Low G wound singles for concert ukulele

Dohle

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There's a lot of discussion, new and old, about low G strings but I'm trying to find info on low G strings for concert scale, specifically and preferably wound single strings. It seems to me that most sets and singles are for tenor scale, and the only ones for concert I've found are Aquilas, which I don't like, and Fremont soloist, of which I've ordered a few but I'm looking for different options. I've seen classical guitar D strings recommended as a low G for ukes but mostly for tenor. Any idea if something like that would be suitable for a concert or would it have too much tension? I'm currently playing a Kanile'a K1 concert.
 
Classical D strings will probably be a bit low in tension for concert scale unless you get a "high tension" one
 
I'm experimenting with a bunch of strings (including the Aquilas and Fremonts), so I'll just throw some suggestions out, though I don't know about availability as singles, and most are not wound.

Soprano/Concert scale:
Pepe Romero, wound low G
PhD, unwound low G
Worth Brown, unwound low G

Soprano/Concert/Tenor (universal) Scale
Oasis GPX Carbon, unwound low G
Uke Logic high or low tension, both wound or unwound log G
UkeSA, unwound low G
Thomastik-Infeld, wound low G

The last is available as a single. You might also be able to get the Pepe Romero as a single. The rest I've only found in sets, though they might be available as singles. Besides the soloist, Fremont also has their clear and black line low G, both unwound. I'm finding that I tend to prefer the feel and sound of unwound. The advantage of a wound string primarily being size/fit with a high g nut slot.

Edit: by "sound" I just mean the lack of squeak, not the tone--I'm still determining that.
 
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It would work but getting the right string is better. Why not try Uke Logic Low G?

Benjamin

I actually forgot I had these on order as well. Ordering these is a pain though since delivery is extremely slow to Europe.


Classical D strings will probably be a bit low in tension for concert scale unless you get a "high tension" one

If a classical guitar D string is (more or less) the correct tension for a tenor low G, wouldn't that mean that it's higher tension for a concert? Because that's my issue, finding a low G that's low enough tension for concert.
 
I'm experimenting with a bunch of strings (including the Aquilas and Fremonts), so I'll just throw some suggestions out, though I don't know about availability as singles, and most are not wound.

Soprano/Concert scale:
Pepe Romero, wound low G
PhD, unwound low G
Worth Brown, unwound low G

Soprano/Concert/Tenor (universal) Scale
Oasis GPX Carbon, unwound low G
Uke Logic high or low tension, both wound or unwound log G
UkeSA, unwound low G
Thomastik-Infeld, wound low G

The last is available as a single. You might also be able to get the Pepe Romero as a single. The rest I've only found in sets, though they might be available as singles. Besides the soloist, Fremont also has their clear and black line low G, both unwound. I'm finding that I tend to prefer the feel and sound of unwound. The advantage of a wound string primarily being size/fit with a high g nut slot.

Edit: by "sound" I just mean the lack of squeak, not the tone--I'm still determining that.

That's the reason I'm looking for a wound low G, no need to adjust the nut slot, and I also prefer the sound and tension of a wound low G to unwound. I actually forgot about Thomastik-Infeld, I've heard good things about that one. But that would be a classical guitar string as well right? So which Thomastik string would translate to concert low G?
 
That's the reason I'm looking for a wound low G, no need to adjust the nut slot, and I also prefer the sound and tension of a wound low G to unwound. I actually forgot about Thomastik-Infeld, I've heard good things about that one. But that would be a classical guitar string as well right? So which Thomastik string would translate to concert low G?

I believe it's the CF30 D string. It is for a classical guitar, but HMS says it will work for soprano/concert/tenor. I haven't tried it yet. If you're wanting to stick with wound, there's also Uke Logic and Pepe Romero. They might only come as sets, but the price is about the same as two Thomastik-Infeld singles. Pepe Romero strings are made by La Bella. I don't know if that means they're the same, but if La Bella are easier to find, you might try that.
 
