Martin 620 tenor + Aquila wound G

After playing several Kinnard ukes with Worth CT/Aquila wound G strings at Reno last week, I came away thinking that lighter tenor builds such as the Kinnards and my MP can really benefit from strings that can activate the thinner woods used in these ukes.

So, I ordered some Worth CTs and Aquila Wound G strings. While I was at it, I also picked up a couple of sets of Martin 620s. When it came time to change strings, I decided to start out using the slightly thicker Martins along with the Aquila Wound G. The result was pretty impressive.

The G is loud and clear. Sustain is better than any low G string I have tried yet. My guess is that the Aquila will not last as long as solid CD low Gs, but the difference in tone, volume and clarity might just make more frequent G string changes worth the effort. The Martins make for a nice balanced tone across all four strings. I also like the slightly thicker feel of the Martins for finger picking.

The combo of Martins and the single Aquila is less expensive than Worth CTs and the Aquila G, even when you factor in the double length Worths.

Cool! I've found that another good combination on light builds (my Boat Paddle 5-string, for example) is a combination of Worth CT strings with a Thomastic-Infeld CF30 chrome flat wound classical guitar string for the low G. The TI string blends really well with the brightness of the CT strings and, while they are expensive, they also last close to twice as long as other wound strings.

The most important thing to take away is the idea of mixing string sets. Sometimes just one string out of a set, when mixed with others, gives you a better sound than any one manufacturer's idea of what "perfect" is.


John