I was thinking that my Islander was beginning to sound “muddy”. All the zippity was gone from its do dah. I thought it was the Uke. I was looking at new Ukes and wow, they’re expensive. I had a set of Aquila tenor strings on them for the past … almost year. Well, I ordered and just got 2 sets of AGxAQ strings. Holy crap. Bright, crisp, loud/soft however you play them! They’re great. It only took 2 days to put them on (I’m old and it’s cold here in NE U.S.) Now, I’m off on an adventure to teach these strings some tunes and start smiling again. Thanks go out to all the UU folks for putting AGxAQ strings “bug” in my ear. I’m still looking for a new Uke, just not quite so hard. 😉

You are absolutely correct. While I was counting the beats that I strummed, I was missing the beats that I didn’t strum. It’s been something I’ve been scratching my head over for 2 months now. THANK YOU for your help.