GHS Strings - Hawaiian Nylon Ukulele Strings (5-Pack) - Black

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• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Good Traditional Tone Ukulele String

  • Incentivized

  This is the tone people think of when the imagine what a ukulele sounds like in their mind's ear. Black nylon ukulele strings have been around for nearly 70 years and if they weren't good strings they would have gone away before now. Here they are just as good sounding as ever. These days black nylon strings are out of favor with Aquila Nylgut strings getting the lion's share of professional recommendations. (A few players are using the D'Addario Tungsten blue tinged ones too). I have two ukes set up with Aquilas, but will always want to have these GHS Hawaiian black nylons setup on at least one uke that is close at hand for home play. I would never have tried them, but they were stock on a Makala Dolphin uke I bought and before taking them off I tried them out and decided to keep them on this uke because I found that the change of pace was very welcome. The Makala Dolphin ukulele is said to be the number one selling ukulele in the world right now. Part of the reason might be these strings and how they sound on it. This GHS Hawaiian set yields a relaxing warm tone compared to the more strident cutting Nylgut strings that everyone says you "must" use! Trust me you do not have to use Aquila Nylgut strings and these work fine on my Dolphin.. These GHS Hawaiians are soft and easy to setup and fret making them fun to play. The intonation is great too. They are for "C" tuning which is G-C-E-A tuning with the G being higher than the C....this is also called "My Dog Has Fleas" tuning. They do take a bit longer to stabilize and stay tuned up, but after a week or two of play they stay in tune much better. I like these strings a lot and they make me grin ear to ear with their warmth. While they are far cheaper than the Aquila Nylgut strings and are not as loud as the Aquilas I'd actually pay the same price the Aquilas cost to get the GHS Hawaiians. A louder tone isn't always a better tone! This GHS Hawaiian set will work for either a Soprano or Concert (sometimes called an Alto) ukulele. Other sets won't. So far as I know this is the only set designed so it works for both. They also are made in Battle Creek, Mi. I use other GHS string sets on other instruments and they are a good USA based American owned company making all their products in the USA. (The Aquilas are made in Italy.) As you can see in the photo I'm posting of a uke just like mine, all four strings are black nylon and that can be problematic especially for a beginner because they blend in with the dark colored rosewood used on fretboards which makes them harder to see. It isn't really a problem for me though, however I've had some people say they can't see the strings to fret them. The tone is truly Hawaiian! It what you've heard on countless ukulele recordings as far back as you care to go. The Aquila Nylgut strings are great strings, but they just don't have the old school vintage Hawaiian tone this GHS Hawaiian set has. I have also tried the GHS Hawaiian set for Tenor and don't like it as much because the C string is wound, not black nylon as it is on this Standard set.. If I was playing professionally for others these might not be my first choice, but I'm playing for me and I really like this old school tone. This tone is very musical, very authentic Hawaiian and very laid back. I give them 4 stars!. Aquila would also get 4 stars. No one string is right for every player on every ukulele because players and ukes are all different! Many players don't like black nylons, but I found out that I really like the GHS Hawaiian black nylon set a lot! So I ordered the 5 pack here and they arrived in just a few days! Best Buy had the best price when shipping cost was taken into account.

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  Posted 12 years ago by BrotherDave