I believe it's the CF30 D string. It is for a classical guitar, but HMS says it will work for soprano/concert/tenor. I haven't tried it yet. If you're wanting to stick with wound, there's also Uke Logic and Pepe Romero. They might only come as sets, but the price is about the same as two Thomastik-Infeld singles. Pepe Romero strings are made by La Bella. I don't know if that means they're the same, but if La Bella are easier to find, you might try that.

Thanks for the info! I'll probably include that string on my next string order and have a try.

As I mentioned earlier, I have Uke Logic low G singles on order but the delivery takes forever. As for the Pepe Romero strings, I've been intrigued by them but they are not the most common / easiest to find where I live. And perplexingly, La Bella makes fluorocarbon strings only under the Pepe Romero name, otherwise their strings are nylon. Haven't seen them offer singles so it would have to be the whole set. I might try those if I can find a reliable source.
 
Thanks for the info! I'll probably include that string on my next string order and have a try.

As I mentioned earlier, I have Uke Logic low G singles on order but the delivery takes forever. As for the Pepe Romero strings, I've been intrigued by them but they are not the most common / easiest to find where I live. And perplexingly, La Bella makes fluorocarbon strings only under the Pepe Romero name, otherwise their strings are nylon. Haven't seen them offer singles so it would have to be the whole set. I might try those if I can find a reliable source.

No, only the wound low G of Romero strings are from LaBella, the fluorocarbon are like the same as everybody else's. However they are quite popular. I visited a uke store in Hilo last year where the owner puts low G Romero strings on all ukes so they can be compared objectively before purchase. And yeah those ukes sounded great.
 
I've converted a couple concerts and a soprano(!) to low G. For one concert, I used a Fremont Black Line. The other was a wound low G--I think Pepe Romero, but I'm not sure. And the soprano I think was a Worth Clear low G.

I filed the soprano nut slot just a little so the low G would sit better, but not too much in case I changed my mind and went back to high g. I'm certain I want a low G soprano (weird as that is), but I want to be sure about which soprano, and whether to use wound or unwound, before fully widening/deepening the nut slot. As of now, the intonation is a bit off because the slot isn't big enough for the string, but nonetheless I like the low G.

Same with the concert and the Fremont Black Line. But to my eyes (and fingers), the Fremont Black Line has a narrower diameter than the Worth Clear. Enough so that I didn't file the slot and the intonation isn't as off. Odd because they're supposed to be the same diameter. Actually, the Worths are supposed to be .002" smaller.

I'm planning to test several more strings, but as of now I prefer the unwounds because they don't squeak. But I still have some wounds to try.

Apparently, unwound low G strings are the same diameter, .036", for most makers. And so far the wounds I've seen are usually around .030". Despite also being listed as .036", my Fremont Black Line is clearly narrower, and halfway to a wound size. I'm not sure if my string is an anomaly, but if it isn't, I might end up using Black Lines to avoid having to change the nut slot much (if at all).

I don't know if that helps, but you might want to try a Fremont Black Line low G and see if it works without widening/deepening the nut slot. They're cheap and available as singles. Just another possibility.
 
No, only the wound low G of Romero strings are from LaBella, the fluorocarbon are like the same as everybody else's. However they are quite popular. I visited a uke store in Hilo last year where the owner puts low G Romero strings on all ukes so they can be compared objectively before purchase. And yeah those ukes sounded great.

Yeah, I think it's worth noting that Romero Creations uses low G even in their sopranos.
 
Yeah, I think it's worth noting that Romero Creations uses low G even in their sopranos.

I was actually shopping for a concert size at the time and in that store played several Kanile'a, KoAloha, and also a Kala Elite and the differences in sound and price between them was negligible. I really liked them all.
 
If a classical guitar D string is (more or less) the correct tension for a tenor low G, wouldn't that mean that it's higher tension for a concert? Because that's my issue, finding a low G that's low enough tension for concert.
No. Think about it. If the string gives G on 17" tenor scale, it will be A at the second fret of that tenor - and that fret is about 15" from the bridge. If you want that note to be G, you have to tune down a step, lessening the tension.

