and was able to restring it myself. By the end, I understood what I was doing to the point where next time (next time?) I won't need to watch a video. The video is 10 minutes long. It took me about 15 minutes to do the string change. Next time (next time?) it will probably take me much less time.
The result? I took the advice someone gave me on this forum (when my uke first arrived) and tuned the strings a note high and left it like that overnight, so today it is actually staying in tune. The strings feel noticeably different - they actually hurt my fingertips a little more, through the callouses
I can't describe how the sound is different - but it is different, and I think better. I will have to play a couple of days before I can tell how they sound when I'm not focusing on how they feel.
ANYway - Revdj's recommendation: Buy new strings or not, based on whatever, but do NOT be afraid of the cost, and do NOT be afraid of the changing process.
1) I didn't know if I would like playing ukulele
2) I would be bad enough starting out that it would not make a difference
3) It is easier not to do something, than to do something
4) Good strings were going to be expensive
After a couple of months, while lord knows I'm not good, I can't honestly say I'm "bad." I strum chords in reasonable succession, and they sound like they are supposed to, and if it weren't for my singing the result would be pleasing to the ear.
So I was messing around on the internet and found out that Aquila strings (the kind lots of people here suggest) were... cheap. Like, "under ten dollars" cheap. I shopped around, found the least expensive price, and bought them.
Now - of course - was stringing them. I saw a you tube video, and it looked really hard, so I called a guitarist friend who agreed to help me. But me being a Dad and him being a Dad we were finding it hard to get together... so I watched another video.
This one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhC7b9XfRu4
There were clear explanations of what he was doing, a very clear camera angle, and he made it look straightforward. I got out my Uke, and followed along, and was able to restring it myself. By the end, I understood what I was doing to the point where next time (next time?) I won't need to watch a video. The video is 10 minutes long. It took me about 15 minutes to do the string change. Next time (next time?) it will probably take me much less time.
The result? I took the advice someone gave me on this forum (when my uke first arrived) and tuned the strings a note high and left it like that overnight, so today it is actually staying in tune. The strings feel noticeably different - they actually hurt my fingertips a little more, through the callouses
I can't describe how the sound is different - but it is different, and I think better. I will have to play a couple of days before I can tell how they sound when I'm not focusing on how they feel.ANYway - Revdj's recommendation: Buy new strings or not, based on whatever, but do NOT be afraid of the cost, and do NOT be afraid of the changing process.
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