String question. Possible idiocy.

[Dave Holiday]

Can you put concert sized uke strings on a soprano?

Specifically, I have a set of Martin fluorocarbon concert strings (M600s?) that I want to put on an old soprano.

Will this work?

Thanks!

 

[Graham Greenbag]

Can you put concert sized uke strings on a soprano?

Specifically, I have a set of Martin fluorocarbon concert strings (M600s?) that I want to put on an old soprano.

Will this work?

Thanks!

Using Martin M600’s on Sopranos is common and they work just fine.

A lot of other strings work fine on both Soprano and Concert scale Ukes.

 

[mountain goat]

Using Martin M600’s on Sopranos is common and they work just fine.

A lot of other strings work fine on both Soprano and Concert scale Ukes.

thank you for your insight Graham.

 

[oldjazznut]

My GHS are marked as being for either.

 

[kissing]

Concert strings are fine on soprano.
They're also fine on Tenors

 

[ripock]

but there is a tension difference. Concert strings on a tenor result in a lower tension whereas concert strings on a soprano would result in higher tension. Obviously we are talking about ukuleles, so the difference isn't going to be all that significant, but the difference is there even if it is a bit negligible.

 

[mikelz777]

The Martin M600's are meant for both soprano and concerts.

 

[merlin666]

but there is a tension difference. Concert strings on a tenor result in a lower tension whereas concert strings on a soprano would result in higher tension. Obviously we are talking about ukuleles, so the difference isn't going to be all that significant, but the difference is there even if it is a bit negligible.

You can get better tension and intonation on standard uke if you tune up to D.

 

[Dave Holiday]

but there is a tension difference. Concert strings on a tenor result in a lower tension whereas concert strings on a soprano would result in higher tension. Obviously we are talking about ukuleles, so the difference isn't going to be all that significant, but the difference is there even if it is a bit negligible.

I would think the opposite. Concert strings on a tenor = higher tension, on a soprano = lower tension.

Not arguing the point; just my (quite likely wrong) intuitive feeling.

 

[Dave Holiday]

The Martin M600's are meant for both soprano and concerts.

View attachment 163179

Oh, nice! Strange. I'll have to check but I really thought mine specifically said "concert."

 

[Dave Holiday]

Just to clarify, I've been playing ukulele since 1999. After years of trying dozens of different strings (including some pretty pricey brands) I settled on Martin fluorocarbons as my favorites. (I still need to try D'addarios.)

I just can't recall a time when I tried a set of strings on a different scale ukulele than the strings were supposed to go on.

If the M600s are meant for either soprano or concert, then problem solved!

 

[Mike $]

For me, it's hit or miss. When I got my uke I didn't like the strings, so I went to my local music store and all they carried was Concert strings. They assured me that they will be fine for soprano, concert and tenor ukes. I bought a few sets, fluorocarbon, nyltech, and rectified nylon...they only had D'Addario strings. I only liked the nylons on my uke. Then I ordered soprano and tenor strings from them after I built a soprano and experimented. I must say, I enjoy soprano strings on a soprano and tenor strings on a tenor most of all. But, in a pinch I will use what I have and replace them when I can.

 

[mikelz777]

Just to clarify, I've been playing ukulele since 1999. After years of trying dozens of different strings (including some pretty pricey brands) I settled on Martin fluorocarbons as my favorites. (I still need to try D'addarios.)

I'm a fan of Martins as well and I've liked them on everything I've ever put them on. I personally hated D'Addarios but I think they were nylon and I'm an all-fluorocarbon guy.

 

[ailevin]

Last I checked, KoAloha uses the same flourocarbon strings on soprano, concert, and tenor. The same goes for UKESA strings from Pops Okami. I have the same strings on all three scales. The difference in string tension is easily felt from soprano (lowest tension) to concert to tenor (highest tension).

 

[Contrails]

I would think the opposite. Concert strings on a tenor = higher tension, on a soprano = lower tension.

Not arguing the point; just my (quite likely wrong) intuitive feeling.

You‘ve got it the wrong way round.

 

[UkingViking]

I would think the opposite. Concert strings on a tenor = higher tension, on a soprano = lower tension.

