Anyone try fluorocarbons and go back to nylgut? Nyltech?

JonThysell

JonThysell

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I've done more than my fair share of string experimentation, and like many, started with Aquilas (since they did a great job of becoming the factory strings on so many ukes). But also like many, I kind of "wrote them off" as good for "cheaper" ukes but the real action was in fluorocarbon territory.

While I always had some ukes that sounded better with nylgut, (two out of a dozen or so) the rest have been fluorocarbon only (Worth and SouthCoast mostly) for a couple of years now.

Lately I seem to be going back the other direction though, even with my more expensive ukes. I never liked Aquila Nylgut Baritones, too thick and the wounds too dead, squeaky, and unbalanced to my ear. Then I tried D'Addario's Nyltech strings. Supposedly it's a formula worked out with Aquila, and maybe it's the same formula as theirs, maybe it isn't, but I like them a lot. Their baritone EJ88B string set has thinner gauges and I like their tension, balance and warm sound. Even the wounds don't seem to be as squeaky when sliding.

Now I've got my tenor back on Aquilas with a Fremont Soloist Low-G, and I'm liking that a lot too. Strumming and finger-picking both.

I still have a bunch of other string set experiments in the queue, but I just thought I put it out there. Anyone else "write-off" Aquila and go to fluorocarbon? Have you tried going back? Have you tried Nyltechs? Anyone rocking nylgut on expensive ukes?
 
I had floro strings on my tenor and took it to colder weather for the holidays, and stupidly left it on the window seat of a bay window, I came back to find that the bridge had been pulled completely off. I believe the cold weather caused the strings to contract and because there was so much tension on them it caused the bridge to be pulled off. (But it could have been a number of reasons combined for that to happen. *The uke wasn't in the best shape when I bought it. ) So I am considering going back to nylon strings maybe aquila.
 
I replaced the stock Aquila on my Gretsch G9121 with Worth CT and it immediately sounded better. I did the same with my Lanikai quilted ash that was dull, but the CTs didn't make a difference so I went to Worth browns, which at first didn't do anything, but a few weeks later, I noticed a big improvement. My Kala cedar top stock Aquila strings sound great so I'm not touching them. My gypsy jazz is very subdued (which may be due to the heavier curly maple top, or just needs to open up) and came with Aquila, which I also changed to Worth CT, that didn't help, so I recently bought D'Addario t2 titanium advertised with more "projection" but when I received them, they just look like a little heavier fluorocarbons.
 
Depends on the uke. I have Aquila on my vintage Martin O and it sounds amazing, but they are often not the best choice for all mahogany instruments.
 
Nope. Not yet. Don't like 'em, and haven't found that any of my ukes like 'em either. Still open minded though :). I give them a whirl on any new uke I get, and they typically quickly come off :D. I'm a Worth man, except on my new-to-me Martin C1K ... came with Martin 600's, changed to Worth CM (excited for the "improvement") ... played a bit and went right back to the Martins ... back to a sound I really like out of that uke.
 
PhilUSAFRet said:
Depends on the uke. I have Aquila on my vintage Martin O and it sounds amazing, but they are often not the best choice for all mahogany instruments.
Click to expand...

I second that. I've tried Worth Clear strings on my Kanile'a Concert and wasn't happy with them. Went back to Aquilas which seems to be the right choice for this uke.
Put the Worth Clear strings on the Tom Sopranino now - a big improvement compared to the Aquilas.
Pukanala Tenor - Aquila.
Pukanala Concert - not quite sure yet, tried Martin M600 and Aquilas but neither is perfect. Will try Worth and Galli.
My wife's Korala PUC-30 - Martin strings.
Brüko Soprano - Aquila.
RISA Soprano Stick - Worth Clear.

I wrote off D'Addario, although I might give them one last try in case I buy that Nalu ukulele I've been flirting with lately.
 
my new C1K sounds so good with the stock Martin strings i dont see a need to change.

my Kala tenor has been strung with Worth Brown for a few years now, but I switched to Ken Middleton's Living Waters yesterday - going to try this combo for a while and see how i like it.

i have always found Aqulas a bit flat and dull - and very thick...i dont really like the way they feel.
 
I have Aquila Nylguts on four of my five ukes including my most expensive one: my LFdM tenor. I've tried fluorocarbons on all and have gone back to Aquila on two of my tenors and two sopranos, including my 1920's Martin 2M. I love Aquila strings!

