Strings for baritone uke?

[capefisherman]

I have become pretty much addicted to the bari uke in the last couple of months. It sounds great in my recordings when mixed with lead, vocals and rhythm tracks. I would like to experiment with some different strings (not sure of the brand I own); I keep it in standard bari uke tuning, D -G-B-E, like strings 4 - 1 on my guitar. I think what I would like is higher tension. FWIW, the D and G strings are wound, the other are plain. Specific recommendations greatly appreciated, thanks!

Gene

[jricc]

Hi Gene
I just recently inherited an inexpensive Mitchell Baritone uke. I bought a set of Daddario Pro Arte normal tension strings and used the A,D,G,B strings for it. The tension was increased on the bari some.

BTW, cool you are digging your new baritone. I do prefer a tenor to the bari, but it is nice to have a different flavor.

Hope this helps.

[vcs700s]

I use Worth Clear strings (CB). They are unwound and sound great.

You may want to check out my YouTube channel.

Over 100 uke videos with many featuring the baritone ukulele.

https://youtube.com/c/VicSchmeltz

Enjoy!

[capefisherman]

Originally Posted by jricc

Hi Gene
I just recently inherited an inexpensive Mitchell Baritone uke. I bought a set of Daddario Pro Arte normal tension strings and used the A,D,G,B strings for it. The tension was increased on the bari some.

BTW, cool you are digging your new baritone. I do prefer a tenor to the bari, but it is nice to have a different flavor.

Hope this helps.

Hi Joe,

I went through a uke obsession a few years ago (Jake spurred it....OMG, what a player!! ) and bought a Kanile'a concert and tenor. It was a pretty major investment at the time but oh man, did they sound great. But in my world of teaching guitar and gigging an instrument has to "earn it's keep" and I just wasn't using them as much as I had imagined I would so they were sold. Too bad those Mitchell ukes are no longer in production, they were/are fine instruments for the money. I'm leaning toward doing what you did - buy some regular classical guitar strings and using the top four on my Teton baritone, but I'm thinking I will go with a higher tension string.

In any case, thanks for the input!

Gene Bourque
Cape Cod Acoustics

[jricc]

Originally Posted by capefisherman

Hi Joe,

I went through a uke obsession a few years ago (Jake spurred it....OMG, what a player!! ) and bought a Kanile'a concert and tenor. It was a pretty major investment at the time but oh man, did they sound great. But in my world of teaching guitar and gigging an instrument has to "earn it's keep" and I just wasn't using them as much as I had imagined I would so they were sold. Too bad those Mitchell ukes are no longer in production, they were/are fine instruments for the money. I'm leaning toward doing what you did - buy some regular classical guitar strings and using the top four on my Teton baritone, but I'm thinking I will go with a higher tension string.

In any case, thanks for the input!

Gene Bourque
Cape Cod Acoustics

Hi Gene, thanks for the info about the Mitchell Baritone. It's solid spruce over lam rosewood .
Yes Jake is a monster...
The Kanilea ukes you had are beautiful sounding instruments, but I get what you're saying about earning their keep.
Let us know how the higher tension strings work out for you

[A Green Peon]

Uke Logic baritone strings are worth considering too - order from theukulelesite.com. If you call them, you'll likely speak to Joel who created/sells them and can bounce questions/ideas off him.

[capefisherman]

Originally Posted by A Green Peon

Uke Logic baritone strings are worth considering too - order from theukulelesite.com. If you call them, you'll likely speak to Joel who created/sells them and can bounce questions/ideas off him.

Thanks, will do!

Gene

[casualmusic]

I started baritone ukulele a few months after starting guitar, and learned both at the same time.

My rookie death grip quickly wrecked the aluminium wound D and G strings of a few string sets against the frets of the baritone. So went looking for string sets with no wound strings.

There were favourable discussions about fluorocarbon Living Waters unwound strings on the ukuleleundeground enthusiasts forum. I like them a lot, and ordered batches of five or so (for me and for fellow bari and tenor players) to average out the postage cost from England. They sound good, and are thinner and stiffer than the Nylgut nylon strings that came with the uke.

https://www.kenmiddleton.co.uk/shop

After a couple years got SeaGuar Blue fluorocarbon fishing leader in 25 yard spools that will yield 30+ string sets. It’s not the thing for most people but works well for me and baritone buddies.
.