Aquila Nylgut Strings VS D'Addario Pro-Arte Clear Nylon Strings

Would depend on the uke
 
Listening through my elderly laptop soundcard fed into my questionable headphones, I prefer the Aquila set.
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong...but it sounds like the recorded segments with the Aquila strings have reverb and compression added as per the software with your iTrack Pocket, whereas the segments with the D'Addario strings seem to have only compression...

as such, it's difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison... maybe take another vid with NO EFFECTS or same effects/settings...in the Focusrite iTrack app you can disable the audio effects completely if you want...

having said that, a bit of reverb can make the recording have a bit of 'space' and not sound too sterile, and often sounds nice to my ear...

In either case, your playing is very nice and clean, and I've always enjoyed seeing your videos. :)
 
Personally, I lean towards D'Addario's Titanium series these days after I got my Godin which came strung with them.... but I use a variety of strings including Aquilas on my instruments. I tend to change them around to see what works best and what FEELS best under my fingers on that ukulele.In general, I find Aquilas a little brighter - perhaps brashier is the better word. As such, I would tend to avoid using them on spruce-topped ukes since spruce is already a bright tonewood, but they're nice with mango and mahogany.
 
I am very familiar with both these strings.
For me, it is D'addario Pro-Artes hands down.

For two reasons:

1. The feel.
Aquila nylguts have never felt comfortable to fingerpick. Strum, they are ok, but fingerpicked, they always feel a bit too thin and flimsy to give a solid tone.
The D'addario Pro-Artes feel very comfortable to fingerpick, giving bold, full sounds. I could do a lot more on an ukulele with D'addarios than I can on Aquilas.

Any "audio" comparison of the two strings is 50% irrelevant, because how a strings feel and what they enable the player to do matters more. When you hear a great ukulele performance, very few give credit to the strings. They give credit to the ability of the player and his/her decision to use a certain instrument with a string they chose on it to play the piece that they execute.



2. The sound
Aquila nylguts sound a bit brash and unnatural for my liking.
D'addarios, in my opinion, bring out a fatter, fuller and mellower tone, which I believe brings out more of the unique nuances of the ukulele itself.


If any ukulele I purchase come with Aquila nylguts, I generally end up switching them out nearly right away. Generally my goto strings are D'addario Pro-Artes to replace them.

Obviously no string is perfect for all ukuleles, and at the end of the day, I have to match the strings to the instrument. That being said, more than half my ukes are tuned with D'addario Pro-Arte... none with Aquila (although pretty much all of them originally came with Aquilas when I bought them!)
 
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Assuming all recording settings are the same, there's a big difference between the two. I'm not sure if any of the acoustic sound at all is being picked up or that is strictly the plugged in sound. In that video, I definitely prefer the D'addarios. They have a more pure/natural/dry sound to my ears rather than a lot of overtones.
 
I preferer Aquila strings, curiose tu ear a test unplugged.
 
I use the Pro-Arte for my low G string, but Savarez Alliance Standard Tension for the other strings.
 
Totally subjective - depends entirely on the uke, the player, and personal preferences (i.e. the ear).

I never listen to other peoples string thoughts really - as the only string thought that matters to me is my own.

I actually think there is very little (really) to separate most fluorocarbons either to be honest. At the moment I am using Seaguar fishing line on most of my ukes and they sound great.
 
I think the D'addario strings sound richer and fuller toned in the video at least. I'm surprised.:nana:
 

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