Strings - wound or un-wound low G; & brand preference, PhD, Living Water, Fremont etc

Maybe someone can tell me what strings are on my uke. It’seems to be a mystery. LOL. Here goes…..I have a Pono MT-PC which I bought in February. It was to be sent out with Worth clears and tuned to low G. Being new to the uke ( old time guitar guy), I noticed the strings were very tight and the chords were difficult to form. As most of the people on this site, one uke isn't enough, so I decided to buy an Oscar Schmidt OU5T (laminate). It came with Aquila strings. I was amazed at how easy it was to play compared to my Pono. I found I was playing it constantly and ignoring the Pono. I started researching strings and think my Pono came with different strings than I ordered. The G & C are wound and the E & A are nylon. The tension on all the strings is really tight. I called the supplier and spoke with a sales guy and he confirmed that Worth clears don't come with wound strings. So, I'm now considering Worth BT's or CT's and going to standard tuning. I can live without the low G. I'm looking for less tension, but a good sound for the mahogany Pono. I've also decided to sell the OS5T and buy an Islander MST-4 mahogany uke. I'm trying to decide which strings to have them supply. Thinking of trying Worth CT’s on the Islander and going to Worth BT’s on the Pono. Anybody care to guess what brand strings came on my Pono- two wound and two nylon- very high tension??? All I know is, they have to go ! Thanks.
 
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jjdejd said:
Maybe someone can tell me what strings are on my uke. …..I have a Pono MT-PC which I bought in February. ...I've also decided to sell the OS5T and buy an Islander MST-4 mahogany uke. I'm trying to decide which strings to have them supply. Thinking of trying Worth CT’s on the Islander and going to Worth BT’s on the Pono. Anybody care to guess what brand strings came on my Pono- two wound and two nylon- very high tension??? All I know is, they have to go ! Thanks.
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I have a Pono ATC-C and I believe it came with Koolau Gold strings...or Hilo Tenors...no clue. Like them A LOT, but might try Southcoast round wounds when they wear out.
Second, ensure you don't have the fret buzz on the Islander MST-4 on the 3rd string, frets 1-4; I had one that did and so did 3 others I tried to exchange it with...moved to the Pono. Might not bother some people, but it did me.
 
okidiver said:
I have a Pono ATC-C and I believe it came with Koolau Gold strings...or Hilo Tenors...no clue. Like them A LOT, but might try Southcoast round wounds when they wear out.
Second, ensure you don't have the fret buzz on the Islander MST-4 on the 3rd string, frets 1-4; I had one that did and so did 3 others I tried to exchange it with...moved to the Pono. Might not bother some people, but it did me.
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Sent you a PM.
 
Hmmm, two wounds on a linear tenor? Sounds like maybe somebody put baritone strings on...or maybe Southcoast heavy linears, I think they've got two wound strings.
 
I finally got to the bottom of my string issue. I spoke with a knowledgeable person where I purchased the Pono. He said Pono’s are designed for high tension strings and someone probably didn’t notice my request for Worth clears w/ low G. He said by the description, I probably have Ko’olau Mahana strings. They are fairly high tension and sound best on a Pono. He suggested I go to Worth CT, but said I would notice some difference in volume and clarity.I may move to the Mahana plain strings with high G tuning and get away from the wound G & C. The tension will still be there, but no squeaks when you slide around the fret board. As far as the Islander, he said they come with Aquila plain and sound pretty good.
 
I'll definitely try to do that, Gary! I actually just received an email reply from Jason Arimoto about him doing another workshop in San Jose the 1st week of May -- I hope to be there (if I'm not on Maui..) I've never been to any type of Uke class/workshop, but certainly sounds like fun & a worthy endeavor - Jason's a pretty cool dude! :)

On another note, (thinking outloud here..) I'm quite confused (as I'm sure are many newbies, as well as seasoned players...) about whether I want the very familiar (coming from so many years of guitar playing) wound-feel/sound, or the smooth up/down consistency offered by like material(?) I honestly think the best solution is to get another uke (I'm not interjecting my MS Custom Koa into this endeavor..) & go both ways with the low "g" as well as re-entrant, & over time...see what ends up getting played the most!

So, who's got something both worthy & reasonable (Pono/Mainland?) they wanna part with?! ;)

gyosh said:
Hey Sean,
I live about 1/2 a mile from Ukulele Source:) You should come down and visit your daughter on Saturdays when Smiley starts up the Kanikapilas again. Roy's Station Coffee & Tea hosts the events and Rodney Takahashi, an instructor located in Japan Town usually MC's. Get on Smiley's email list or I can let you know when they start again. See you in Hayward!
-Gary
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jjdejd said:
I finally got to the bottom of my string issue. I spoke with a knowledgeable person where I purchased the Pono. He said Pono’s are designed for high tension strings and someone probably didn’t notice my request for Worth clears w/ low G. He said by the description, I probably have Ko’olau Mahana strings. They are fairly high tension and sound best on a Pono. He suggested I go to Worth CT, but said I would notice some difference in volume and clarity.I may move to the Mahana plain strings with high G tuning and get away from the wound G & C. The tension will still be there, but no squeaks when you slide around the fret board. As far as the Islander, he said they come with Aquila plain and sound pretty good.
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Glad that's cleared up. I will say that my Pono baritone definitely likes high tension strings. The Ko'Olau strings on it were decent but the wounds were really squeaky. I went to a set of heavy fluorocarbon fishing leader for the trebles and Thomastik-Infeld chrome steel flat wound classical guitar strings for the basses. The tension is definitely a bit higher than the strings that were on it and the intonation and tone are beautiful.

