Aquila vs Worth strings

I think the comparison should be done on the very same instrument. Each one has differences in sound quality. It would also be more interesting to compare a sound patterns.

As far as my classical and flamenco guitars go, I prefer the tone and volume of flourocarbon (Savarez) to the tone of Nylgut (Aquila). There are, however, some instruments and playing styles (without nails) for which Nylgut may be optimal.
 
I have Aquilas on a solid spruce top tenor. If I were to put Worths on them, (generally speaking) how could I expect it to sound differently?
- brightness/warmth
- loudness
 
I started with GHS, tried Hilos, then Aquilas, and then Worths. Have settled on Worths, love 'em. Full rich sound.
 
How about Loudness compared to Aquila?
I like how Aquilas bring-up-the-loudness on a laminate uke.
 
I have Aquilas on a solid spruce top tenor. If I were to put Worths on them, (generally speaking) how could I expect it to sound differently?
- brightness/warmth
- loudness

I personally don't use Worths on spruce-topped instruments. I prefer the fuller sound of Aquilas. They do sound significantly louder. For the cost of some strings you could try them. If you don't like the Worths, put the Aquilas back on.
 
I think the comparison should be done on the very same instrument. Each one has differences in sound quality. It would also be more interesting to compare a sound patterns.

As far as my classical and flamenco guitars go, I prefer the tone and volume of flourocarbon (Savarez) to the tone of Nylgut (Aquila). There are, however, some instruments and playing styles (without nails) for which Nylgut may be optimal.

I prefer Savarez HT on my classical guitars and so far love the tone and volume of fluorocarbon strings on my ukes.

EDIT. Savarez Alliance HT trebles are fluorocarbon. Maybe why I also prefer fluorocarbon ukulele strings to nylgut. Love the responsiveness, the tone and the thinner diameter of the fluorocarbon.
 
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I prefer Savarez HT on my classical guitars and so far love the tone and volume of flourocarbon strings on my ukes.
It's funny, I could have sworn this was a ukulele forum.
Thanks much for that info. I don't like the sound of my baritone and would like it to sound more like a guitar. Now to find the right gauge of Savarez to use on the uke.
Now, back to the original thread. If I had to make a choice I'd use Aquilla on my smaller ukes and the Worth Clears on my larger one, soprano-Aquilla and Concert or Tenor-Worth Clear. I do mostly strumming on the smaller ukes and fingerpick or chord melody with my thumb on the larger ones.
And yes, this is a ukulele forum but we do use guitar strings on our ukes occasionally. I have D'addario on two of my ukes now that are made up of classic guitar strings. A concert and a tenor set, bought here from the Ukulele Underground store.

Jude
 
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I personally don't use Worths on spruce-topped instruments. I prefer the fuller sound of Aquilas. They do sound significantly louder. For the cost of some strings you could try them. If you don't like the Worths, put the Aquilas back on.

I'll have to politely disagree with you here, Ken, about Aquilas sounding fuller. To my ears Aquilas tend towards emphasizing the high end with an decent increase in overall volume. They're very bright and loud as far as strings go. They're also a bit thicker than comparable strings which probably contributes to the volume and the feel which some prefer (my wife for example). On certain ukes they sound rather harshly bright to me, but just about right on others and always seem good at livening up a cheap laminate. I can't speak for spruce, but I wasn't fond of them on a cedar top.

The Worth's on the other hand have a more of a pronounced midrange than the Aquilas, so to me they actually seem fuller sounding and for particular instruments more balanced. I prefer them on some brighter ukes like Koaloha because they warm up the sound without losing the overall bright character of the instrument. (I also find them a bit more economical since Worth gives you enough string to make two sets.) They've sort of become my default strings over the last year.

But as it is, it is a subjective thing. Everyone's mileage will vary and I agree 100% that it's well worth anybody's time to try things for themselves. Strings aren't really that expensive and there's likely a good match of string to uke to be had for everybody. At worst you spend a few bucks, but in the end you know for yourself what works for your personal taste.
 
I'll have to politely disagree with you here, Ken, about Aquilas sounding fuller. To my ears Aquilas tend towards emphasizing the high end with an decent increase in overall volume. They're very bright and loud as far as strings go. They're also a bit thicker than comparable strings which probably contributes to the volume and the feel which some prefer (my wife for example). On certain ukes they sound rather harshly bright to me, but just about right on others and always seem good at livening up a cheap laminate. I can't speak for spruce, but I wasn't fond of them on a cedar top.