My Boat Paddle ML-Tenor on the other hand sound best with Fremont Blacklines and a Soloist Low-G.
 
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I've got to say that I've NEVER found, Genuine Aquila strings to be dull. I suspect that MOST original equipment Aquila strings are actually fakes. Aquila was having BIG problems with fake Aquila strings.

I have Aqula Nylguts on my Wise tenor, my Copley tenor and other hand made instruments. I love the attack for picking. I have an 8 string Mele Koa tenor with Hilo strings which sound MUCH sweeter for strumming yet a little subdued for picking.

Anthony
 
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anthonyg said:
Aquila was having BIG problems with fake Aquila strings. - Anthony
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You can test if the labeled Aquila strings are real by shining a black light on them, the strings will glow if they are real. I bought a small black light at my local hardware store just to test Aquila labeled strings. So far all of mine test out to be real.
 
Bill1 said:
You can save a lot of time and money on strings by realising tbat you can make your right hand create almost any sound you want on the Ukulele. There are several string questions today. Maybe the threads should be titled "How can I vary my right hand technique to get different sounds?" Tne first thing you could practice is alternating between playing as softly as you can and as loudly as you can. Two extremes. Play the tune once really softly, then again as loud as you can. Another thing to try in the first seven frets, is to concsiously place your fretting finger(s). First place it right next to the headstock end fret for each note or strum in a tune, then repeat with your fretting finger right next to the soundhole end fret, two extremes again, but a little harder in the finger gymnastics.
Click to expand...

While I'm not willing to write off all the effects of strings on tone (my Pono MT was dead without higher tension strings), this approach where most of the tone is in the player suggests something interesting to me. That rather than thinking so much about tone we should be looking for strings that feel good, and I very much prefer the feeling of Aquila strings over most fluorocarbons I've played (and I like Aquila reds even better than their standard nylgut strings).
 
Bill1 said:
You can save a lot of time and money on strings by realising tbat you can make your right hand create almost any sound you want on the Ukulele.
Click to expand...

On the one hand (no pun intended), that is clearly true.




On the other... if Kris was playing crappy chinese nylon strings... would he still be able to do that?
I dunno.. maybe he could.. because he's incredible...
 
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Almost every uke I have purchased came with the Aquillas.

For me, they sound dull. Every uke has been changed over primarily to Martin M600's which sound so much better.

They cause the uke to sing and the sustain seems improved.

I have also put the Oasis Bright high G strings on my LoPrinzi soprano and Blackbird Clara with similar results. Much better.
 
The D'addario Nyltech baritone strings mentioned by the OP are the most underrated ukulele strings in the world. Not only are they the only bari strings with a gauge that I like, the wounds are also more polished and smooth than any other bari wounds, and also have the least squeak.

As for nylgut in general, I've found the same thing that many others have, which is that it tends to make all ukes sound the same. This is a good thing when it comes to laminate ukes, but not a good thing when it comes to ones where you really want to hear the sound qualities of the wood. I'd never put anything but nylgut on a Makala, but I'd also never put nylgut on a Martin. On the Martin, I'd use fluorocarbon for sure.

But on a Martin baritone, I'd still want to buy singles of the wound D and G strings in the D'addario nyltech set. They're not just my favorites, they're the only ones that are not too boomy for my ears.
 
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I had fluorocarbons on my Lanakai Tenor, which is all maple and thought the fluoros sounded too bright, thin and harsh. Went all the way back to standard black nylon strings in an effort to soften the high end and warm it up, and it worked well.
 
I generally loathe Aquila Nylgut strings for both feel and sound. I love Aquila Reds. I also regularly use and like Southcoast, Living Waters and Fremont. Most recently, I tried the Aquila Lava strings and quite like them on the Ron Yasuda soprano I have. While they say they are the same formulation as the Super Nylgut's, I tried those on another uke and didn't like them. They also felt different to me, but perhaps that's my wild imagination.
 
I'm going to be putting some Lava strings on my Kamaka pineapple soon, so we'll see! The Kamaka's stock strings are nylon, but I hated those in particular, at least on a soprano scale. I didn't dislike the Nylguts that came on my Kala KA-S, but I haven't been too fond of other nylons I've tried (D'Addario and Ko'olau).
 
Considering how many here dislike Aquila strings they sure sell an awful lot of them. There are strings I prefer more on certain ukes but I would have to say that overall they are very serviceable strings and I prefer them on some ukes.
 
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