Strings Recommendations for baritone strings?

[BostonUke]

Hi.

I've recently taken up the baritone and I *love* it. As a failed guitar player (short, stubby fingers that could never reach the spreads with my left hand) and a pretty decent standard uke player, baritone seems like a really cool compromise.

I love Aquila strings and have them all on my ukes, but the ones they make for baritone, the two wound strings seems to be really poor quality. I've already had to replace them several times on both my and my kids' ukes (and they are not rough players). From a bit of poking around online, it seems I'm not alone in my experience.

Anybody have a better suggestion for baritone, like maybe the D'Addarios? I have heard mixed things about them. Or others?

And while I'm asking, anybody have a set they like for tenor with a Low G?

Thanks. Glad to have found this group!
Boston

 

[Ukulele Eddie]

I have Southcoast Heavy Mediums on my Kinnard baritone. I'm typically tuning linear G or linear A and they've been quite good.

I put the Aquila Carbonblacks on one of my tenors recently (tuned re-entrant Bb) and like them a lot. A whole lot. When I ordered them, I also ordered a baritone set (linear) and will try those next on the baritone.

Personally, I do not like D'Addarios. I find them too hard and generally higher tension than I like. Of course, personal preference matters hugely in which strings work best for somebody.

Good luck!

 

[JackLuis]

Worth Browns work nice on my Bari, for Linear G. For Re-entrant G the Worth Brown FAT Tenors are great and the same size but for the High D string (0.316 vs 03.58"). I've only tried the Browns and the Aquila's which failed shortly after I got my Uke.

 

[Kimosabe]

I'll second Ukulele Eddie on the Southcoast heavy mediums, on my Kanilea spruce top baritone and my Pono chambered body electric baritone.

 

[SailingUke]

Living Waters all around.
Baritone strings are available in linear and re-entrant.

 

[Croaky Keith]

Another vote for Living Water flourocarbon strings, no wounds, have them on all my good ukes, cedar topped Kala bari & solid mahogany Ohana tenor scaled long necks (& my RISA's).

 

[DownUpDave]

I prefer wound strings for the D and G and the Martin M630 is a good inexpensive baritone set. The D'Addario Titanium baritone set is not bad, I like their wounds, trebles are thicker and warmer than the Martins. South Coast do make a primo string, Light Heavy gauge (LHL-WB) are best suited for medium tension in DGBE tuning.

For a tenor low G set with a wound G the Oasis warm are a great string set, double length package, two sets for the price of one.

 

[Booli]

For bari linear G tuning, I use polished flatwound guitar A and D strings for the bari 4th and 3rd, specifically Thomastik-Infeld CF35 and CF30 singles.

If you wish to avoid wound strings, my next best recommendation is the Aquila red singles (I believe the red sets come with wound strings instead). I recommend against any unwound fluorocarbon or nylon string for the low D—too dull, thuddy and flabby.

For reentrant G tuning ("high D") I've found the Living Water set to be good.

+1 I'm with ubu on the TF stings, paired with the trebles from Worth Brown (BB) for linear, and the LW strings for re-entrant.

 

[mountain goat]

If you want to go a wound set, my honest experience is that every single set disintegrates quickly,
at the low D and G (the two bass strings).
No doubt though, to me, that the southcoast sets are the most sturdy of what is available.
As a compromise - and it is a compromise - (because you certainly lose volume, tone, depth and resonance)
is the worth brown unwound or living water sets.

 

[Booli]

...is the worth brown unwound or living water sets.

they are all fluoro, unwound, see:

http://worthc.to/english/w_strings.html

and

http://www.kenmiddleton.co.uk/living-water-strings/

 

[LimousinLil]

If you want to go a wound set, my honest experience is that every single set disintegrates quickly,
at the low D and G (the two bass strings).
No doubt though, to me, that the southcoast sets are the most sturdy of what is available.
As a compromise - and it is a compromise - (because you certainly lose volume, tone, depth and resonance)
is the worth brown unwound or living water sets.

And I can confirm that ... I just opened the case of my "Big Bari" and the G string has disintegrated!

 

[DownUpDave]

I have used D'Addario classical guitar strings for my wounds with great success. My Kamaka and Gianinni have had them on there for close to 6 months with no issues. This is their second set and I play them a lot. I use the Silverplated Wound NYL035W for the D string (.035") and NYL030W for the G string (.030")

They work well for low G tenor in .030" and if you like a wound C string the .028" or .026". All can be had from Strings by Mail for $1.99 each.

