Strings Aquila carbon black -new strings
- Thread starter M3Ukulele
- Start date
Thank you, Mimmo. And Booli. And UU Universe.
I've been pleasantly surprised with how much I've enjoyed the Lava strings on my Fluke and my Vita (since I'm mainly a fluorocarbon guy), so these sound exciting!
I've been pleasantly surprised with how much I've enjoyed the Lava strings on my Fluke and my Vita (since I'm mainly a fluorocarbon guy), so these sound exciting!
jollyboy
Well-known member
I'm really intrigued by these - and I'm really looking forward to Booli's review 
Aye. Mimmo really does care about us here on UU.
He really does. I tested the Aquila Reds quite a while ago, and liked them, even as some people were complaining about them, and how they were breaking - I still have that same set on my Kala Cedar Top Tenor, and I think it has been over 2 years.
-Kurt
Hey folks,
Mimmo is definitely a man of his word.
He has sent me a concert set of the new CarbonBlack strings via 1-day UPS from Italy.
Overnight mail, from Mimmo, across the Atlantic Ocean. I feel special now.
They arrived today, and actually hand-delivered by UPS which was a surprise since they usually just leave parcels at the front door.
I literally just installed them on my concert Flea.
First impressions are very good.
I will be jamming on them and breaking them in over the next few days. Once broken in I will put up a video and sound sample sometime next week.
I wont comment on the details just yet, as it usually takes at least 10 hrs of cumulative string vibration for me to feel and hear that the string has finally settled 'home' and relaxed enough.
I will make a new thread for the write-up and video and link it here in a new post so everyone does not miss it.
Thanks again and Ciao to Mimmo of Aquila for his continued support and kindness to the ukulele community here on UU and elsewhere...
:rock: :music:
Mimmo is definitely a man of his word.
He has sent me a concert set of the new CarbonBlack strings via 1-day UPS from Italy.
Overnight mail, from Mimmo, across the Atlantic Ocean. I feel special now
.They arrived today, and actually hand-delivered by UPS which was a surprise since they usually just leave parcels at the front door.
I literally just installed them on my concert Flea.
First impressions are very good.
I will be jamming on them and breaking them in over the next few days. Once broken in I will put up a video and sound sample sometime next week.
I wont comment on the details just yet, as it usually takes at least 10 hrs of cumulative string vibration for me to feel and hear that the string has finally settled 'home' and relaxed enough.
I will make a new thread for the write-up and video and link it here in a new post so everyone does not miss it.
Thanks again and Ciao to Mimmo of Aquila for his continued support and kindness to the ukulele community here on UU and elsewhere...
:rock: :music:mimmo
Well-known member
- Joined
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what the heck, so damn fast expedition dude
ah, if I sent something from my town, that is close to Venice, to Milan it take three days, even more
ah ah enjoy
mimmo
ah, if I sent something from my town, that is close to Venice, to Milan it take three days, even more
ah ah enjoy
mimmo
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Well, if Aquila in Italian = Eagle in English, maybe the strings had some help to 'fly' here?
Grazie Mille Mimmo :bowdown:
JackLuis
Well-known member
I'm looking forward to the review Boolie. I just ordered a new Ohana Ceder top tenor and might just try these on it after a while, as I'm pretty sure I'll pull the Super Nylguts off it as soon as they get broken in. I really want to like Aquilas but I found fluorocarbons to be better sounding to me. Maybe the ceder will mellow them out?
I really like the Reds but haven't had any luck keeping them for more that a couple of weeks.
I really like the Reds but haven't had any luck keeping them for more that a couple of weeks.
Thanks Jack.
Once I make a recording on the concert Flea, I plan to remove them and install them on the concert Fluke, which sounds quite different form the Flea in it's tone, and make a recording with the Fluke as well, and time-permitting and if the string ends by the tuners are not too worn, also install them on my all-solid mahogany concert Mainland ukulele, and record that as well. I will record playing the same songs on each instrument.
I am planning to also have a short talking part of the video, rather than a 1,000-word forum post, that way everything is together.
