Experimenting with lighter gauge strings

Okay, so I'm one of those people who really likes Aquila strings. I like the way they sound. (don't ask me to describe it, it's just pleasing) I like the way they feel. I like the fact that once they've settled in, they stay in tune forever. (I used to tune my Tenor maybe every few months... they just stayed in tune!)

But, when I switched from Tenor to Concert, I decided to start playing with lighter gauge strings. They're marginally easier to fret, but I've found that I really like the lighter tension because it's easier to bend and apply vibrato when playing notes.

Yes, lighter strings may have the tendency to buzz more, especially if your action is too low. Yes, I'm probably giving up some volume and such. I'm okay with that. I really like the FEEL of light strings. I'd even go as far as to say "very light" strings.

So, I'm talking Concert scale here. Here's what I've done...

First, I took a standard Aquila set and rearranged them to Low G. That works, but I found the A string to be way too tight, and the G string to be boomy and also a bit too tight. The middle C and E strings were good. (and those were the original high-G and E strings)

The Aquila A string is actually pretty thin, and I tried every thinner string I could find in my collection of random stuff. Still too tight. I went on a quest for the lightest A string I could find. Came up with Martin M600 at .0195".

So, I set up:
A = Martin M600 A string = .0195
E = Aquila high G string = .025 (as measured, stretched)
C = Aquila E string = .027 (as measured, stretched)
G = Martin M600 C string = .033

(and, yes, I know the Aquilas are nylgut and the Martins are fluorocarbon)

I played this setup for several months and REALLY liked it until they started going off. One or more of my Aquila strings was damaged when I bought the uke... eventually that became a problem.

I'd bought a set of Worth Brown Low G strings back when I was setting this up, but never bothered putting them on. They're supposed to be "the" set for Low G, and I wanted to try them.

I put the Worth strings on the other day. Immediately hated them. The DID sound good, but just way too tight for my liking.

Research, research, research...

Okay, what if I get a set of Worth Brown Light Tension strings and switch them around to Low G? That gives me VERY close to what I had that I liked, even slightly lighter. I need to try that.

Research, research, research...

But, wait, the only string that's different between the LT and the LowG set is the fat G string!

So, my current experiment is: The lighter strings of the Worth Low G set for G/C/E and my old M600 A string. I like this a lot! The Worth strings do sound very nice and resonant. It's got the right touch. They're starting to get settled in and require less tuning.

So, I'm at:
A - M600 .0195
E - Worth .0205
C - Worth .0260
G - Worth .0291

And that can be replicated pretty much with a Worth LT set. (A string will be .0185)

Maybe this will help somebody who's looking for lighter tension with Low G?

Great post. I've tried low G a few times and didn't really like it. But you provided all the technical info needed to try it again.

Thanks!

You got me confused. Aquila has different sets for different sizes with goal that you get the same playing experience. So when you say "standard Aquila set" do you mean a set for soprano uke, which is sometimes called a standard uke?

merlin666 said:

You got me confused. Aquila has different sets for different sizes with goal that you get the same playing experience. So when you say "standard Aquila set" do you mean a set for soprano uke, which is sometimes called a standard uke?

Click to expand...

Yeah, these were the strings that came on my Concert, so they're probably either the Aquila 4U set or the 103U Concert set. I didn't buy the strings, so I don't know for sure exactly what they are, which is why I measured them with the digital caliper.

Looks like I could almost get by with the Super Nylgut 106U Tenor string set, ditching the thick "C" string, the would give me tolerable G/C/E strings, but I'd still need to source a lighter A string.

The Worth Brown LT set is the only one that covers all of my bases with one set of strings!

BTW, I lifted a lot of numbers from this spreadsheet that I found on this forum somewhere.
http://ed1.cc/Ukulele/StringTension/UkuleleStringTensions.pdf

Ok I think you meant the Aquila "stock" strings right? Maybe they have a single low G for concert? Worth checking.

merlin666 said:

Ok I think you meant the Aquila "stock" strings right? Maybe they have a single low G for concert? Worth checking.

Click to expand...

Any non-wound Low G string does not qualify as "Low Tension", which is the topic of this thread.

I'm generally using C strings for the Low G, and find that acceptable. It's really finding a light-enough A string that has been a problem for me. Thus, the Worth Light Tension set with its tiny .0185 A string.

Dang! this thread is erudite. I admit I prefer lighter gauges but I don't do all this science stuff and swappy-stringy jazz. I just buy strings designed for a scale smaller than my uke. I play super-tenor, so I use concert strings.

You might be able to pick up singles at juststrings.com

ripock said:

Dang! this thread is erudite. I admit I prefer lighter gauges but I don't do all this science stuff and swappy-stringy jazz. I just buy strings designed for a scale smaller than my uke. I play super-tenor, so I use concert strings.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've tried that, too. It got me close. Playing Low G changes things a bit. And some string makers use the same set for Soprano and Concert... I play Concert, so that doesn't always help!

Finding that spreadsheet with all the string gauges and tensions on it really helped. Before I found that, I was searching manufacturer and retailer sites trying to find string dimensions. Some are easy to find, some aren't. Having info, if you're the kind of person to take it all in, takes a lot of the mystery out of string choice. I do tend to like to geek out on the science behind things a little bit.

I hate swapping strings. I don't know why, it's not like it takes very long. And, as much as I don't like to spend money, it's only around $8-12 for a set of strings. But, once I get something that works reasonably well, I tend to leave it alone for a LONG time!

Yes I am not picky about strings and just replace sets on used ukes or when one breaks from wear. So have a few sets that have been sitting around as I buy them but don't get around changing as often as I buy. So far I have found very few that I didn't really like, such as Titanium that are just way too soft and plinky for me.