Ohana Ck20S My very first Uke Experience

I've tried and love worths and d'addarios in my other ukes but my SK30M came with humble Aquilas and they just feel and sound 'right' on this low action, mahogany longneck soprano.
 
Please, can you tell me how is the "life" of a uke strings?
How is the behaviour of Uke Strings? How is the process of "getting old"? How long do they ussually last in "good shape"?

Uke strings (modern ones) are various types of plastic. Mostly either Nylon or Fluorocarbon, or some "proprietary" material that they won't tell us about. (like Nylgut... but, "Nyl" implies that it's some variant of nylon) If you can find the right type and sizes of fishing line... that's really all they are. High quality monofilament fishing line. I doubt that anyone is actually creating a specific material for ukulele strings, just repurposing something that's already available.

For me, personally, I've never actually worn out a set of strings. Or, maybe I have and I just don't know it? I guess I've had a couple that were damaged. Once I get a uke set up to where I like it and the strings are settled in... it generally keeps working for me. But, I'm a gentle player and I play with lower-tension strings. I'm sure if you play harder, you could wear out strings, especially the thinner A and G strings.

How they behave is that they stretch. Once they're done stretching to the proper tension, they should be good for a long time. At least, that's been my experience.

Being whatever kinds of plastic they are, they definitely CAN age. Plastics tend to harden with age and exposure to things like UV light and ozone. So, over time, they'll get harder and more brittle and that could affect how they feel or sound. Could even cause them to be more prone to breakage as they get older.
 
Thanks guys for your help.
I'm not the kind of guys that change string too frequently, ussually I change them when I have no more choice!!! Hehehe!!!

I watched the video, very interesting, too sophisticated for me yet!!! hahaha!!!
My knowledge is so basic that I have to find out what do mean "Low G" or "High G"! if there is only one G in the 4th String!!!
Now, besides to look for a string set, I have to look for a Uke to play in Low G! 🙃

Complemanting the video of @ploverwing I also watched:

Overview of types of strings:


Differences of Low G vs High G tuning / string sets:


Comparison between different string set (most of them Aquila sets, but also Martin, Aurora, and a couple of other brands)
 
Strings. After doing a bit of research I settled on Aquila Super Nylgut on my Ohana Concert. That’s what’s now fitted to them from new and IMHO they match the instrument well. Strings are a right ‘rabbit hole’ in which you can waste a lot of time, money and effort.

Seems I will go for an Aquila set because it's more available here in Argentina, and they aren't expensive. According to what I can hear in the video I included above, the Super Nylgut sounds pretty similar to the New Nylgut, may be one a little more bright, with more high-end, while the other may sound less bright but somewhat fuller, but for my ears the differences are subtle.
I will try the a Fluorocarbon set, if I can get one at a similar price of the Aquila. I like the highend and attack that they (seem to) have.
I think I'll go for either of these sets (Aquila Nylgut or Fluorocarbon Martin Set).
 
That is my option to go for replacement, but the set it has must be the stock Aquila!
In all fairness to Aquila (and to Mimmo, UU member & Aquila founder), all uke strings will stretch, and some can take as long as 2 weeks to stay in tune. That was the case with my present FC strings (Fremont Blacks), but they now remain in tune for days at a time.
 
I find that I can usually get new strings to settle in within a few days by over-tuning them (2-3 semitones above the target) and then grabbing the string and pulling it away from the fretboard aggressively. Just pull it, yank it, stretch it. Don't try to break it, or anything, but give it 8-10 good pulls. Let it know you mean business.

Then let it rest for a bit, and retune it. Maybe play it for a minute or two just to feel good about yourself. Then YANK on the strings some more! Then retune.

Repeat that process a few times, maybe do it again the next day and the day after. That will condense 2 weeks of stretching into a couple days.

I think part of the stretching/settling process is getting the KNOTS to be fully tight and the wraps on the tuner ends to settle in. It's not ALL just the strings themselves stretching. That's where some good hard pulling helps. Get the knots and wraps all in place, then things will start staying in tune better.
 
I find that I can usually get new strings to settle in within a few days by over-tuning them (2-3 semitones above the target) and then grabbing the string and pulling it away from the fretboard aggressively. Just pull it, yank it, stretch it. Don't try to break it, or anything, but give it 8-10 good pulls. Let it know you mean business.

Then let it rest for a bit, and retune it. Maybe play it for a minute or two just to feel good about yourself. Then YANK on the strings some more! Then retune.

Repeat that process a few times, maybe do it again the next day and the day after. That will condense 2 weeks of stretching into a couple days.

