|
KO`OLAU GOLD STRINGS
Ko`olau Gold 'Ukulele Strings are professional quality strings, preferred by performers and recording artists.
Our “Ko’olau Gold” line of ‘ukulele strings have achieved world wide popularity, throughout Europe, Asia, the mainland US, and of course, Hawaii. We had originally spent several years with performers and in recording studios experimenting with different nylon treble and metal wound bass strings. All of this was naturally pioneered decades ago by the classical guitar industry, in Spain and especially Argentina, the land of the tango. The original classical guitar string was called “gut” because of being made of the internal linings of animal intestines. A few purists continue to use this string, especially for the upright or double bass. Today, most classical guitars (and ‘ukuleles) have nylon strings, for stability, evenness, and longevity. We have had many manufacturers of nylon strings present us with their special nylon compound, and thus far we have continued using our “rectified” gold nylon and gold alloy wound basses. Aluminum wound has been used for our wound 3rd string on Tenor and Baritone ‘ukuleles due to the long stretch necessary, and from our extensive research and experimentation with many different metal outer windings, we have found that aluminum is the only material able to handle the tension and still be comfortable to the player, and retain stability without breaking. The only other option is using all plain nylon string sets, which sound good, but some players still prefer wound basses. As for the gold alloy string that we have been using for the #4 wound bass, in low octave tunings, and available on each size ’ukulele, we have recently experimented with other metal alloys, and will be changing to silver for our low 4th sets. We feel the silver winding is superior, producing a more even, smooth, warm tone. Also, this material is more resistant to tarnishing. We realize that the name “gold” sounds richer and more prestigious, but silver is also a precious metal. We are confident that our customers will agree. Our gold nylon will also be changed. We understand that too many changes at once can cause some difficulties, but our constant goal and commitment is the improvement in quality of both our instruments and our strings, even if this creates higher costs to us, and the resulting need to pass these increases on to our customers. But we are proud that we have never made changes that would minimize our quality in order to maximize our profits. This practice is the standard in most industries today, but we will not compromise in this area. The cost of our new nylon strings is higher, partly due to the fact that nylon is a by-product of the petroleum industry, but also because higher quality materials simply cost more. As they say, you get what you pay for. But to make this transition easier, for as long as possible we are going to keep our prices the same. Our new Ko’olau Gold strings will “feel” different. For one, they have a smoother texture than our previous nylon strings, which should please most players. The rough textured string was due to the extrusion cutting process performed in order to retain uniform gauged diameters throughout the length of the string, which affects volume, tone and true notation up the fretboard. Our new nylons are made of a special polyamid nylon, then milled by an innovative laser cutting process, insuring perfect gauged diameters, and eliminating the need for “rectifying” cutting knives which result in a rough, textured surface. Throughout the years we have received requests for a smoother feel to our strings, and prior to this new laser cut, a uniform string was not possible. The new polyamid laser cut string also has a “pre-stretched” feel and tension, resulting in a very short “break-in” period. The new Ko’olau Gold Strings will now satisfy the most discriminating ‘ukulele player, performer, and recording artist. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email. Mahalo nui loa, John and Susan Kitakis,
Home
| Location | Ko'olau
| Pono Models | Stock
Instruments | Sizes
| Woods
For more information and ordering: Ko'olau
'Ukulele Company
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
