Low G strings

Ukecaster

Ukecaster

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I've only been playing low G on one of my tenors for about 1 year. As recommended by many, I've always used a Fremont Soloist, which I like. While restringing the other day, I realized I was out of Fremonts, so I rummaged around and found a leftover brand new Living Waters flouro low G. So far, I really like that too, and was wondering what is the reason so many use wound low G, like the Fremont, as this LW low G seems excellent. Why do some think the Fremont is better than plain flouro low G? Is it boominess or something on flouro low G strings?
 
Sometimes personal preference, sometimes it's the uke. I really like the LW low G too on my 5-string but the Worth Brown low G is "just ok" on another uke. I'm getting a Soloist (I think) on a new concert scale because I don't think either of those unwounds would work well on the shorter scale.
 
How thick is this LW string? I am not aware of that brand will have to check if strings&beyond carries them. I don't like wound strings at all as they only last a few weeks.
 
merlin666 said:
How thick is this LW string? I am not aware of that brand will have to check if strings&beyond carries them. I don't like wound strings at all as they only last a few weeks.
Click to expand...

Living Water strings are only available from Uke Republic in the US, or from Ken Middleton in the UK. I'm in the US and have ordered from them both. I think Ken was even faster in getting the strings to me, in spite of it coming from another country. (Uke Republic is sometimes out of stock, in all fairness, and Uke Republic is great to order from, too.)

My recollection is that the LW low g is thick, which is one reason I don't use that low g. I don't want to have to modify my ukuleles.
I buy reentrant sets, and use the Freemont for the low g.
 
I have the Kamaka wound Low G on a concert and the Worth brown fluorocarbon Low G on a tenor.
In my very limited experience, the wound seems to have a longer sustain than the fluorocarbon.
 
Well, for me, it's a matter of unwound ones not fitting in the nut slot properly and having poor intonation up the neck. Using a wound low G is an easy way to fix that problem without modifying the uke.
 
robinboyd said:
Well, for me, it's a matter of unwound ones not fitting in the nut slot properly and having poor intonation up the neck. Using a wound low G is an easy way to fix that problem without modifying the uke.
Click to expand...
ditto this. The unwound was very thick and I did not want to commit to widening the nut slot to accommodate it. Very happy with Fremont soloist and have not had a problem with them not lasting long.
 
for me, it is just a subjective thing. I always use unwound and always will. I don't like the unresponsiveness of wound G strings, I don't like the feel or the sound of them. I don't like the sound as you slide down them--that zipper sound--and I don't think the wound string matches the sound of the unwound strings and I find that difference disconcerting.

That's just my take. Obviously, if you don't share my view, then the whole argument is invalid. So, as I said, it is just a personal thing for me.
 
I've always used the classical guitar strings the luthier recommended on my Kawika tenor. At one point, he changed the G string recommendation to a D'Addario Pro-Arte D Light Silver Plater Copper Wound .028 I've always had great success with them ever since. They sound great and hardly ever break. When I got a tenor Fluke, I tried unwound low Gs on it and didn't like them. I soon started using the D'Addario low G on the Fluke, too. I got a Fluke with a rosewood fretboard so it could handle wound strings.
 
ripock said:
for me, it is just a subjective thing. I always use unwound and always will. I don't like the unresponsiveness of wound G strings, I don't like the feel or the sound of them. I don't like the sound as you slide down them--that zipper sound--and I don't think the wound string matches the sound of the unwound strings and I find that difference disconcerting.

That's just my take. Obviously, if you don't share my view, then the whole argument is invalid. So, as I said, it is just a personal thing for me.
Click to expand...

I agree with Ripock. I really dislike the sound of a wound G or C for that matter. To me they dominate the other strings with their constant "Whang! Whang! Whang!" sounds. I have tried the Freemont soloist hoping it would be better, but while subtler, it was still there. The squeak from moving up and down the string was also present. Reduced, but still annoying.

I usually keep the strings that are on any uke I buy for at least a week before I put something else on. I have Living Waters re-entrant and Low-G strings on most of my tenors. (Worth Browns High-g and Freemont Black Low-Gs on the other ukes.)

I also don't like nylon strings, (except on a banjolele), for the same reason. The "Whang! Whang! Whang!" sound.

But, I realize I am in the minority on this.
 