John
 
Noticed your plight & feel your pain.. I'm sure you're aware, coming from a similar 'guitar background' & all, but the set-up -- sometimes even MORE SO on the uke --can make all the difference in the world! There are some great deals out there on the interweb, and I can do quite a bit of minor tweaking when it comes to guitars, and although the Uke has many of the same features, I'm far more comfortable at this juncture leaving any moderate+ tweaking & initial set-up to someone that does this 20+ times daily! Thus, I highly recommend spending a few more bucks & procuring from a shop (e.g. - HMS) that provides the extra level of set-up service.

Good luck, & please update with future outcome(s)!

jjdejd said:
I've also decided to sell the OS5T and buy an Islander MST-4 mahogany uke. I'm trying to decide which strings to have them supply.
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NoKaOi said:
Noticed your plight & feel your pain.. I'm sure you're aware, coming from a similar 'guitar background' & all, but the set-up -- sometimes even MORE SO on the uke --can make all the difference in the world! There are some great deals out there on the interweb, and I can do quite a bit of minor tweaking when it comes to guitars, and although the Uke has many of the same features, I'm far more comfortable at this juncture leaving any moderate+ tweaking & initial set-up to someone that does this 20+ times daily! Thus, I highly recommend spending a few more bucks & procuring from a shop (e.g. - HMS) that provides the extra level of set-up service.

Good luck, & please update with future outcome(s)!
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Thanks. HMS is my first choice for this purchase.
 
NoKaOi said:
I'll definitely try to do that, Gary! I actually just received an email reply from Jason Arimoto about him doing another workshop in San Jose the 1st week of May -- I hope to be there (if I'm not on Maui..) I've never been to any type of Uke class/workshop, but certainly sounds like fun & a worthy endeavor - Jason's a pretty cool dude! :)
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I've been to a ton of workshops and IMO Jason is the best instructor. Better than all the big names too!
 
My Pono ATD came with Ko'olau Mahana strings: loud with some extra twang. I'll soon begin the stroll down happy String Lane. Looking forward to shedding the wound C. Though I do have a set of Kala Pearls waiting in the wings. Have a hard time right now thinking I'll like them.
 
Unfortunately, I believe that may be an accurate statement, & here lies the decision: spend the fair degree of time & effort to swap six-bucks worth of strings, or procure something with a much better chance of making the cut(?) I believe I know which path I'd choose, but one can never be certain without committing the effort! ;)

PereBourik said:
Though I do have a set of Kala Pearls waiting in the wings. Have a hard time right now thinking I'll like them.
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Choose what sounds best on each uke

Hi All, when it comes to low G, many of you have seen my posts on strings as I have tried nearly every string for uke that's out there except for the Southcoasts. The new Fremont Soloist gold polished squeekless wound is FANTASTIC and is definitely my go to low G wound hands down by a mile over any other wound string out there today. It really is squeekless which I doubted but it is. I play mic'd and you cannot hear anything. I showed some folks this weekend at the UkeJam in SF.

I stumbled across it a few months ago and now it's on all my low G ukes and I even (don't be in shock) put it on my 1932 Martin 2 Soprano, and the sounds is unbelievable. I was able to get a Soprano string and Tenor string out of one string which is a bonus.

Now for many who don't like low G, there are a lot of really good strings on the market now and I would say you really have to try different sets on each uke to find the sound you are looking for that works for your particular uke. It is all personal taste, period.

I use Ph.D., Living Waters (re-entrant tuned and low G), and Savarez. Although the Fremont Blacklines sounded incredible this past week at my UKEJAM BY THE BAY 2013, where we played them on one of Toni's ukes from Anokoneke Ukuleles. Her uke sounded fantastic with them.

I think the Savarez and Living Waters are damn close in sound.
I even custom built a set of strings on my Collings which gives me the exact sound I want on each string. I wanted a more resonant C string and so I have three different brand strings on that uke and it sounds amazing. Thus experimentation is bliss!

Good luck, and happy stringing.
 
Mahalo for the reply, Jay.. What would be your preference (or at least a good option in your opinion) for a balanced set to accompany the wound Fremont Soloist on a solid mahogany tenor (like your Gretsch..) ? This string has me intrigued, as I believe (for some strange reason) that I'm craving a wound low string on a mini-guitar.. (pardon the expression)

blue_knight_usa said:
Hi All, when it comes to low G, many of you have seen my posts on strings as I have tried nearly every string for uke that's out there except for the Southcoasts. The new Fremont Soloist gold polished squeekless wound is FANTASTIC and is definitely my go to low G wound hands down by a mile over any other wound string out there today. It really is squeekless which I doubted but it is. I play mic'd and you cannot hear anything. I showed some folks this weekend at the UkeJam in SF.

I stumbled across it a few months ago and now it's on all my low G ukes and I even (don't be in shock) put it on my 1932 Martin 2 Soprano, and the sounds is unbelievable. I was able to get a Soprano string and Tenor string out of one string which is a bonus.

Now for many who don't like low G, there are a lot of really good strings on the market now and I would say you really have to try different sets on each uke to find the sound you are looking for that works for your particular uke. It is all personal taste, period.

I use Ph.D., Living Waters (re-entrant tuned and low G), and Savarez. Although the Fremont Blacklines sounded incredible this past week at my UKEJAM BY THE BAY 2013, where we played them on one of Toni's ukes from Anokoneke Ukuleles. Her uke sounded fantastic with them.

I think the Savarez and Living Waters are damn close in sound.
I even custom built a set of strings on my Collings which gives me the exact sound I want on each string. I wanted a more resonant C string and so I have three different brand strings on that uke and it sounds amazing. Thus experimentation is bliss!

Good luck, and happy stringing.
Click to expand...
 
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