String recommendations for vintage sound

I've played guitar for a long time and have dabbled in the ukulele for a while, But I'm taking it more seriously now. I have a 1920s-30s koa soprano and enjoy trying to play in jazz/blues/Hawaiian crossover stuff from the same era - think Bennie Nawahi, Roy Smeck etc.

I'm looking for some recommendations for the best strings to achieve a vintage sound like those players. I've made a few searches of the archives here and there is a lot of advice but I haven't quite found what I'm looking for. I plan to experiment a bit with different string types but some recommendations for the right direction would be great!

Thanks!

The best strings I have found are made by Ko'olau.

http://koolauukulele.com/products-page/strings/
https://www.theukulelesite.com/accessories/strings/ko-olau-strings.html

Original strings of that vintage were (usually/always) made from gut. Aquila Nylguts are a modern synthetic material that aim to replicate the vintage gut string sound. I recommend that you try them.

anthonyg said:

Original strings of that vintage were (usually/always) made from gut. Aquila Nylguts are a modern synthetic material that aim to replicate the vintage gut string sound. I recommend that you try them.

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These along with traditional nylon strings from D'Addario which give a warmer more mellow tone.

I have D'Addario Titanium on my vintage sopranino birch camp uke and just got a set for my vintage solid mahogany soprano Silvertone.

Thanks for the tips. I've got some nylguts which will be my next move. I'll see how they sound and maybe try some of the other suggestions.

Plus, for Smeck tunes, you may want to try a D tuning, which can require a special set of D strings. Apparently, D tuning was the norm way back then on sopranos.

Ordinary Nylguts tune to D just fine.

Aquila also has a set of soprano Nylguts, specially designed for D tuning, so I assume there is a reason these are better than just tuning up a standard set. Probably string tension, and less stress on the instrument, which may be more important on a vintage uke. I have a set of Aquila D strings in my string collection here, and hope to try them on a vintage uke soon,

Lacerta said:

I've played guitar for a long time and have dabbled in the ukulele for a while, But I'm taking it more seriously now. I have a 1920s-30s koa soprano and enjoy trying to play in jazz/blues/Hawaiian crossover stuff from the same era - think Bennie Nawahi, Roy Smeck etc.

I'm looking for some recommendations for the best strings to achieve a vintage sound like those players. I've made a few searches of the archives here and there is a lot of advice but I haven't quite found what I'm looking for. I plan to experiment a bit with different string types but some recommendations for the right direction would be great!

Thanks!

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here's the "originals".
https://www.amazon.com/Aquila-Genuine-AQ-1-Soprano-Ukulele/dp/B00MXUJFEM
I just use the martin floro strings,about $5, my vintage martin sounds great with them.

strumsilly said:

I just use the martin floro strings,about $5, my vintage martin sounds great with them.

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I'm sure it does, but that will give nothing like the original sound with gut strings, which is what the OP is looking for. Nylguts are pretty close, giving jangly overtones which suit 20s/30s songs very well (though the original, rough-textured Nylguts were even more like gut than the New Nylgut strings).

For complete authenticity, gut strings are still available. But they're expensive, temperamental and can wear out fast, so I'd start with Nylguts.

I'm not sure why Aquila bothers with offering D tuning Nylguts - my 1920s Kumalae is as lightly built as they come, and plays very well with standard Nylguts tuned up to D (or down to C). I guess there must be a market for them, but I honestly don't think they'd play better and I'm sure they're not needed to keep the tension below what any vintage uke can stand. If you look at old sheet music you often find instructions to tune the uke anywhere between Bb and Eb, using the same set of strings.