Aquila Sugar Strings: A reassessment

A few weeks ago, I put a set of sugar strings on a laminate Kala soprano. I wasn't impressed — mainly due to the squeakiness and the texture:

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...he-Aquila-Sugar-Strings&p=2044775#post2044775

When I bought the sopranos i also bought a set of concerts and I planned to replace the strings (Super Nylguts) on either a Firefly or a Makala ... whichever set wore out first.

It turns out the strings on my favorite "jamming" uke, my Ohana cedar/willow, were wearing out. So, what the hell? I swapped the fluorocarbons on them with the sugars. If they didn't work, it's easy enough to get new fluoros.

After a week, I love the sugars! Yes, they squeaked for a couple of days, but by then they had settled in. That's much faster than usual for me. As for the sound, they provide almost as much clarity as, say, a Martin but they also have much more depth of sound. There's a lot of dynamic range.

Last night, I played them for an hour straight at a jam, and they never felt uncomfortable. Worth Clears and Browns may be my favorite all-around strings, but these are right up there. The only test will be durability and consistency, and they deserve a fair test.

They confirm my experience: Different ukes seem to work better with some strings (and players) than others. But I'm happy I gave these guys another chance.

Nice work, Mimmo.

Very good info. I've found second impressions far more reliable than first.
I will surely try these. Twice!

Did someone suggest that the sugars were brighter than fluorocarbons? I was under the impression that they were supposed to be brighter than nylguts but warmer than the fluoros.

In my testing of the Sugar strings, I did not replace an old set of strings. I swapped out a nearly new set of strings that settled enough to hold consistent tuning. As I have posted previously, I like these new strings very much and find them to be excellent in all respects.

To my ear they are not necessarily brighter than fluorocarbons. On my instrument, they seem to have a bit more fullness and warmth, while retaining a nice clarity and sparkle in the sound.