New Martin strings devoloped with Aquila

hammer40

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I never heard of these before.

The chart on the site lists some odd gauges, and tunings, and the tension for the concert set seems more like typical baritone set tension @ 53.48 lbs:

Martin web site said:
Graphite Gray Polygut

Martin Ukulele Premium Soprano, Concert and Tenor strings are made with graphite gray polygut.

WeightEBGDAETensionModel
Soprano.0220.0275.0310.0228--30M605
Concert.0228.0287.0318.0236--53.48M610
Tenor.0236.0295.0326.0244--44M625
if these other (than concert) tension numbers are correct, they are a bit higher tension than most other uke strings at that scale length for the soprano and tenor.
 
I never heard of these before.

The chart on the site lists some odd gauges, and tunings, and the tension for the concert set seems more like typical baritone set tension @ 53.48 lbs:


if these other (than concert) tension numbers are correct, they are a bit higher tension than most other uke strings at that scale length for the soprano and tenor.

It is odd that everything from soprano and up is listed as DGBE.
 
I am eager to find out more about these new strings. I've always been a fan of Martin strings for steel string acoustic guitar, classical guitar, and of course for ukulele.
 
Posting here would be great. Looking forward to your review.
 
I like the fluorocarbon M600's on my vintage Martin and also liked them on my C1K, wouldn't even look twice at nylguts! These are probably the Lavas, repackaged.
 
Unfortunately we are under strict contract with Martin and so I have no possibility to tell things. However it is not Nylgut or Lava. It is a special densified blend with a kind of plastic. So the gauge cannot define directly the tension.
Mimmo
 
Unfortunately we are under strict contract with Martin and so I have no possibility to tell things. However it is not Nylgut or Lava. It is a special densified blend with a kind of plastic. So the gauge cannot define directly the tension.
Mimmo

Thanks for that info Mimmo. I look forward to trying them when they become available.
 
HI all
what's the latest on these new Martin strings? anyone else tried them and thoughts? I've never tried Aquila Lavas, but am curious. and for Martins, i always found them too thin for my liking, but if these are a little thicker or if something thinks these have a rounder and fatter deeper tone, that's what i'm looking for.

thanks!
 
are these not the same identical strings to the aquila carbons that just came out???.they look the same color to me.
 
Not sure. Haven't tried them yet, but they DO look the same as the Aquila Carbon Blacks. Maybe Mimmo can chime in. I've tried the Carbon Blacks Tenor and Concerts. They are definitely very unique feeling. Their sound is very loud and forward, and depending on which uke you put them on, they can sound amazing, or the opposite. I've tried them on 10 of my ukes of different woods and builds with mixed feelings. To me and my ears, they sounded good on my laminates. but for most of my solids, they sounded too zingy and bright. When i say Zing, they sounded more like metal twang rather than "string". Hard to describe, but it's subjective as you all know. Some will love them. For me, I prefer mellow and rounder and fuller tones, so the Carbon Blacks didn't work for me. They also felt like wire under my fretting hands, so not for me. So if the Martins are similar to the Carbon Blacks, then perhaps they're not for me too...but i don't know.

Mimmo if you're reading this, if the Carbon Blacks are the same as the new Martins, it would save us some money if we don't have to buy them only to find out they are the same. but i understand if you can't say more. : )

I'm going to order the Lavas today to try. On some of my ukes, the supernylguts do sound great, so having dark versions of this would be awesome.
 
yes, I am there,
these martin strings are similar to the carbonblaks but not exactly the same. there are some improvements.
We have signed a contract with Martin as consequence we stopped to produce carbonblacks since a few months ago.
Ciao
Mimmo
 
yes, I am there,
these martin strings are similar to the carbonblaks but not exactly the same. there are some improvements.
We have signed a contract with Martin as consequence we stopped to produce carbonblacks since a few months ago.
Ciao
Mimmo
I liked those Carbonblack and wondered why I couldn't find them. �� I have a set of the new Martin strings, I'll have to try them.
 
Anybody tried these yet?

I'm seeing these available now at Musician's friend, Guitar Center, and Sweetwater among others. The listings say Martin is installing Polyguts on all Nazareth built instruments, so it would appear that Martin considers these to be premium strings compared to their clear fluorocarbons. If anyone has tried the new Polygut strings I would appreciate anything you could share about your experience.
 
I installed these on a Kamaka tenor last week. I like them very much. They are responsive, warm and open sounding, with a bit of twinkle on the top. They feel nice, too. I've already ordered two more sets. Full disclosure: using a low G, Fremont soloist; but otherwise...
 
I have one soprano with the new Martins, the other has Oasis. The Martins feel like lower tension--I don't know if they actually are. Both sound good. They're different instruments, so they sound different, and no way of knowing how much is the strings. For my sopranos, I don't think the increased price is worth it for me, and I'll probably go back to regular Martins or Oasis. But my concert sounds good with the Carbonblack, and if I can't get those any more, I'll try the new Martins on it. It will be a while before I can report back on that, because it also sounds fine with the tenor Nylgut I had to use recently.
 
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