Uncoiling C

Hi all. I was just wondering about a problem I'm having with the C string on my uke. Back in October or November, I put on Aquila Nylgut High G, Coiled C tenor strings on my tenor uke. Within the first few weeks, a dent started appearing on the coil where it touches the second fret. Soon thereafter, the dent got worst and it started uncoiling at that point. I flipped the string around so that the "hole" in the string was now over the body the uke and nowhere near the the frets. Soon, other dents and 'holes' started appearing around other parts of the string as a result of touching the frets when pushed down. And now, the string is an uncoiling, prickly mess.

So I had to replace the Aquila C string (which I was very satistfied with the warm and vibrant tone it produced) with the original GHS C string the uke came with (which is thicker and can take a better beating, plus can make the seat I'm sittting on or any walls nearby vibrate, but is more stubborn to handle and dull in tone, therefore making strumming very muddy sounding)

So here's the algorithmic set of questions:

Is it the string's fault (1) or mine (2)?

(1) Strings Fault:
---------------------



(2) My Fault:
---------------------

Thanks!

I've had problems with aquila wound strings before, so I don't think its you. If you still want to use aquila you can also get sets with unwound Cs.

could it an unusually sharp area on the fret where the string touches?

i'm just speculating so don't mind me too much

Welcome to the forums!

I have also had problem with wound strings coming apart both on guitar and ukulele (but not Aquilas, since I have never tried their wound C's...the unwound one sounds good enough for me.) I have tried GHS on guitar, and Ko'olau Golds and Hilos on the uke, and they have all had problems with coming apart. I also dislike wound strings because they tend to stand out and provide more volume than the other strings. And I have seen them grind into my bridges, which has not been good.

So to answer your questions:
1a) Don't know, but they have come apart with my wound strings in general. I'd suggest that you go with a full unwound set of aquilas or worth clears.
1b) Probably not a flaw in your set. I'd go with an unwound set of aquilas, you'll probably like it just as much, and no it's not bad to have different sets. You can play with different sets on at the same time to tweak the kind of sound you like...a bit too much for me, since I'm lazy, but there are people that do it.

2a) You probably did nothing wrong. But I have also seen my wound strings rust, so watch out for that.
2b) Nah, no worries.

Best of luck with your string search.

Ah good! Thanks for the responses and the welcome. It's good to know that I'm not the only one whose had that problem on the wound string.

I know what you guys mean about wound strings though, and if you guys say so, I will buy unwound strings, if it sounds just like the wound strings anyway. I really like the coiled strings though because of the sustain, as I'm more of a plucker on the uke than a strummer (I play like WS64's style of playing on YouTube). I also like the way it feels, and to some degree, the aesthetic of it. I'll find some sort of balance on the trade off there. I sure wish though that they sold coiled strings separately so that I wouldn't have to buy the whole pack of strings.

could it an unusually sharp area on the fret where the string touches?

i'm just speculating so don't mind me too much

Click to expand...

No sir/ma'am. I would have sanded down rough edges a while ago if there were, as I don't want to injure myself innocently playing the ukulele