Not arguing the point; just my (quite likely wrong) intuitive feeling.

If you keep the strings the same and compare the instruments, you are right.

But if you keep the instruments the same and compare to strings designed for that scale length, you are wrong.

A subtle difference.

Edit:
The latter is because strings for longer scales are usually made thicker. Which might be counter intuitive. The tension allready goes up because of the scale, why would you increase it even more to account for heavier strings? But many string companies do this.
And some use the same gauges for more scales. They are not all doing the same.

 

[Dohle]

If you keep the strings the same and compare the instruments, you are right.

But if you keep the instruments the same and compare to strings designed for that scale length, you are wrong.

A subtle difference.

Edit:
The latter is because strings for longer scales are usually made thicker. Which might be counter intuitive. The tension allready goes up because of the scale, why would you increase it even more to account for heavier strings? But many string companies do this.
And some use the same gauges for more scales. They are not all doing the same.

Correct. The tension of the concert strings will be higher on a tenor scale uke since the scale length is larger, i.e., the strings are being pulled to a higher tension in order to achieve the correct pitch. But tenor strings on the same tenor uke will have an ever higher tension because the tenor strings will (typically) have larger gauges or alternatively higher tension/tensile strength. Same applies if you compare, e.g., soprano and concert strings/scales. Concert strings on soprano scale equals higher tension compared to soprano strings on soprano scale. It all depends on what you're actually comparing.

As to why string manufacturers use higher gauge/tension strings on larger scale ukes when the scale length already results in higher tension, well, the reason isn't so much the tension itself, rather the feel or tightness of the string. Even if a string has higher tension on, let's say, a tenor uke it doesn't necessarily result in a string that feels tighter. If you string a tenor with soprano strings then, yes, the strings will have higher tension but they'll still feel quite floppy. This is why you need even higher gauge or higher tension strings on a tenor in order for the feel of the string to, more or less, equate to smaller scale ukes with lower tension strings.

Of course, as has been discussed, certain strings only have a single set for soprano, concert and tenor scales. With very few exceptions, these are almost always fluorocarbon strings. I'm guessing fluorocarbon is dense enough - or had other such properties - that the difference in the feel of the string is negligible even with different scale lengths.

 

[merlin666]

This thread seems to be about how to interpret the qualitative labels on string packages. This is more straightforward for steel guitar strings where scales, tuning, and materials are similar and manufactures publish gauges assisted with labels ranging from extra light to heavy. For ukes it is not as easy as we have different density string materials, different scale lengths, and possibly different tunings. So manufactures unfortunately use more imagination and call uke strings by scale, tension, or even worse tone characteristics like warm /bright. This is confusing. What we need are standard charts for each set that show gauge and resulting tension for each scale at C tuning to give meaning to the flowery descriptions. Few manufactures provide that. I avoid those that don't.

 

[kissing]

but there is a tension difference. Concert strings on a tenor result in a lower tension whereas concert strings on a soprano would result in higher tension. Obviously we are talking about ukuleles, so the difference isn't going to be all that significant, but the difference is there even if it is a bit negligible.

That's precisely the reason I prefer Concert strings.
The tension is at a desirable level on soprano and tenor with Concert strings than with Soprano or Tenor strings respectively

As others have discussed in this thread, Ukulele strings are done counter-intuitively.

In actuality, if you used the same strings on Soprano, Concert and Tenor, the same strings will have the lowest tension on the Soprano and highest tension on the Tenor due to scale length.

Personally, I think there is a sweet spot tension for ukuleles regardless of size, but ukulele string manufacturers (and maybe ukulele builders too) seem to be under the impression that Sopranos are inherently lower tension instruments and Tenors are higher tension instruments.

So they make higher tension (thicker) strings for Tenors and lower tension (thinner) strings for Soprano with Concert in the middle.

Back to my personal preferences, I think the "sweet spot" tension for GCEA tuning on Sopranos, Concerts and Tenors is often achieved if I just used Concert strings on all sizes. Tenor strings on Tenor ukuleles feels too high tension for me personally. Soprano strings on Soprano feels a tad too floppy.