Strings with highest tension

robinfowler

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2018
Messages
80
Reaction score
1
Location
Melbourne Australia
When tuning a Sopranino to std GCEA (all I can play right now) the string tension is very low/slack.

Best results I have had are from Worth BM's.

Can anyone suggest other strings that would result in higher string tension while sticking with GCEA tuning.

I have tried the Aquila mini use strings which give GCEA one octave high but I find these hard to play.
 
Hi Robin, I hope you won't think I'm being a "Mister Know-It-All" or in any way over-stepping, but I noticed your reference to the standard GCEA tuning as being "all I can play right now", and I just wanted to offer that if you were to tune your sopranino two semi-tones higher, to ADF#B, you'd have a nice non-floppy string tension, and I'm betting the uke would sound better too; all of your chord shapes would be the same as you're accustomed to, except that the things you'd play would sound "two frets higher" than they do now. So if you sing while your uke accompanies you, you'll have to stretch that voice just a little. Again, I totally apologize if I've misapprehended your situation, and no disrespect is meant! Perhaps some of our Forum friends can explain the above a little better than I did!
 
Try Worth clear strings. They have higher tension options than the browns. You're probably looking for the CD set.
 
Hi Robin, I hope you won't think I'm being a "Mister Know-It-All" or in any way over-stepping, but I noticed your reference to the standard GCEA tuning as being "all I can play right now", and I just wanted to offer that if you were to tune your sopranino two semi-tones higher, to ADF#B, you'd have a nice non-floppy string tension, and I'm betting the uke would sound better too; all of your chord shapes would be the same as you're accustomed to, except that the things you'd play would sound "two frets higher" than they do now. So if you sing while your uke accompanies you, you'll have to stretch that voice just a little. Again, I totally apologize if I've misapprehended your situation, and no disrespect is meant! Perhaps some of our Forum friends can explain the above a little better than I did!

There used to be a page from South Coast strings where he explained how we get too worked up about the tuning and that 50+ years ago they would just tune to their voice instead of worrying that ADF#B for instance wasn't right and worrying that they'd have to learn things anew. You are right. It plays the same way.
 
Hi Robin, I hope you won't think I'm being a "Mister Know-It-All" or in any way over-stepping, but I noticed your reference to the standard GCEA tuning as being "all I can play right now", and I just wanted to offer that if you were to tune your sopranino two semi-tones higher, to ADF#B, you'd have a nice non-floppy string tension, and I'm betting the uke would sound better too; all of your chord shapes would be the same as you're accustomed to, except that the things you'd play would sound "two frets higher" than they do now. So if you sing while your uke accompanies you, you'll have to stretch that voice just a little. Again, I totally apologize if I've misapprehended your situation, and no disrespect is meant! Perhaps some of our Forum friends can explain the above a little better than I did!

Good advice, Bill.
 
Good advice, Bill.

Thanks, Tom. I hope I'm not muddying up the waters too much. There was a time when I was determined to always stay with GCEA tuning on my soprano and sopranino, because it was more comfortable (i.e., lower) for my vocal range than ADF#B. But, the string tension with GCEA always seemed kind of "squiggly". So I searched for strings that would enable me to stay in GCEA while having a tighter "feel", such as Fremont Blackline Hard Tensions; those are great strings, but I still felt (in GCEA) that I wasn't getting the resistance I'd hoped for. Finally, I just went back to my trusty old Martin M-600's and cranked the soprano and the sopranino up to ADF#B. Both ukes responded beautifully to their "new reality"-- better volume, better intonation, better tone, and better feel. Vocal-wise, yes, it makes some songs a little bit of a challenge (if I use the same chord shapes I'm used to, instead of re-learning the songs in a lower key), but I've learned to "kick it up a notch" when I sing, and I've developed workarounds for the occasional situation where I'm getting up there a little too high in the vocal register. Now, I'm not trying to re-ignite a debate about which tuning is "better", but I can say that, for me, boosting my tuning to ADF#B for soprano and sopranino has been a really beneficial move.
 
Hi, robinfowler!

Extra hard tension sets of classical guitar strings may work. I've checked D'addario pro arte ej44TT (see the photo below) on string tension pro site. The tensions are about 2.5kg on 12 inch scale GCEA, they are similar to soprano's tensions.

 
I don't have experience in alternate tuning. I've always just gone with the standard re-entrant tuning and have found no benefit in doing otherwise. I have tuned one of the strings to something that sounds good and then tuned the rest off of that string, but when it gets right down to it I see no advantage to doing that either. But my question is, when you go to these alternate tunings, doesn't that screw you up when you play with someone else who is not tuned the same? My thought would be that if there is a standard and everyone sticks to it, then everyone can play together. As soon as you leave the standard you've eliminated yourself from the game. If you like playing with yourself that is fine, but if you want to play with others, don't you need to either stick with the standard tuning or learn different chord shapes? I'm just asking.
 