Sounds like a normal D string would work for you.
 
No, only the wound low G of Romero strings are from LaBella, the fluorocarbon are like the same as everybody else's. However they are quite popular. I visited a uke store in Hilo last year where the owner puts low G Romero strings on all ukes so they can be compared objectively before purchase. And yeah those ukes sounded great.

Ah, I should've guessed. I think fluorocarbon strings are often sourced from only a select number of factories around the world (probably mostly Japan) so of course there's not much sense to manufacture your own. Thanks for the correction. Although, I still find it odd that La Bella don't sell any fluorocarbon strings directly under their own brand.



I've found string gauges can vary a bit depending on the manufacturer regardless of what the claimed gauge actually is. Error rate and all that. I'm not a fan of unwound low G because of the sound and tension but I might give the Fremont low G a try if none of the other options work out.
 
No. Think about it. If the string gives G on 17" tenor scale, it will be A at the second fret of that tenor - and that fret is about 15" from the bridge. If you want that note to be G, you have to tune down a step, lessening the tension.

Sounds like a normal D string would work for you.

I had a second thought about this and worked it out in a similar manner. So if the gauge of the string is constant, shortening the scale will lower the tension. Thanks for the clarification. I'll probably order a few different D'Addario classical guitar D strings and also the Thomastik string and just try them out.
 
I had a second thought about this and worked it out in a similar manner. So if the gauge of the string is constant, shortening the scale will lower the tension. Thanks for the clarification. I'll probably order a few different D'Addario classical guitar D strings and also the Thomastik string and just try them out.

D'Addario also has a string tension calculator where you can assess the impact of various string types and gauges for different scale lengths. It takes a bit of fiddling with non standard strings but is otherwise a good tool.
 
Classical D strings will probably be a bit low in tension for concert scale unless you get a "high tension" one

I am going to disagree here.
In practice I find that regular tension classical guitar D string works just fine for Soprano, Concert and Tenor to do low-G.

The reason is probably because soprano and concert ukuleles have less tension than tenor ukuleles anyway. There is enough room for tolerance for it to work on the different sizes to have adequate tension.


It would also depend on the saddle height on those Soprano and Concert ukes though. I would generally make my own custom saddle to get the setup just right on ukes I tuned with low-G. Generally I sand the saddle so the G side (4th) is slightly higher than the A side (1st)

Furthermore, to digress a bit... i think the naming system for Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukes is a bit misleading. They should technically be seen as the same instrument with different string tensions available. Soprano is not distinct from Tenor. One is shorter scale than the other and tuned the same, much like how a Parlor guitar differs from a dreadnaught. But you dont really have "Parlor guitar strings" or "Dreadnaught guitar strings"

No, you have "light, medium, hard" tension and select for yourself what you prefer in combination with the scale of your instrument.

Given this, here is another free tip.
If you want a low-G ukulele set easily, any classical guitar's DGBE string comfortably tunes up to GCEA on Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles. I normally choose regular tension, but you can go for lighter or harder sets as preferred.

D'addario agrees with me.
Their Pro-Arte concert uke strings are identical gauge to Pro-Arte regular guitar string tensions and the Pro-Arte tenor uke strings are identical to Pro-Arte hard tension guitar strings (1st, 3rd, 2nd, 1st of guitar set for high GCEA)
 
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@Kissing, tension for steel string guitars depends on scale AND on string gauge. Many people would not put medium or heavy gauge strings on a small guitar because tension might be too high and destroy guitar. And extra light strings on big guitar often sounds too thin. For ukulele things get more complicated because different string materials have different density. For example fluorocarbon strings have higher density so same tension can be accomplished with thinner string than nylon string on the same scale.
 
