Guadalupe Custom Strings for Ukuleles

I heard about Guadalupe ukulele strings from my good friend Dafydd in Wales. I had never come across them before and part of the reason is that they only sell directly to the public. If you are one of those who insists that all strings sound the same and its best to go to the local fishing store, then best not to read on! If you are someone who is interested in musical exploration and sonic possibilities, then this is worth a read.

These strings are handmade, and there is a fair wait to receive sets. As well as being patient, be aware that customs and postal delays mean that this is not an easy or cheap option to try out. It can take as long as two month to even get a set, especially when parcelforce take a full month to ship from Coventry to Leeds!

This is how they describe themselves on their site

“A HandMade Tradition

Since 1991, Guadalupe Custom Strings has been making traditional strings for traditional music, by hand. We have worked with luthiers and musicians internationally to develop the highest quality strings available for mariachi instruments, bajo quinto, ukulele, son jarocho and much more.

Our team of 3, work out of the corner of a warehouse in East L.A, we do not have regular hours, and although we sell directly to the public, it is always best to call ahead and make sure we will be there.”

See http://thegcs.co/

My own experience is that these are very different to everything else I have tried to date. They don’t have the feel or sound of fluorocarbons and they certainly don’t sound or respond like gut strings. I have them currently on a James Triggs tenor ukulele as well as a Bill Collings UC1 concert ukulele. The Collings is a better reference for me as I own three Collings concert ukuleles, so I can compare this Guadalupe addition to the other ukes which have Worth Browns and Aquilla Red strings. The Collings concert is an all mahogany ukulele, and some strings can IMO make it sound really muddy and not bring out the best sonic potential from the instrument.

Another consideration with string choice is how the selection affects the ukulele when its amplified especially with a pickup. The Collings UC1 had a McIntyre feather pickup which is my usual pickup, but previously didn’t sound as dynamic as I would like. It was “ok” but nothing like as resonant as when played acoustically. The change to Guadalupe’s made a big difference, so now all the sonic potential of the ukulele could be heard.  These strings will be a personal choice as they are tough to locate and not inexpensive, unless you live in the USA. That said, they can sound really great of certain ukuleles. Of course its ultimately always a question of choice and IMO the wider the choice the more possibilities…