Why so many ukes shipped with Aquilas?

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deschutestrout

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Aquila must have some sweet sweet extensive arrangement with many makers. I've already voiced that I'm not a huge fan of Aquilas. It just seems that uke makers could very often provide customers (especially those new to ukes) with much better sounding ukes, straight from the factory.

My Mainland came with Aquilas ... sounded OK, changed to Worths, sounded much better, changed to Oasis warms, sounded even better.

Lanikai, Kala, Ohana ... all came strung with Aquilas ... all sounded (to me) OK ... changed to a different brand and the change in sound quality blew me away.

I recently got a low-end Ohana, 1st uke I've received with Aquilas that I really liked the sound ... last night I decided to swap with Worths ...this uke to me sounds even BETTER! Clearer, better sustain, lovely.

Just got an Islander for a friend ... again, Aquilas. Didn't like the muffled sound at all (even my son commented), threw Worth's on her this morning and it is a TOTALLY different uke!

I scratch my head with factory loyalty to Aquila. I know MANY of you love Aquilas, and that is totally cool ... to each their own. But the vast majority of string-related threads, deal with folks ditching them for better sounding alternatives. There, my opinion :D
 
My first "real" ukulele was a Luna strung with Aquilas. Nice tone, but mostly it was easy on the fretting fingers. It doesn't hurt as much as some other strings - if I had started with my OXK strung with Martins I would have soon have had sore fingers and maybe given up. When I was a novice player, I liked how the fretting fingers "grabbed" the strings for a cleaner sound.

It is a good string for a variety of approaches. It sounds good strummed or fingerpicked. I am working on Rob MacKillop's 20 Easy Fingerstyle Studies, and he is using Aquila Nylgut on the demo CD. (I only wish I could play that well.) I think that the manufacturers need to find a string that falls on the sweet spot range - good for multiple things - and the Aquilas fit that need.
 
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<complete speculation>
I think it's because they're loud.
If you don't understand tone, then what you immediately hear is volume.
And with cheap ukes, volume can be a very real struggle to get the plywood to resonate.

So.. if you get a cheap uke and it comes with generic black strings, and you replace them with nylgut, it's a miracle. And nothing is more evangelical than someone that thinks they saw a miracle. Word gets around, and then people look for the miracle string, instead of listening.

I think it's easier to sell a miracle, than make people listen.

It could also be that chording is easier for beginners than finger style, and fuzzier sound can sound more full, than cleaner separation?
</speculation>
 
deschutestrout said:
I scratch my head with factory loyalty to Aquila. I know MANY of you love Aquilas, and that is totally cool ... to each their own. But the vast majority of string-related threads, deal with folks ditching them for better sounding alternatives. There, my opinion :D
Click to expand...

Loyalty MAY have something to do with it. But when it comes to production, it really comes down to money. Saving .02c per instrument may seem like nothing to us, but when that factory is kicking out thousands of instruments on a regular basis, that's a lot. Add in the fact that the first thing that most people will switch out are strings, and there's no real reason to do anything but go with the lowest bid.
 
One Bad Monkey said:
Loyalty MAY have something to do with it. But when it comes to production, it really comes down to money. Saving .02c per instrument may seem like nothing to us, but when that factory is kicking out thousands of instruments on a regular basis, that's a lot. Add in the fact that the first thing that most people will switch out are strings, and there's no real reason to do anything but go with the lowest bid.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense.
 
Deschutestraut, maybe it's just selective hearing. If one wants to march to a different strummer or if he/she wants to use strings that are far "above" the strings that every one likes or uses, perhaps the other strings will sound really, really superior to him/her. Therefore he/she can use strings that are better than everyone else's, and surely no one can say that his/her hearing is wrong.

We usta test guys who said they hated a certain kind of beer. We would send the person away from the table and fill two glasses out of the same bottle. Then someone would chug half out of the other bottle. When he returned and drank, he would swear up and down that the one on the left was good and the right one tasted like dishwater. So much for being a beer connoisseur.