The Worth's on the other hand have a more of a pronounced midrange than the Aquilas, so to me they actually seem fuller sounding and for particular instruments more balanced. I prefer them on some brighter ukes like Koaloha because they warm up the sound without losing the overall bright character of the instrument. (I also find them a bit more economical since Worth gives you enough string to make two sets.) They've sort of become my default strings over the last year.

But as it is, it is a subjective thing. Everyone's mileage will vary and I agree 100% that it's well worth anybody's time to try things for themselves. Strings aren't really that expensive and there's likely a good match of string to uke to be had for everybody. At worst you spend a few bucks, but in the end you know for yourself what works for your personal taste.

Interesting. I probably agree with you. It may just be the words we are using trying to describe the sound we hear. I have tried hundreds of instruments with Aquilas and tested the Worth strings for that company. One of the conclusions I came to was that Worth strings have a purer, cleaner sound than Aquilas. Aquilas, on the other hand, probably produce more overtones which is why I descibed the sound as "fuller". However, it is very difficult to use words to descibe tone. By the way, all my tests were done on solid-bodied ukes.
 
It is interesting indeed. Both brands have their pros and cons. As I like the sound of Worths in general, I put some BMs on an Ohana TK-50 and quite liked that sound, so I decided to take the uke to a gig and give it a run. However, after playing the two-hour gig, I was longing for the feel of Aquila strings. Luckily this uke sounds great with either of these strings.

Just in case you want to know, I like the feel of Aquilas and Savarez on nylon string guitars. I am not a big fan of D'addario on nylon string guitars. Out of these three Savarez is my favourite. On ukes however, I like the feel of the D'addario strings and Aquila, but don't like the Savarez.

So as Ken said, it's a matter of trying the different variations out.
 
Describing these things is always an issue. To my ears, the Aquilas emphasize certain frequencies which give the sound a little more bite. The Worths seem to be more balanced in the distribution of overtones, with perhaps more of a full range of harmonics.

As always it is quite a matter of taste. You cant go wrong with either. I generally like the sound and feel of Worths, but some instruments seem to perform better with other strings.
 
Generalizing from one person's experience may not be helpful. How the strings will respond will vary from instrument to instrument due to variations in build and from player to player due to variations in playing technique. The only way to learn is to buy both, install, play for 2-3 weeks (so the strings settle and play-in) and decide for yourself based on your tonal preference.
 
Generalizing from one person's experience may not be helpful. How the strings will respond will vary from instrument to instrument due to variations in build and from player to player due to variations in playing technique. The only way to learn is to buy both, install, play for 2-3 weeks (so the strings settle and play-in) and decide for yourself based on your tonal preference.

Actually it is very helpful for me, and do believe there useful generalizations that can be made.
If I can save $10 to $20 a pop + time, I'm happy.
 
My MGM ukes came with Aquilas, I took them off the Kanile'a tenor after two weeks in favor of Worth clears, like them better though the Aquilas look better being white. That said I find Aquilas have a squeak for me and feel rougher, and on some ukes seem to go dead sounding fast. I also had trouble with intonation on the high 4th g on this one set.

My CBU (concert neck, nice deep cedar box) on the other hand has loved it's Aquilas and they stayed on way to long but still sounded good. My newest uke is a Ohana Vita and it likes it's Aquilas ok, it is a spruce top and I think it sounds pretty loud and brash. I will try Worths on it in a couple months, likely brown mediums for fatness. I have an old laminate Giannini bari I got for my hubs, he never got into it but I will not allow it to leave, I put Worth Brown tenor gCEA strings on it and tuned it up a step, the strings still sound awesome and the uke has just got a beautiful balanced sweet voice with great sustain, my professional guitar player cuz fell in love with it and wants to borrow it for recording sessions. And he has done a lot of stuff for tv and film sound tracks. The Worths take much longer to settle, and last much longer in my observation as far as quality of sound than the Aquilas. I do not go out of my way to buy Aquilas. I have 1 set lying around and about 6-8 sets of various Worths. I like the way they feel under my fingers better. I have used Fremonts as well and liked them. I have Worth brown lights on my old, vintage & delicate ukes, and am happy with them as great sound and less stress.
 
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"Fuller" is a word that gets tossed around in ukulele descriptions and strings discussions...ex. "The concert has a fuller sound, etc" "The tenor has a fuller sound..." when in reality based on one's tonal preferences, specific ukuleles, amd string choice...one arrives at "It all depends."

I do think it's fair to say that something like Worth clear may be more articulate...precise...which is a function of their physical qualities...and why they are generally a better choice, with intonation concerns added when deciding with longer scaled necks...
 
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