Strings for Ohana Mahogany Concert

Puglele

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
122
Reaction score
4
I just received the Ohana ck-39 ukulele. To be honest I’m not impressed. The build is extremely light (can be a good thing?) and the build quality is similar to my Amazon ukulele :(
I do like the looks but that’s it. The sound is ok, with Aquila strings it’s really muted or mellow. Volume is loud, but I expected more.
I think changing strings can help. Anyone with the same model, or 25, 35, 38 series experiment with strings ?
 
Light build is good. That means you’ll get more volume and resonance. I’ve used Martin M600s and Aquila Sugar stings on my SK35 with great success.
 
I've got Aquila Sugars on my all mahogany Ohana TK-35g-5 tenor. They sound much better to me than the strings it came with.
 
Last edited:
My go-to strings for my CK-35 are Fremont Blackline medium fluorocarbon. *Much* better than the Aquila nylgut.
 
As already mentioned above, Living Water or Martins, Martins may be a little brighter, Living Water, a little mellower and softer feel.
 
I've not liked Aquila strings on any of my ukes. I have a solid mahogany Ohana long neck soprano (soprano with a concert scale). It sounds really nice with Worth brown strings on it. I'd be willing to bet most any fluorocarbon string would be an improvement.
 
I've not liked Aquila strings on any of my ukes. I have a solid mahogany Ohana long neck soprano (soprano with a concert scale). It sounds really nice with Worth brown strings on it. I'd be willing to bet most any fluorocarbon string would be an improvement.

This right here. The Aquila nylgut strings are good strings, don't get me wrong. I very much like what the company does and their product lines, including the nylgut. But I think of them as a great equalizer.

A discussion I had with an employee at a large (non-chain) music store basically concluded that the Aquila nylgut strings can pull a cheap uke up, but can also pull a good uke down. Their comments was something like, "They can make a $50 uke sound like a $150 uke and they can make a $1,000 uke sound like a $150 uke."

This is not to say that there aren't instruments which are well suited to nylguts, there are. I jsut don't think the solid mahogany Ohanas are included in that group.
 
I just received the Ohana ck-39 ukulele. To be honest I’m not impressed. The build is extremely light (can be a good thing?) and the build quality is similar to my Amazon ukulele :(
I do like the looks but that’s it. The sound is ok, with Aquila strings it’s really muted or mellow. Volume is loud, but I expected more.
I think changing strings can help. Anyone with the same model, or 25, 35, 38 series experiment with strings ?

Is that the impression you get when you play the uke, or if someone plays the uke for you and you are the audience? I find that the Aquilas shine most when used for performance and played hard, and the ukes sounds great and punchy from a distance. I have flurocarbons on the ukes I use for practice at home to learn new songs when I don't need to cut through to an audience. So yeah if you mainly play quietly for yourself then Aquilas may not be the best choice.
 
Is that the impression you get when you play the uke, or if someone plays the uke for you and you are the audience? I find that the Aquilas shine most when used for performance and played hard, and the ukes sounds great and punchy from a distance. I have flurocarbons on the ukes I use for practice at home to learn new songs when I don't need to cut through to an audience. So yeah if you mainly play quietly for yourself then Aquilas may not be the best choice.


It’s my impression when I played it. I have an Amazon one laying around, I don’t think there are significant difference between the 2, the sound, the quality etc. The amazon one only costs 1/5 of the price.
 
So many response. Thank you guys! Appreciated
 
I have an SK-38 and had an SK-39. I almost instantly swapped both for either Martin M600s or Worth clears. Way better. They're copies of Martin ukes so makes sense that fluorocarbons would suit them.
 
I have an SK-38 and had an SK-39. I almost instantly swapped both for either Martin M600s or Worth clears. Way better. They're copies of Martin ukes so makes sense that fluorocarbons would suit them.

Good to know I really dislike Aquila strings they hurt my fingers badly and callous are growing again
 
I have an SK-38 and had an SK-39. I almost instantly swapped both for either Martin M600s or Worth clears. Way better. They're copies of Martin ukes so makes sense that fluorocarbons would suit them.

They are copies of Martin ukes that were built in the 1920s or 30s, decades before synthetic strings became popular. So with that kind of reasoning they would sound best with gut strings.
 
They are copies of Martin ukes that were built in the 1920s or 30s, decades before synthetic strings became popular. So with that kind of reasoning they would sound best with gut strings.

But, my old 30's Martin sounds amazing with Martin M600 strings! :D
 
They are copies of Martin ukes that were built in the 1920s or 30s, decades before synthetic strings became popular. So with that kind of reasoning they would sound best with gut strings.

Fair enough. I'll retract the reasoning and just say I don't know why they sound better, but they do. :p
 
Another thread resurrection, in the hope of answers for an uncommon question. My thanks in anticipation of your responses.

I have an Ohana CK35gs and jolly snazzy this all solid wood Concert Uke looks too, it also sounds quite a bit better and plays easier since I replaced the strings and set-up the Uke. I suspect that my Ohana had been run ‘as was’ since it left the factory, so never been set-up. It’s hard to judge the age of this Uke but it might be ten years old - it’s in tidy condition, I find no age indicators on its label and it has an older style geared tuners. I’m now running Martin M600’s on it and I find that those strings work pretty well on nearly every Uke.

To my ears my CK35 is quieter and has less bass response than my (M600 strung) laminate Soprano - that’s a bit of a surprise - but otherwise the CK35 has got a sweet enough voice that will serve my purposes (strumming and fingerpicking at home and in small groups, I use a Soprano for Club playing). A bit more volume and more bass would be nice so I’m wondering whether all CK35’s are all a bit on the treble and the quite side and whether particular strings bring out the best in this model?

Does anyone have experience of the Ohana CK35 - or even of any of Ohana’s other basic (thick) Solid Mahogany Ukes - and if so do they have they suggestions or experiences of it to share, please?

Edit. For some months the CK35 was my main player and during that time I felt that tone, volume and the Bass response improved, its become more comparable to my other instruments. I’m really a Soprano player so reverted to that scale, but I dust off the Ohana from time to time. Whilst I find Aguila New Nylgut Strings to be OK I don’t normally use them, one of my Sopranos has Super Nylguts on it and I’m definitely liking them. After a year of the M600’s on the CK35 I replaced them with Super Nylguts. I think that the SNG’s suit the CK35 quite well, they’re slightly different to the M600’s but, to my ears, not distinctly better or worse.

(SNG’s are now standard fit on new CK35’s, my second hand instrument came fitted with something else and originally would have had NNG fitted).

The CK35 is a lovely looking instrument, is relatively affordable, and is fine to play (good sustain and a pleasing voice if slightly light on bass and slightly over trebly for my particular taste ... but maybe its voice will further deepen as it ages). Pickiness aside, for a few months I only played this Uke and I could happily use it as my only Uke; so basically what’s not to like. In some social settings it clearly fits in better than my cheaper laminate Sopranos do: it looks good, sounds fine, is made of solid wood and Concert/Tenor scale is what ‘serious’ players use. I happen to prefer playing my particular Sopranos and that scale, but YMMV.
 
Last edited:
I have a CK35L, SK30L, & an SK30M, they are all fairly quiet ukes with fluorocarbon strings, (Living Water low G concert strings on all of them), but that suits me fine, I don't like loud playing ukes.
 
Top Bottom