5 string ukulele - string options

sirwhale

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Hi, I have comissioned a 5 string tenor and have been thinking a lot of about the set of strings that would work well. I like to fingerpick.

The obvious option would be to go for a living water set for 5 string tenors but I've been thinking about the possibility of having the G and C strings wound. If this were a good idea (please tell me if you disagree) what would be a good combination considering the other 3 strings? and what would I use for the wound strings?

Cheers

Christian
 
if I had a 5 string tenor, it would definitely be fluorocarbon like worths and for the low G would be a fremont soloist smooth wound. its sounds so sweet and feels so smooth and I like the bronze goldish color. but overall strings are fairly cheap, just experiment and have fun.

Hi, I have comissioned a 5 string tenor and have been thinking a lot of about the set of strings that would work well. I like to fingerpick.

The obvious option would be to go for a living water set for 5 string tenors but I've been thinking about the possibility of having the G and C strings wound. If this were a good idea (please tell me if you disagree) what would be a good combination considering the other 3 strings? and what would I use for the wound strings?

Cheers

Christian
 
Eventhough I still have a wound string on my ohana 5 string, I have changed all others to flurocarbon low g.

The wound string to me can sound too boomy and out of balance, and you get too much string noise when shifting....

I recently change one of my main ukes my mya moe to a flurocarbon string and like it much better.

On the other hand, a wound string gives it more of a guitar sound.... You can check out my video,with a wound low g 5 stringer here http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?92524-Falling-Slowly-Ukulele-Cover-Instrumental-Vocal

You can always try it both ways but be aware that most flurocarbon strings may require a slightly wider slot in the nut for it. I actually had to adjust the nut on my mya moe when I switched.
 
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Eventhough I still have a wound string on my ohana 5 string, I have changed all others to flurocarbon low g.

The wound string to me can sound too boomy and out of balance, and you get too much string noise when shifting....

I recently change one of my main ukes my mya moe to a flurocarbon string and like it much better.

On the other hand, a wound string gives it more of a guitar sound.... You can check out my video,with a wound low g 5 stringer here http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?92524-Falling-Slowly-Ukulele-Cover-Instrumental-Vocal

You can always try it both ways but be aware that most flurocarbon strings may require a slightly wider slot in the nut for it. I actually had to adjust the nut on my mya moe when I switched.

Use the Fremont Soloist polished squeakless low G. Problem solved.
 
I'd never heard of the fremont squeakless. Just been ordered to try it out and with a set of guadalupe for the rest. I'll have a set of living water strings too so It'll be nice to compare.
 
Would be good to discuss this with Southcoast too
 
I tried Martin m600 with Fremont soloist squeakless wound low g on my 5-string concert. This combination sounds beautiful--very clear yet warm. When it's time to replace the strings I'll be trying out Fremont Blacklines medium tension with la Bella wound low g.
 
If you decide to go with wounds it's real hard to beat the chromium flat wound classical guitar strings from Thomastik-Infeld. I've been using these on my Pono baritone in standard linear tuning for quite a while now and love them. They've got nice tone, don't corrode as quickly as most, and balance against the fluorocarbon plain strings quite nicely. You'd have to experiment with gages for a tenor, of course. I use the CF35 (.035") on the D and the CF30 (.030") on the G on the baritone. I think the CF30 would be a good place to start for the low G on a tenor.

John
 
So, while waiting impatiently, I tried out the guadalupe strings with the fremont squeakless. I´m very happy with the sound, especially the A and E string, my ukulele appears to be louder and I like it. I think however, that the C string (guadalupe) does not hold its own and ends up being the string that is out of balance. It doesn´t appear to have enough weight behind it and the tension feels less than the E and A string. Has anyone else found this?
 
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