Not that long ago I reviewed the Brüko Walnut Soprano Ukulele. I adore it, but one of my minor gripes were the strings they are sold with. I promised I would change them and I have...
It's a great ukulele though I mentioned in the review that I dislike the strings. It was partly because I didn't like the low tension, but also because I didn't think they were doing the ukulele enough justice in terms of punch. I had a lot of people message me asking for a video with new strings, and I have done just that.
However.. A quick aside before we come on to that, and one I feel a bit stupid for admitting considering how long i've been writing about the ukulele. A couple of people posited the theory that becasue Brüko are a German brand, it could be the case that the strings they provide are designed for slightly higher D tuning (that is to say A, D, F#, B). I considered this and then realise I had been a bit of a klutz. You see, what a lot of people won't realise is that D tuning was originally a far more common standard tuning for ukuleles. Traditional banjolele players still to this day tend to go with it for the snappier sound, but it seemed to fall out of favour in a lot of places for the now more commonplace C tuning. But.. not in parts of Europe it didn't. In fact, in parts of Europe, D tuning IS what they tend to consider as standard... and Brüko are German.. Makes sense huh?
So, before I swapped the strings, I gave it a try in D tuning and sure enough, it's snappier, I sense that it is louder, and my fingers are not getting as tangled in the lower tension at C. Result and case solved!
Well, I say 'result'... it serves to give a reasoning for my orignal dislike, but.. I still mainly play in C tuning, so I still wanted to change them over to get the tension I preferred in the tuning I prefer.
So take a look at the video. This is NOT a string recommendation as I don't give those as our ears all vary, but for what it's worth I have used Martin clear fluorocarbon. Your mileage may vary. And of course you have the option of sticking with the original strings and playing in D too of course. You can compare the same played parts, recorded with the same microphone and same EQ to the playing in the original video. Maybe you won't hear a difference, in fact it's slight. I sense the Martin's have a bit more clarity and character, but it's subtle. Maybe YouTube compression and normalisation is also zapping the difference. What I CAN assure you of though, is that my fingers FEEL the difference! Video also added to the foot of the original review.
Enjoy!
© Barry Maz
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THANKS!
Loved the string comparison Barry and comments! :-)
ReplyDeleteooops...forgot to say that yes, I do prefer the Martin fluo string sound. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Barry. Interesting: I can definitely hear the comparative slackness of the Pyramids on which the pitch is momentarily fluctuating slightly with the force of each strum or pluck - I can actually hear them stretching! I had to listen again, very carefully, to convince myself that I'm not imagining it, especially as I do have a preference for flourocarbon strings myself and the Martins were holding their tuning better than the Pyramids at the point of recording, but I don't think I am. Someone else might tell me I'm talking nonsense. Maybe any difference in volume doesn't come across in the video but I think the Martin strings sound much firmer and also have a fuller sound, with stronger middle frequencies; much nicer.
ReplyDeleteTo my ears, Martins are slightly clearer, and the attack level seems to be a tad sharper, bringing a crisper sound. I would love to hear the pyramids in D. Thanks Barry, excellent stuff you do!
ReplyDelete