I don't have experience in alternate tuning. I've always just gone with the standard re-entrant tuning and have found no benefit in doing otherwise. I have tuned one of the strings to something that sounds good and then tuned the rest off of that string, but when it gets right down to it I see no advantage to doing that either. But my question is, when you go to these alternate tunings, doesn't that screw you up when you play with someone else who is not tuned the same? My thought would be that if there is a standard and everyone sticks to it, then everyone can play together. As soon as you leave the standard you've eliminated yourself from the game. If you like playing with yourself that is fine, but if you want to play with others, don't you need to either stick with the standard tuning or learn different chord shapes? I'm just asking.

In my rather limited experience I find that when tunings are a fourth apart they harmonize really well together. I learned that playing cross harp harmonica. I suppose it applies to ukes as well. Even though I am avid alternate-tuner (currently basking in the glory of a E A C# F# tenor) I agree that for a group setting it would definitely be easier. However it is an intriguing thought to split a group into two groups whose strums would harmonize versus being static.
 
I don't have experience in alternate tuning. I've always just gone with the standard re-entrant tuning and have found no benefit in doing otherwise. I have tuned one of the strings to something that sounds good and then tuned the rest off of that string, but when it gets right down to it I see no advantage to doing that either. But my question is, when you go to these alternate tunings, doesn't that screw you up when you play with someone else who is not tuned the same? My thought would be that if there is a standard and everyone sticks to it, then everyone can play together. As soon as you leave the standard you've eliminated yourself from the game. If you like playing with yourself that is fine, but if you want to play with others, don't you need to either stick with the standard tuning or learn different chord shapes? I'm just asking.

Hi RL, your observations are indeed applicable to folks like me, who most often do solo outings. In my case, with just me and my soprano uke, I'm at liberty to move my tuning up that full step to "a D F# B" (re-entrant) with no concerns about being the odd-man-out, as might be the case if I were playing in a group situation (in which case I'd just crank it back down to "gCEA" for the session). Everyone's different, of course, but the benefit of the "full step higher" aDF#B tuning for me is that it gives my strings a little "tighter" feel, it improves the intonation, and it makes the uke "sing" a little more sweetly (both in terms of volume and tone). I have found aDF#B to be desirable for soprano and sopranino ukes, whereas I stick with gCEA for longneck sopranos, concerts, and tenors (although tenors can sound really elegant tuned DOWN a full step, to "f Bb D G"...). To clarify, I don't really view aDF#B as an "alternate" tuning in the sense that I normally think of that term, but rather just as a "two-frets-higher-and-a-little-tighter" version of gCEA. It's all good, as the saying goes!
 
Of the strings I've tried, I think the basic Martin M600 fluorocarbons have the highest tension. Aquilas and other nylgut style strings certainly can be a little slack. The Worth strings mentioned earlier might also be worth a try (pun very much intended).

But as others have suggested, tuning one full tone above the standard C tuning is a valid option as well if you want to play with your favourite set of strings with higher tension. There's no reason to be afraid of different tunings. All the chord shapes will be the same. Only the chords and notes themselves will be a full tone above the standard tuning.
 
Thanks, Dohle! And a quick additional thought... this morning I put the Aquila "33U" set (optimized specifically for aDF#B tuning) on another soprano, and they are quite nice. The only thing I would observe, however, is that although they crank up to aDF#B quite handily, the tension feels more like it's still in gCEA. So if you want to be in aDF#B tuning but with a gentler feel, the Aquila 33U's may be for you. I kinda prefer just using Martin M-600's and tuning them up to aDF#B; that results in a more rigid feel, which is fine with me, as I like my strings to have a little more fight.
 
In order to keep (low)GCEA tuning on a sopranino & sopranissimo, I've experimented w/ fluorocarbon fishing line w/ pretty good results. I may someday go back & optimize it. There's also a video review of an Ohana SK-21A where the guy mentions using GHS fluoros.
 
In order to keep (low)GCEA tuning on a sopranino & sopranissimo, I've experimented w/ fluorocarbon fishing line w/ pretty good results. I may someday go back & optimize it. There's also a video review of an Ohana SK-21A where the guy mentions using GHS fluoros.

Thanks, Wukulele, and I think your post and the others on this thread exemplify how a big part of the fun of our hobby is the "process" involved, as we continue on the journey!
 
Hi, robinfowler! I do not know how long your sopranino is, hence I tried it on 12 inch scale. Classical guitar string might work on your sopranino (see the table below). Try String Tension Pro! I think tension should not be stronger than average soprano tension.

ConditionsNameaverage tension (kg)
soprano strings on soprano
2.5
soprano strings on sopranino sacle (12 inch)2.2
normal classical guitar strings (1-4th) on sopranino2.5
high tension strings on spranino2.7
 
Thanks for everyones responses - No offence with tuning suggestions. I am new to music so happy to learn along the way. I have ordered a couple of the string suggestions and will see how they go.
 
Top Bottom