I am using my Flea and Fluke ukes because 'out-of-the-box' they each have near-perfect intonation and this will establish a good baseline without worry about intonation issues, whereas the Mainland has very good intonation, but varies somewhat with string gauge and string tension, but the Mainland being all-solid wood will hopefully satisfy the ears of the folks that dislike the tone of Flea and Fluke ukulele, as well as satisfy the purists that think anything other than all-solid wood is junk.
So this way it covers all bases. I do not own, nor have an other laminate concert uke to test with, since that niche is filled by the concert Fluke and concert Flea for me...
The recordings will be with a stereo A/B matched pair of studio condenser microphones, so the audio should be good enough for even the most eclectic listeners and render very high audio fidelity.
[edited to add] I love the FEEL of the SuperNylgut strings under the fingers, and just wish they had more sustain, and shorter than tenor, the C string seems a little too low tension and I often replace it with a Thomastik-Infeld CF27 chrome flatwound classical guitar string, which has almost zero string squeak and the tone balances very well with the SuperNylgut strings without being louder or too boomy. However, the TONE of the SuperNylgut strings is very sweet and full, with great note clarity to my ear.
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JackLuis
Well-known member
Cool!
I did a review of dGBE strings for Tenors recently but my mic is pretty cheap and may not have done the job. It sounded pretty good to me but I can't hear all that well, even with my new hearing aids.
I did a review of dGBE strings for Tenors recently but my mic is pretty cheap and may not have done the job. It sounded pretty good to me but I can't hear all that well, even with my new hearing aids.
OhioBelle
Well-known member
Looking forward to this review, Booli!
Love the look and sound of Lavas on my Pono mango tenor, but may also like the look and sound of Aquila carbon blacks, as fluorocarbons are starting to emerge as a preference in both sound and feel.
So nice of Mimmo to send them to you so we can all hear!
Love the look and sound of Lavas on my Pono mango tenor, but may also like the look and sound of Aquila carbon blacks, as fluorocarbons are starting to emerge as a preference in both sound and feel.
So nice of Mimmo to send them to you so we can all hear!
That's good to know. I think these are going to become very popular and likely a bestseller.
I've had them on the concert Flea 4 days now and the tone has really sweetened from when first installed, like with most strings.
Due to a shipping mishap only the concert strings were sent initially, but as per email from Mimmo, I should receive also the soprano and tenor sets tomorrow. All of which will get a thorough testing that I will document with sound samples and my impressions in the video...
I don't want to spoil the video with details here, but I will say that I am very pleased with these new CarbonBlack strings.
Stay Tuned!
JackLuis
Well-known member
I wonder if the Tenor set will be low G? My new Ohana Tk-50G is going to need a new set of strings soon. I'd be interested to hear how the new blacks will compare with Fremont Blacklines.
Not sure which Mimmo has sent yet as UPS has delivery scheduled for tomorrow.
This is just a guess, but if they follow the pattern with nearly ALL other Aquila strings, a low-G set is either going to have a wound string (like a classical guitar string) or a REDS string for the low-G as the Nylgut material is likely not dense enough and/or would have to be about 0.048-0.052" thick to get even close to enough tension in order to get useful intonation and that is a MASSIVELY thick string for an ukulele, which likely would require modification to most nut and saddle slots.
I've not had good luck with Fremont Blacklines on tenors as they always end up frayed, and eventually broken one or more strings in the set no matter which uke I've tried them on, so even though they can be nice, but for me they don't last, so I've given up on them and there are PLENTY of other choices of strings to take their place.
I found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2On9pgMX_o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2On9pgMX_o
Good find. I like the clear crisp sound of each note finger picked. I also like the strummed sound and I'm a tenor guy. Fellow UU memeber Booli has been sent a set fro Mimmo and should be posting soprano, concert and tenor demos soon. I will buy three sets of tenor strings as soon as they start shipping. Booli any luck with technical difficulties.
Mxyzptik
Well-known member
So are these the ones called the Aquila Lava series ? If so I just put a baritone GCEA set on my new Deering tenor banjo with a D'Addario wound guitar string for the low g. I'm liking them so far.
No, the LAVA strings are a different series, these CarbonBlack are all new for 2017.
Sorry my demo is so late. I am working on it.