@Kissing, tension for steel string guitars depends on scale AND on string gauge. Many people would not put medium or heavy gauge strings on a small guitar because tension might be too high and destroy guitar. And extra light strings on big guitar often sounds too thin. For ukulele things get more complicated because different string materials have different density. For example fluorocarbon strings have higher density so same tension can be accomplished with thinner string than nylon string on the same scale.

Again disagree here.

From the perspective of achieving a certain level of string tension:
Medium/heavy gauge should be used on smaller guitars because shorter scale means the tension is less when tuned up.
Lighter gauge should be used on longer guitars because longer scale means the tension is more when tuned up.

Unless the guitar is intentionally made weaker, there is no inherent reason why a small guitar is structurally weaker than a large guitar.
Size does not = structural strength. A guitar maker may choose to build a small guitar with lighter construction, but they can just as easily build a small guitar that is heavily built.

Generally speaking, in order to reach that "sweet spot" tension on guitars I would install heavier strings on shorter guitars and lighter strings on longer guitars. Of course, it all depends on the type of guitar, the setup and what kind of sound I am going for. The choice of avoiding "lighter" tension strings on longer guitars is a matter of your preference and choice of guitar. Installing light strings on a large guitar does not necessarily mean you get a thin sound. It means you will have a big sound due to the size of the guitar at a particular string tension. Of course, medium or heavier strings would create a bigger sound, but at the cost of increased tension.

Furthermore, you may want heavier strings on a small guitar to produce a large sound as possible on a small body, as well as adjusting for the reduced tension caused by shorter scale.

However, since the guitar industry does not release their strings under arbitrary names like "Soprano concert and tenor" the player can use the above concepts to make a decision on what strings would go well with their particular guitar.



The same applies on nylon strings.
If I wanted to tune a 3/4 or 1/2 size classical guitar to the same tuning as a full size 4/4 classical guitar, I would opt to use heavier gauge strings not lighter.

You can install tenor ukulele strings on concert and soprano ukuleles. It will just result in a different tension compared to what you would on the same company's concert or soprano set.

With ukulele it gets a little interesting too.
It seems manufacturers consider tenors to inherently have harder tension than sopranos and concerts.
Therefore, they manufacture tenor strings to be thicker gauge and therefore harder tension.

However, if we were to view soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles as "short scale ukulele" and "longer scale ukulele" like we did with the guitar example above, you would actually be installing heavier gauge strings on sopranos and lighter gauge on tenors.

This is precisely the reason I prefer installing concert strings on tenor ukuleles.
Most tenor strings have more tension than I prefer.
Concert ukulele string tensions, if we are to go by D'addario, correspond to regular classical guitar strings (4th to 1st) and Tenor ukulele string tensions correspond to hard classical guitar strings. This is actually a bit counter-intuitive, as you are further exaggerating the harder tension on tenors caused by the longer scale by giving it heavier strings. So you end up with an instrument with exponentially (figuratively speaking) harder tension compared to a soprano or concert using lighter tension strings (which further exaggerate the lighter tension caused inherently by the shorter scale length).


The goal, whether it be Ukulele or Guitar, is not to put heavier strings on longer instruments and lighter strings on shorter instruments. The goal is to achieve a certain user-preferred level of tension at a given tuning on a certain scale length. As a general rule, the tension is less on a shorter instrument for the same tuning using the same strings compared to a longer instrument.

By that logic, one should actually be installing heavier strings on a Soprano uke and lighter strings on a Tenor uke to meet in a certain 'middle ground' of tension.



As for your comment on choice of materials (eg: fluorocarbon), it's actually not complicated for us because the string companies have already done the difficult part of working out what gauges and densities are suitable for the ukulele. All we need to do is pick and choose, since the string company have already named the strings as "soprano concert tenor" (i.e. already worked out equivalent working tensions compared to conventional nylon strings).
 
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I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Fremont "Soloist" Polished Low G Ukulele String. Or have I missed it? I had one on an Eastman concert for a while. It was only 0.030 and fit without any modification to the Eastman's nut slot. And had a nicely balanced sound with Martin M600 strings.
 
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