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String Test

Our good friend Ken Freestone, (aka UKEn), a friend of The Uke House, recently received a donation of several identical ukuleles. The Uke House supplied him with a variety of strings, and he got to work restringing and testing each one to compare different brands and materials.

 

Ken recorded audio samples of each setup, and he’s generously shared them with us. You can now listen and compare the results yourself below. It is best listened to through headphones as they reveal more detail (computer speakers can distort the sound).  

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Aquilla

Nylgut

00:00 / 00:50

Ohana

Fluorocarbon

00:00 / 00:52

D'Addario

Nyltech

00:00 / 00:50

Worth Browns
Fluorocarbon

00:00 / 00:50

Martin

Fluorocarbon

00:00 / 00:50

Below are Ken's conclusions, do the strings sound the same way to you? 

Aquila - Flat, soft, mellow and a bit dull. Felt thick playing them.

D'Addario - Still soft but a bit brighter than the Aquila. Mellow and clear

Martin - Soft, clear and mellow. These are the strings I personally use on most of my ukes

Ohana - This surprised me. They are more resonant with a nice soft but clear sound. I may try some of these on a couple of ukes

Worth Browns - Consistently mellow and soft sounding. I used to use Worth's on most of my ukes, but switched to Martin when I wanted something a little more outward sounding yet a warm sound.

elvisUkes.jpeg

Recording equipment:

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  • Spire Studio, Model SPM - 8 track portable recording studio
     

  • Shure SuperBeta 58A
     

  • XLR Microphone cable
     

  • Kala Concert LTP-C-ERB Elvis Presley Rockabilly Edition
    Donated for lessons/classes by Music is the Foundation, Ben Hassenger
     

  • Recorded at the Holland Area Arts Council in the Armstrong Gallery, Holland, Michigan

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