Since you can pick one up for less than a tenner and start strumming chords by the end of the day, the ukulele is an immensely popular instrument. Since the strings of your ukulele play a big role in the sound and playing feel, it's important to pick the right strings and to regularly replace them.
Finding the Right Ukulele Strings & Changing Them
At Bax Music, you'll find a massive range of ukulele strings, so if you're not sure which strings are best for you and your ukulele, it can be a good idea to do a little bit of reading about your kind of ukulele and get some recommendations. Also, if you don't feel confident when it comes to changing your ukulele strings, don't worry too much about it - it's not as hard as it seems and there are plenty of online tutorials you can find to help guide you through. Of course, if you ever need advice, you can contact us and one of our specialists will be glad to help you out.
Just like with classical guitar strings, ukulele strings differ in tension rather than thickness, like guitar strings. As such, it's really important to pick the right strings for your kind of ukulele. The kind of ukulele that a pack of strings is designed for will always be clearly stated on the packaging and on the product page on our site, so you can find the right strings whether you have a soprano, concert, tenor, baritone, or bass ukulele. If you use the wrong strings and the tension is too high, the strings will be too tight and will not only break easily, but reduce the sound quality and the tuning stability of your instrument.
Most ukulele strings are made of nylon or a synthetic variation of nylon, and if you want to take a step up, you could try a set of fluorocarbon strings which have a really pure and clear sound. You can easily pick up a new pack of ukulele strings for as little as £4, so even ukulele players on a tight budget can regularly freshen up their strings. In our range of ukulele strings, you'll find strings made by big names like Aquila, Martin Strings and D’Addario, and if you need some help finding the right thing, then see our dedicated blog about Finding the right Ukulele Strings for You.
Tuning Up Your Ukulele
It's actually very normal to need to tune a ukulele every time you sit down to play. It's also true that some ukuleles can fall out of tune faster than others. This can have something to do with the quality of the machine heads, but it's also good to know that it can take a couple of weeks for a new set of strings to really break in and stop falling out of tune so often - simply because of the amount of stretch in the materials used to make them. The more you play your ukulele, the more you'll need to tune it and the more stable the tuning will become. Also, a lot of ukuleles are made of wood which expands and contracts in response to shifts in temperature and humidity which changes the string tension very slightly and makes them drop out of tune. If you want to know how to tune up your ukulele, you can find step-by-step instructions in our blog, How to Tune Your Ukulele.
The Difference Between High-G and Low-G Ukuleles
Concert ukuleles can have a high-G string or a low-G string. Most concert ukuleles will have a high-G (G4), so the string at the very top as you look down is actually thinner than the C4 string that comes next. It's this that gives the concert uke it's happy and bright character of sound. You can also put a set of low-G strings on a concert ukulele to give it a more full sound with a little more bass to it, but the chords are all the same.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ukulele Strings
How often should you change ukulele strings?
If you always want the best sound and playing feel out of your ukulele, then it's recommended to change your strings once every six months.
What's the standard tuning of a ukulele?
The most common ukulele tunings are as follows: soprano and concert ukuleles are tuned in G4, C4, E4, and A4. Guitarleles are tuned in A2, D3, G3, C3, E4 and A4. Baritone ukuleles are tuned in D3, G3, B3 and E4. An alternative soprano ukulele tuning is an octave higher: A4, D4, F#4 and B4. For more info about tuning your ukulele, see our blog How to Tune Your Ukulele.
What are the best ukulele strings?
At Bax Music, we stock ukulele strings made by big names like Aquila, D’Addario, Dunlop, Ernie Ball, Fender, Flight, Martin Strings and Ortega. Of course, the best strings for you and your uke will always be the ones that sound and feel best to you.