I really like Living Waters strings, but I find their low G sounds "plunky" and too thick. The Fremont Soloist or the TI CF30 are much more vibrant and go well with most fluorocarbon strings. The Fremont is not always available. A good replacement is the La Bella Uke-Pro 100-G, also polished/wound. (It may be the same string just branded differently?).
 
One pleasant “low G” surprise for me was finding how nicely the wound low g string from a set of super nylguts goes with the Martin 600s I have on my Kolohe mahogany concert. It’s as if they were a set.
 
I prefer low g. I’ve experimented with several. My favorite is the Pepe Romero low g. It’s wound but has almost zero slide noise. Blends beautifully. I’ve had them on several different instruments and have found them to be my string of choice. They can be purchased as a single string.
 
My preference for the Freemont low G is solely becomes it isn't as boomy as other low G strings I've come across. A lot of the ones I had tried would drown out the higher strings.
 
about2 said:
I prefer low g. I’ve experimented with several. My favorite is the Pepe Romero low g. It’s wound but has almost zero slide noise. Blends beautifully. I’ve had them on several different instruments and have found them to be my string of choice. They can be purchased as a single string.
Click to expand...

+1 for Romero low g. I find the blend of the smooth wound with the higher strings is quite balanced in the sets he sells. I use them on my tenors.
 
So far the discussion here has centered on fluorocarbon and wound strings. While there is a good selection of wound string options I feel that they change their sound too fast and wear out too soon to be usable for me. I did not try fluorocarbon low G because the mainstream makers like Martin and d'Addario don't have them. The only low G FC available from strings & beyond are Worth, and they are so expensive and the choice between colours, hardness types, and thicknesses is a bit overwhelming for me

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

However, what was not mentioned yet are the red Aquila low G strings. They are great as they incorporate copper powder to increase their weight, so they behave like wound strings but last forever. I have one on my tenor and it's been going string for four years! Also have one as a low A on my six-string and the sound is fantastic, bright and punchy. Unfortunately, information on Aquila string thickness is hard to impossible to find for comparison.
 
Okay, not sure if this is where this belongs but it seems to partially fit. I have a Little Gem. It’s concert scale as many of you might know. I’ve been wondering about strings. Also, I was wondering about restringing it to low G. I am a newbie so I’m not sure it can go low G, but I’m sure it can with a little work.....the question is what brand?

I’ve been doing some reading but can’t seem to get a recommendation on the Little Gem. They came with Nylgut. Someone indicated that Martin has excellent strings. Any help will be appreciated. Thanx.
 
uke4ia said:
I've always used the classical guitar strings the luthier recommended on my Kawika tenor. At one point, he changed the G string recommendation to a D'Addario Pro-Arte D Light Silver Plater Copper Wound .028 I've always had great success with them ever since. They sound great and hardly ever break. When I got a tenor Fluke, I tried unwound low Gs on it and didn't like them. I soon started using the D'Addario low G on the Fluke, too. I got a Fluke with a rosewood fretboard so it could handle wound strings.
Click to expand...

I too prefer the sound and feel of the D'Addario Pro-Arte .028 silverwound, albeit I spring for the EXL flavor (coated for extended life). I recently tried the Thomastik-Infield CF30 flat wound and a Worth unwound and they were dull and lifeless sounding.
 
merlin666 said:
So far the discussion here has centered on fluorocarbon and wound strings. While there is a good selection of wound string options I feel that they change their sound too fast and wear out too soon to be usable for me. I did not try fluorocarbon low G because the mainstream makers like Martin and d'Addario don't have them. The only low G FC available from strings & beyond are Worth, and they are so expensive and the choice between colours, hardness types, and thicknesses is a bit overwhelming for me

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

However, what was not mentioned yet are the red Aquila low G strings. They are great as they incorporate copper powder to increase their weight, so they behave like wound strings but last forever. I have one on my tenor and it's been going string for four years! Also have one as a low A on my six-string and the sound is fantastic, bright and punchy. Unfortunately, information on Aquila string thickness is hard to impossible to find for comparison.
Click to expand...

Actually D'Addario has made a fluorocarbon low G for a few years. I actually tried the EJ99TLG. Didn't care for the dull sound of the carbon low G—prefer wound—but the other strings are nice.

http://www.daddario.com/DADProductD...=EJ99TLG_Pro_Art__Carbon_Ukulele__Tenor_Low_G
 
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