Deeper Sounding Strings?

I'm asking those who have been down this path before...

Ever pick up a Uke in the store, play it and be astonished at the incredible tone, nuance and intonation?

So you buy it, take it home, play and it just ain't the same?

I did that with my quilted ash, solid spruce top concert Lanakai I got a few weeks ago. I was stunned in the store and stumped at home.

It plays real nice but it it just too trebly. It sounds like a soprano. I know the ash and spruce means I'm going to have a bright sounding uke, but I really want to tone it down a little.

Other than putting a sock in it, I figure strings are my only option.

It has factory Aquilas on it now.

What strings might warm it up a little? I have a sultry throated Luna concert and a just a little brighter sounding Ibanez concert. Both are loads warmer thean the Lanakai.

Any recommendations? I don't want to deaden it but do want to bring it down a little. I've a couple set of Living Water Strings and some Southcoast strings coming on and paid dearly for them.

Would those be better choices? Or whut?

I'd try Worth BM strings. If you are still not happy, you might try tuning it down a step (F, Bb, D, G).

probally the store has better accoustics than your home does to play in....go in your bathroom and try...ha ha

hmgberg said:

I'd try Worth BM strings. If you are still not happy, you might try tuning it down a step (F, Bb, D, G).

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Ditto...Pro Arte are really warm strings too

Try SouthCoast Medium Soft or D'Addario Nyltech

Anything but Aquilas will sound warmer, in my experience. I'd go Worth Browns. Maybe even Fremont Blacklines. Blacklines will give you a VERY unAquila experience. But, in my experience (I've tried most, but certainly not all brands) Aquilas really are a law unto themselves. As has been said probably THOUSANDS of times, Aquilas sound great with some ukuleles, and not at all with others. I find them too noisy and high-middy for my liking.

Ken Middleton's Living water strings

hmgberg said:

I'd try Worth BM strings. If you are still not happy, you might try tuning it down a step (F, Bb, D, G).

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I second the tuning down. Sometimes a step and a half to EACsharpFsharp.

If you look on the Southcoast strings website, a great article on tunings...and how most ukuleles can be enhanced, changed, sometimes improved with a tweak down. Took me over a year of ukulele playing before I got courageous with altered tunings. Go for it!

Ditto the Worth Browns and Fremont Blacklines. Especially with those woods.

Only used Aquilas up until recently and tryed a set of Freemont Blacklines on my Dolphin and they are really lower than the Aquilas. Try them and I think you'll like them.

I haven't tried Worth, but I have tried Southcoast and they took away the metallic, barky sound of the Aquilas on my mahogany tenor. There are several varieties and Dirk will help you with selecting what kind might produce the tone you're after (with limitations of course by the wood of your uke.) I'm so happy with mine, though I was sent some very nice D'Addarios to try out, I've yet to restring the uke away from the Southcoast. I also recommend the bridge bone beads. They look cool and make restringing very pleasant. The problem I have is I'm so happy with the Southcoast, I'm not able to try anything else--just doesn't seem "worth" the effort to me.

Just keep trying different strings, they can really change the sound. I think that there is a perfect string match for every ukulele, we just have to find it. I have southcoast, living water, alohi, and aquila on ukes, it's taken me a year to pick the right strings for each ukulele. You'll know your sound when you hear it.

I think, in general, nylon strings sound less chirpy and deeper, if you will, than fluorocarbon strings.

The only true way to make it deeper is to tune down, though. Use your tuner, like a Snark, and tune each individual string downso they are all left of green, into the red, not even jumping down a level....just on the same screen, but all four strings in the red equally. Listen...you might like it. Cost to try it: nothing.


I second bridge bone beads for tie bridges, btw. I adore them and don't mind the price as a set or two will last forever. They don't make it deeper, though. I mention it bc someone else did.