Do you really think that ukulele builders would use inferior (wrong) strings on them? Or that they don't know anything about strings? Aquila strings aren't even cheaper than other strings. I wonder if brandy new ukuleles are ever played and sampled.

Well, anyway, it's nice that you are enjoying your superior sounding Ukes. Keep on sampling! :eek:ld:

P.S. I fully admit that I use Aquila strings on all my Ukes and probably wouldn't hear the difference if I didn't.
 
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A) Standard Aquila Nylguts are fairly inexpensive compared to other brands
B) Search 'ukulele strings' on Amazon and the most prominent hits will be for Aquilas (as happened to me a few weeks after purchasing my first Dolphin after getting fed up with the stock strings)
C) That very well-produced and classy-looking headstock label for in-store. If you know squat about ukes or strings and you're looking at a wall of ukes, I imagine your eyes get drawn to it and the marketing speak works wonders.

Caveat: I have only ever used Aquila strings in nearly two years of uking. I have a Dolphin and a laminate Korala. The Dolphin came with strings that did enough to help me learn the chords but not much else, Aquilas vastly improved the sound to my ears. The Korala came with Aquilas, and sounded good. Not long after I wanted a Low G setup, went straight for Aquila Reds and fell in love with the sound. Just trying out Lavas now and haven't felt much need to explore other brands as yet. Maybe on my next uke.
 
If you do nothing else to an instrument when you first buy it, you change the strings. (Most of us would set them up and change the strings at the same time). So the manufacturers want loud and cheap, because strings are a throwaway. The uninitiated want loud as was noted, and the more experienced are going to put on the brand they want right away.

This reminds me of Craigslist ads selling stringed instruments written by people who don't play. "Guitar is damaged--two strings are missing." "I have to point out that you will have to get this ukulele tuned before playing it."

It's like an ad for a car that says "Doors do not come pre-opened. You will have to open them yourself if you wish to drive the vehicle." :D
 
Yes, this is a subjective thing. And I didn't mean to offend any die-hard Aquila fans, as I certainly would not be offended if someone "dissed" Worth or Oasis or any other brand of string. It has been my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that several of my ukes were completely transformed by a switch ... not subtly, completely. And I understand fully that the tone I'm seeking may not at all jibe with the tone someone else is seeking. So, I'll insert my foot in my mouth, and shut up about Aquilas :deadhorse:
 
One Bad Monkey said:
But when it comes to production, it really comes down to money.
Click to expand...

At first I found myself nodding, but then I was thinking.. Aquilas aren't cheaper than fishing line. If it was strictly throw away pricing, it wouldn't explain why aquilas are the default non-generic strings, and are so pervasive.

I don't want to imply aquilas are bad in anyway, or that what you said was inaccurate, as i'm sure it's true. But there's gotta be more to it.
 
I often wonder this too. I don't think Aquilas are bad; they do tend to be loud, but most people will find other strings provide a more musical sound on a good instrument. Aquilas are loud but in my view they are little thuddy and muddy.

There are certain ukes, Kanilea comes to mind, that are supposed to be a premium product and that are undermined in how well they "show" because Aquilas do not give them their best sound. My understanding is that Kanilea has an arrangement with Aquila. They get them at a good price, and they also get to market them as coming with a name brand string. No matter what string a ukes comes with, a large percentage of owners are going to have some other string they like better.
 
If you guys had been on UU about 5+ years ago, Aquillas were all the rave, now they seem to be out of fashion.

Over a year ago (maybe two) there were a lot of fake Aquillas coming out of China (maybe there still are). They didn't sound as good. The real Aquilla company added a flourescent additive so people could determine if they were genuine or not. I wonder how many people were soured by the fake ones and didn't realize it.
 
I don't think that Aquilas are all that cheap. I wish they were. I've seen lots of strings that were less $$$; I won't name them as I don't wanna offend anyone either. I've been hearing debates about which instruments sound better than which other instruments for over 65 years. It's just something that musicians like to talk about.

