Titanium strings are almost unusable which makes me sad

[Dohle]

As unfortunate as it is, I'm very happy to hear you say this! I didn't think it was possible for strings to go sharp while playing, so I thought I was going more insane! But it was so obvious that it was impossible to avoid the conclusion that that's exactly what was happening.

Since I didn't have any idea that it COULD happen, I was sure that I must have done something wrong installing them to allow it to happen.

The distress I was feeling was compounded by the fact that these were the first replacement strings I'd bought! I was really sweating, too. "My g--, what have I done? Am I really not able to do this?!?"

I went with other strings and they were fine, but I assumed that part of the reason why is that these were now my second strings, and I felt like I had the hang of it better...

...but when hearing this, I realize now that I might have done the first ones just fine, and it was the strings all along! NOW I know that if I don't like strings after the first week or so, it's better to just toss 'em, but I didn't have anything like that kind of confidence to start.

I like other D'Addarios, which is why I got these, so it gives me no pleasure to say anything negative about them. But it did give me relief to know that I'm not the only one who has experienced this!

I agree, nice to see people with the same experience. When I first started this thread I was still fairly new to the ukulele. I was so puzzled by these strings it drove me completely up the wall. At first, I had no idea if I was doing something wrong myself.

To be honest, I still don't know the actual underlying reason for why the Titanium strings go sharp. As discussed on the previous page, the increase in temperature from playing (or whatever else) would make the strings expand - not contract - which would make them go flat, not sharp. I assume the same would happen with moisture. Maybe the issue is that decrease in moisture makes them go sharp as I live in a very dry climate. Who knows.

There was a fairly recent Ukulele Underground podcast (or maybe it has the HMS podcast with Aldrine on it) where Aldrine commented on these exact strings. He said he had used them at some point but ended up using D'Addario Clear Nylon strings because they're much more stable compared to the Titaniums which are very susceptible to temperature and humidity changes. When I heard that it was the final confirmation for me.

 

[Renaissance-Man]

I think I know what's happening here. I've experienced this before, and have managed to be somewhat successful in mitigating the issue. Half of the cause was actually stated by the OP in the first post of this thread. "[D'Addario Titaniums are a] larger [in diameter] gauge compared to nylgut or fluorocarbon." The other half of the cause is the nut slot width. Basically, the strings are being held-up at the the nut, when being brought up to pitch/tension. The net effect is the length of string between the tuning peg and the nut is under greater tension than the length of string between the nut and the saddle. The tension equalizes between the two sections of string over time and play. The pitch rises as the string seeks equilibrium.
One needs to address the nut slots.

 

[Dohle]

I think I know what's happening here. I've experienced this before, and have managed to be somewhat successful in mitigating the issue. Half of the cause was actually stated by the OP in the first post of this thread. "[D'Addario Titaniums are a] larger [in diameter] gauge compared to nylgut or fluorocarbon." The other half of the cause is the nut slot width. Basically, the strings are being held-up at the the nut, when being brought up to pitch/tension. The net effect is the length of string between the tuning peg and the nut is under greater tension than the length of string between the nut and the saddle. The tension equalizes between the two sections of string over time and play. The pitch rises as the string seeks equilibrium.
One needs to address the nut slots.

This would make a whole lot more sense than speculating about temperature or humidity changes. I'm guessing the surface of Titanium strings might be such that they also create more friction in the nut slot compared to regular nylon strings and the like. I might have to utilise the old trick of grafite in the nut slot if I decide to give the Titaniums another chance.

 

[pluribus]

I was going to open a new thread because of a problem that happened to my dearest baritone uke, but this thread made me think.
It's the only solid uke I have and it has titanium strings on it. I liked the sound of it a lot. I took the uke when I went camping last week.
The sound of the uke is now terrible, especially the top two strings, B and E.
My first thought was that the neck has warped or something. It did get some hot weather, despite not being directly under the sun. Now I'm thinking if it's not a problem with those titanium strings and not the uke itself.
At first glance I can't see any deformity on the neck. I hope the problem is somehow related to those strings. I will change them and see what happens. Cheers.

 

[Contrails]

I think I know what's happening here. I've experienced this before, and have managed to be somewhat successful in mitigating the issue. Half of the cause was actually stated by the OP in the first post of this thread. "[D'Addario Titaniums are a] larger [in diameter] gauge compared to nylgut or fluorocarbon." The other half of the cause is the nut slot width. Basically, the strings are being held-up at the the nut, when being brought up to pitch/tension. The net effect is the length of string between the tuning peg and the nut is under greater tension than the length of string between the nut and the saddle. The tension equalizes between the two sections of string over time and play. The pitch rises as the string seeks equilibrium.
One needs to address the nut slots.

This by far sounds like the most logical explanation. I believe the Godin multiukes all came with Titanium strings as well but branded as Godin strings and I never read about complains on intonation issues on those ukes.