The new Aquila Sugar ukulele strings are here

You can blame me for Strings by Mail not having the strings. I sure I bought the last of the sopranos; two sets shipped and one is back ordered. I know it won't make you feel any better, but I'm excited that they should be delivered today.
 
The strings are settling in. My initial response has been delight. The sustain is amazing. The strings are lively, though not quite so lively as the set that I removed (probably nylgut) with more mellow character. They seem lighter than what was on before. So far I really like these. Time will tell me more..

Please post long term impressions after they have settled. I would be interested in hearing your results.
 
Cant find the low g tenor set anywhere yet, out of stock even on the Aquila website.
 
I agree with friann's comments.

I fitted a set of sugars yesterday on my not-very-expensive soprano, to replace some rather aged nylguts.

My first impression is that the strings are, indeed, more mellow than nylguts , with a rather veiled, richer (but still powerful) sound, which appeals to me. The strings make the instrument sound larger and more serious (if you know what I mean) and less cheeky.

Also, on the packet it claims an "easy vibrato", and it's true.

I was initially disappointed in the roughness of the strings, which made them surprisingly squeaky, especially under the right hand: just before I plucked each note I could hear a little squeak as the string passed over the fingerprint ridges before sounding the note. Lightly oiling the strings did not help, but fortunately rubbing them with candle wax got rid of all the extraneous noise. Phew!

I look forward to hearing others' experiences.
 
Thanks Low-G saved me a bob or two , think i've got some Bees Wax somewhere might try that .
 
Hi frigiliana

As a point of info:
I tried FastFret - didn't work! Neither did veg oil. Looks like it has to be wax.

Maybe some vaseline? or OTOH, maybe some talcum powder?

It seems you want to fill the grooves, either on the strings themselves or on your fingertips. Powder will fill the pores on your skin and even out the grooves on your fingertips.

Failing those, maybe a few strokes with some super-fine grit micromesh will make things better?
 
I don't think using an abrasive would be a good idea as it would be difficult to get a uniform diameter through the length of the string – though I think that's what they must have done with gut strings in the past, probably a craft skill in its own right.

There's obviously an opportunity for a research project here, for someone in materials science. But then we'd need a unit of squeakiness: what about the mouse (or sugarmouse), divided into 1000 millimice or possibly minimice (or is that copyrighted by Disney?)

Enough silliness. Now I've got my sugar strings waxed, I'm really pleased with them. Might try Living Waters next, though.
 
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Quick update, just as i'd come to terms with the tacky nature of the strings the A string snapped between the tuners and bridge now i'll own up to giving them some heavy use with a lot of bending (trying to learn Black Magic Woman) , now prior to trying the Sugar strings i'd been using the D'Addario Titanium with similar heavy use and they seemed bullettproof so i'll be going back to them. But keep up the good work Mimmo.
 
Enough silliness. Now I've got my sugar strings waxed, I'm really pleased with them. Might try Living Waters next, though.

My new blog: https://renaissance-ukukele.blogspot.co.uk

I have a set of Living Waters here to try. Have good expectations for them.
Just visited your blog - thank you so much for posting your uke transcriptions. I'm a big fan of classical ukes.;)
 
Just mounted a set of these new strings (tenor) on a HPL Bonanza uke I keep in my office. So far I am quite impressed with the tone, with much more clarity to the sound, almost bell like. And after just one night in place they seem to be staying in tune quite well. They do seem a bit sticky, but I'm sure that will pass. I did notice them binding in the nut slots a bit, which I hadn't seen before using fluorocarbon strings. So I put a small dab of "Nut Sauce" lub in the nut slots and all is well.
 
I have a set of Living Waters here to try. Have good expectations for them.
Just visited your blog - thank you so much for posting your uke transcriptions. I'm a big fan of classical ukes.;)
Hi

I have Living Waters on my other instruments, and I am really pleased with them. I especially like being able to buy thinner ones for my tenor - standard sets seem ridiculously heavy if you're going to tune up to the same pitch as the much smaller soprano.

Thank you for your kind comments on my blog. It's always good to hear from visitors.

Harry
 
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