A good musical instrument debate is good way to pass the time, and it doesn't hurt anyone. Debate on! :eek:ld:
 
spookelele said:
At first I found myself nodding, but then I was thinking.. Aquilas aren't cheaper than fishing line. If it was strictly throw away pricing, it wouldn't explain why aquilas are the default non-generic strings, and are so pervasive.

I don't want to imply aquilas are bad in anyway, or that what you said was inaccurate, as i'm sure it's true. But there's gotta be more to it.
Click to expand...

You're looking at this from a consumer level.

Nylon is BY FAR less expensive than fluorocarbon (which I'm assuming is what you meant when you said fishing line) and then when you bring in the "bulk" aspect of this (which with these shops is usually by a number of gross), the pricing is even lower. Add into the fact that Aquila is also a company that doesn't have to ship overseas to China (because they're on the same continent), and there is another savings.
 
katysax said:
most people will find other strings provide a more musical sound on a good instrument.
Click to expand...

I think the better the instrument, the more you hear certain things that make certain strings sound much different.

Right now I'm on a worth kick. Since those are double sets, I put half on a pono, and the other on a kala laminate. The clarity of the strings sounds great on the pono. But it showcases tone deficiency in the kala laminate. Last night I replaced the worth on the kala with super nylguts. Now the tone is not as anemic, and it's louder, but it doesn't sustain nearly as well. I don't want to imply I have a ton of experience, but the more I try different things, the more I appreciate why better ukes are better ukes.
 
The nylguts stand out visually in a way that clear or black strings do not, so there's a cosmetic reason for them to be featured in the storefront, if you will. I've had mixed results with Aqulias, but yes, your mileage may vary with any string. My Ohana tenor (with a solid spruce top) sounds cleaner with nylguts than with Living Waters (go figure). But my Ohana Vita (also w/solid spruce top) works best with Martin 600s. I will say that I've tried Aquila reds on three different ukes, and on every set, the G or C has popped. If I were limited to one type of strings, I'd guess I'd go with flurocarbons, but thank goodness there are alternatives.
 
One Bad Monkey said:
Nylon is BY FAR less expensive than fluorocarbon
Click to expand...

Then why isnt kala/etc using nylon fishing line? There's a ton of stuff that's cheaper than what Mimo can make, but his stuff is pretty much the industry standard. I have nothing against nylon either.



How can that be cheaper than having huge vats and machines to extrude fishing line in volumes that are 1000X higher than what Mimo can do?
 
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spookelele said:
Then why isnt kala/etc using nylon fishing line? There's a ton of stuff that's cheaper than what Mimo can make, but his stuff is pretty much the industry standard.



How can that be cheaper than having huge vats and machines to extrude fishing line in volumes that are 1000X higher than what Mimo can do?
Click to expand...


Great video. Never would have guessed it was such a manual process!

Also, while some more experienced 'uke players may not care for the basic Aquila Nylgut strings (myself included), they make several other strings that are completely different and worth checking out. I've tried Reds on more than half a dozen very different instruments and they sounded at least good -- and often great -- on each one. I also recently tried their Lava line and was impressed, but need to try it on more instruments. The marketing material says the Lava is identical to the new Super Nylgut but they seemed different to me for the two sets I compared.
 
spookelele said:
Then why isnt kala/etc using nylon fishing line? There's a ton of stuff that's cheaper than what Mimo can make, but his stuff is pretty much the industry standard. I have nothing against nylon either.
Click to expand...

Look at it this way.

OPT 1 - GHS gets nylon strings - like everyone else - from a third party.
Third party cost is $.40 per set
Third party sells set for $.75 per set to GHS
GHS quotes manufacturer bulk price at $1.25 per set plus overseas shipping

OPT 2 - Aquila makes their own strings
Aquila's cost is - and again, I'm guessing - $.60 per set
Aquila quotes manufacturer bulk price of $1.00 per set plus shipping

It may cost Aquila more per set to manufacture, but since their costs are all in-house, it's a completely different game.
 
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