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Not a decoration anymore - What a difference some strings can make


Jimryan
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Morning all,

 

Quite some time back I managed to pick up a Harley Benton bass uke as "decoration only".  It arrived and after a quick inspection, decided there was nothing wrong with it.  So I set about playing it, it came installed with some horrendous rubber strings which I told myself I'd grow to like.  They were bearable and I endured them.  What I couldn't stand about this bass was how intonation went out the window on anything below the 5th fret on the E.  Deciding that a luthier would cost more than I paid for the instrument (and some), I decided to use it as advertised...a decoration.  It sat on top of a bookshelf in the living and that was that.

 

During the week I sat down to come up with a price list for our band (we go out as anything from a 2-7 piece, electric or acoustic) and remember the uke.  Thinking that if I sorted it, it would be perfect for pubs with tiny gardens, where an upright would be impractical (much like the gig we'd just been offered for this Sunday).  First port of call was to look on here for a solution.  First one I came across (and came very close to doing) was a complete de-fret.  I'm used to playing an upright and the dodgy fret intonation wouldn't be an issue anymore.  Let's not get too hasty, even if I de-fret it, I'm still going to be stuck with those awful strings.  Straight on to Thomann and ordered a set of the Pyramid silver coated strings...along with a wee gigbag should I be able to get it working as it should.

 

Old strings off and in the bin, followed by the arduous task of threading strings up through the body.  Once I'd done this I'd learnt that there was a bag of washers in the string packet that had to go on, so off they came and the process repeated.  Before I get too carried away, let's bring them up to tension and see if I like the feel/sound.

 

feels like a regular bass string - brilliant, sounds like an acoustic bass guitar - can't complain, tension and playability are spot on and hang on...is that my E string working as it should?!? Intonation issues resolved.  Hurrah!  I've retuned it every 30 minutes to settle the strings but I'm chuffed to bits.  Working bass uke that I actually want to play now, it also means that I can add mini garden gigs to our price list.  Bass uke, singer/guitarist and a Roland busking amp each stacked on top of each other in the corner.

 

 

IMG_0627.HEIC

IMG_0628.HEIC

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46 minutes ago, pineweasel said:

Very interesting post... my deko bass uke is languishing in the attic as I never got on with the strings. I’ll have to give them a go. It’s this set, is it?

https://www.thomann.de/gb/pyramid_509.200_bass_ukulele_set.htm

It was these ones buddy...

https://m.thomann.de/gb/pyramid_bass_ukulele_strings.htm

 

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