I think part of the stretching/settling process is getting the KNOTS to be fully tight and the wraps on the tuner ends to settle in. It's not ALL just the strings themselves stretching. That's where some good hard pulling helps. Get the knots and wraps all in place, then things will start staying in tune better.
Excellent point about the time it takes to "pressure cinch" those string knots! It's a fact that the time it takes for the knots to fully tighten is a huge part of the process we think of as strings stretching.
 
I find that I can usually get new strings to settle in within a few days by over-tuning them (2-3 semitones above the target) and then grabbing the string and pulling it away from the fretboard aggressively. Just pull it, yank it, stretch it. Don't try to break it, or anything, but give it 8-10 good pulls. Let it know you mean business.

Then let it rest for a bit, and retune it. Maybe play it for a minute or two just to feel good about yourself. Then YANK on the strings some more! Then retune.

Repeat that process a few times, maybe do it again the next day and the day after. That will condense 2 weeks of stretching into a couple days.

I think part of the stretching/settling process is getting the KNOTS to be fully tight and the wraps on the tuner ends to settle in. It's not ALL just the strings themselves stretching. That's where some good hard pulling helps. Get the knots and wraps all in place, then things will start staying in tune better.
Thanks for your advice!
I do that with the guitar strings, but I already know how much I can pull them without breaking them... and as you said, in the Uke there are also the knots that play their part, that in electric guitar not.
 
I'm super impatient when i want to hear new strings. Last night I wanted to try out Freemont blacks on my concert so i spent a solid hour watching shows and tuning up, stretching, tuning up, stretching and they held pretty well after. They settled down pretty good by this morning.
 
I'm super impatient when i want to hear new strings. Last night I wanted to try out Freemont blacks on my concert so i spent a solid hour watching shows and tuning up, stretching, tuning up, stretching and they held pretty well after. They settled down pretty good by this morning.
Oddly, I prefer to appearance of Fremont blacks as much as their sound and durability. I suspect I might not like the look as well if my fretboard were wood rather than plastic. I definitely don’t like white/ off white strings. Just sayin’
 
I've tried and love worths and d'addarios in my other ukes but my SK30M came with humble Aquilas and they just feel and sound 'right' on this low action, mahogany longneck soprano.

A matter of taste, to me a set of worth clears really added some extra life to the sound of mine compared to stock strings. I would say that changing to fluorocarbon made a bigger difference on this model than on my concert body ukes.
Anyway, nylgut is nice too.
 
Congratulations! A nice looking & sounding Ohana. Nice playing in the video.

It appears that your Ohana has Nylon strings on it. So if you like the sound, go for the Aquilas. I'm not a Nylon strings fan, so I have limited experience with the variations.

Generally, your strings will wear much like classical guitar strings. Mostly at the frets. And since you play with a pick, you'll eventually see some wear from that. If you run your finger/fingernail under the string, it should be smooth without any divots (wear indentations).

This was posted in 2021:

Check these links out on their official YouTube channel!
Lava Series:
Genuine Gut:
Red Series:
Sugar:
Bio Nylon:
New Nylgut: https://youtu.be/mbjUzFce9nY
Super Nylgut: https://youtu.be/36fTy09X1ug
AG x AQ: https://youtu.be/hhOzEhmla1Q
Kids Educational: https://youtu.be/E9Mh-k9d7TI
 
Congratulations! A nice looking & sounding Ohana. Nice playing in the video.

It appears that your Ohana has Nylon strings on it. So if you like the sound, go for the Aquilas. I'm not a Nylon strings fan, so I have limited experience with the variations.

Generally, your strings will wear much like classical guitar strings. Mostly at the frets. And since you play with a pick, you'll eventually see some wear from that. If you run your finger/fingernail under the string, it should be smooth without any divots (wear indentations).

This was posted in 2021:

Check these links out on their official YouTube channel!
Lava Series:
Genuine Gut:
Red Series:
Sugar:
Bio Nylon:
New Nylgut: https://youtu.be/mbjUzFce9nY
Super Nylgut: https://youtu.be/36fTy09X1ug
AG x AQ: https://youtu.be/hhOzEhmla1Q
Kids Educational: https://youtu.be/E9Mh-k9d7TI

Thanks Kenn, I'm with a limited connection (in a mountain house) so I will watch them later.
I played with pick and fingers for showing the different sounds of the uke, I play with both but more with fingerpicking / fingerstyle.
I like clarity, so I tend to avoid to too rounded sound (at least in the guitar), I'm happy with the Aquila stock set, but if I have the chance, I will try the flourocarbon (translation: if I get it at a similar price of the Aquila -I'm from Argentina-).
 
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I'm a little late to the party, but congrats Fhede on your Ohana Concert. Nice uke, I have the tenor version, TK20. It gets a lot of use in teaching my uke group. Enjoy!
 
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