 

[manfromtexas]

I just put the new (or newly discovered at least) Hannabach ukulele baritone strings on my Bari - but paired the two Hannabach wounds strings up with Martin trebles and it sounds DE LIC IOUS.

I've always been a guy that avoided the squeak - but I'm having a real change of heart now. I had a set of Hannabachs for classical guitar laying around, but I had accidentally ordered the regular set where I had meant to order the polished (squeakless). So I had been sitting on them. Well I put them on the classical guitar in a what the heck moment and man that guitar sprang to life!! I quickly ordered more for a second classical that's kind of my beater classical and it sounds great too.

So that's what led me to try the Hannabach uke strings. If you like the basses on your guitars, you'll like them on your uke as well. Can't speak to the trebles - I haven't put them on yet because I like black nylon on my guitars.

Embrace the squeak is my new motto. I love the squeak now

 

[Tootler]

Mine came with Aquilas but the wound D & G very quickly showed wear so I replaced them with Living Water and though I wasn't sure about the sound at first as they settled so the sound improved. Very happy with them now. Don't miss the wounds at all.

 

[banditcosmo]

I just put D'Addario Titaniums on my Mya-Moe. I'm not sure how I like them yet.
How long does it take for the strings to settle down and stay in tune on a uke ? This was my first string change and I'm struggling to keep it in tune.

 

[DownUpDave]

I just put D'Addario Titaniums on my Mya-Moe. I'm not sure how I like them yet.
How long does it take for the strings to settle down and stay in tune on a uke ? This was my first string change and I'm struggling to keep it in tune.

It takes at least 5-7 hrs of playing time for most strings to stretch out and stabilize. Some strings take more time some take less. If I am playing an instrument an hour a day I find 3 days in they start holding their tuning and a week in they are sounding about as good as they will get.

 

[One Man And His Uke]

I have recently put Aquila carbon blacks on my bari. With the previous Aquila nylguts, the wound G started to come undone fairly quickly. I've had this issue with the G before, never the D though for some reason. Can't remember who I bought them from but they replaced the G without quibble. I had it on for a good few months before getting the carbons and it was fine then. The wounds that came with the carbon blacks are holding up fine at the moment too.....( famous last words...)

 

[cletus]

Wound Strings Aquila Baritone

Mine came with Aquilas but the wound D & G very quickly showed wear so I replaced them with Living Water and though I wasn't sure about the sound at first as they settled so the sound improved. Very happy with them now. Don't miss the wounds at all.

I totally agree...

I picked up an Ohana BK-10 at The Folk Shop in Tucson recently. Great folks, wonderful store with a nice selection.

Same story with the Aquila strings, only lasted 9 days before the wound G string came apart at the bridge. Both wound strings showed signs of wearing immediately.

I picked up two sets of the Living Water strings with the "high D tuning" that I've seen on YouTube with Ken Middleton... pretty much why I got a baritone. I'm looking forward to hearing how they sound.

 

[Tootler]

Mine came with Aquilas but the wound D & G very quickly showed wear so I replaced them with Living Water and though I wasn't sure about the sound at first as they settled so the sound improved. Very happy with them now. Don't miss the wounds at all.

I totally agree...

I picked up an Ohana BK-10 at The Folk Shop in Tucson recently. Great folks, wonderful store with a nice selection.

Same story with the Aquila strings, only lasted 9 days before the wound G string came apart at the bridge. Both wound strings showed signs of wearing immediately.

I picked up two sets of the Living Water strings with the "high D tuning" that I've seen on YouTube with Ken Middleton... pretty much why I got a baritone. I'm looking forward to hearing how they sound.

Mine were OK at the bridge, but they rapidly wore at the frets. I got a low D living water set and the low D sounded a bit dull at first but as it settled it improved and I really like it now.

Oddly enough, the wound low A on my 6 string tenor has been much better but it's starting to wear and I've just ordered a custom LW set as a replacement. I changed the strings to LW from Aquila on my 8 string tenor quite quickly and it's made a big difference to the tone.

 

[bratsche]

At first, I went through a couple of D'Addario wound low E classical strings as my low G (I tune my baritone GDAE) and they rapidly wore out at the frets. Then I put on a Thomastik .045 flatwound, which has outlasted both of them and is still going strong.

bratsche