LorenFL
Well-known member
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?
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?