Aquila Super Nylgut vs Martin M600

hi! being new to ukulele "gas" I've tried few strings, and in particular I fell in love with the Aquila Super Nylgut for various reasons:

first of all the feeling is wonderful, they are smooth (not like the New Nylgut), the sound is warmer and less boomy, and they seem to be consistent string-to-string. plus I pay them 5 euros, being in Italy. still I'm not 100% satisfied, but probably it depends on my poor experience with strings.
I have them on both my ukes, a laminated 30 euros Arrow and an Ohana SK38, and they almost sound the same, like if the sound is totally defined by the strings.
the Ohana is just a bit louder and richer in sound, but not in a way that I can say that one is a 30 euros uke and one 200 euros...

I've red about fluorocarbon strings and in particular about Martin M600, and looking at youtube videos I like the sound, more "snappy" and clear when strumming and fingerpicking, but at the same time they are "thin" in sound, compared to the Aquila.

I'd like to try brighter strings on my Ohana, because it sounds so warm and loud that warm and bassy strings like Aquila seem not to be the perfect choice.

has someone tried them both?

another question: I red that the Worth are so long that from a set you can make two.
does it happen with Martin too?
Aquilas are short, and I cut out less than 15cm after mounting them.

Martin are labeled as soprano/concert, maybe they are longer?

I Martin M600s are my favorite string, I can say with certainty that you only get a single set per pack (unlike Worths). They're probably about the same length as Aquilas.

I liked the "old" formula Aquilas quite a bit, but preferred the Martins the minute I tried them. I've tried the New Nylguts and while they have qualities that I like - more volume than any other string I've tried, and a somewhat fuller sound than Martins - the New Nylguts cause buzzing on all of my ukes (koa Kamakas) so I've given up on them. Based on your description though I'm tempted to try the Super Nylguts since I never have.

I think the Martins would be brighter on your Ohana - I haven't played that model but I have owned several mahogany ukes, and I didn't care for Aquilas on any of them - I found them to sound a bit muddy. Martins sounded just right to me.

Yes, as you put it, Martins should be more snappy and clear or as I would put it loud and punchy on your SK38, definitely give them a try don't cost much.

I love the Martins, got them on both my concerts, give them a try.

Thanks, guess I'll order them.

In case I don't like them, its your fault, ahahaha

I love Martins, they're a go-to string for me. I'd also recommend Oasis strings. They come with enough length to make 2 sets.

Pier said:

another question: I red that the Worth are so long that from a set you can make two.
does it happen with Martin too?

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No, the Martin strings I tried were only long enough for one re-stringing (with some leftover). The Worth packs always include enough for two comfortable re-stringings. Two sets of Martin strings usually cost as much as one pack of Worth strings, at least here, so it's pretty much the same. (I'd prefer if Worth cut the price and string length in half.)

Martin M600 are good inexpensive fluorocarbon strings. Worth, Oasis, Southcoast and PhD are also really nice. As noted above, Worth and Oasis give you plenty enough length for two sets. Southcoast string sets are, I think, about 30" (76 centimeters) long. Do you have a problem getting these brands in Italy?

I like Aquila Super Nylguts on some of my ukuleles, but not on others. The fluorocarbon sets seem to me pretty good across the board, although each brand does differ a little.

Richard

As always, Aquilas sound better on some ukes, Martins on others. Only pair of Martin 600's I"ve tried were on a Mele solid ,mahogany soprano......awul,couldn't get them off quick enough.

Not mentioned but worth a mention here are Aquila reds.

I have fallen in love with them and have been putting them on everything. They are much brighter than the white Aquilas and feel thinner under the finger. Others have described them as metallic I say they are a bit guitar like but not enough to lose that ukulele sound on my sopranos. They are described by many as feeling papery, they are different. I read somewhere the maker suggested polishing them or playing them. They do smooth out rather fast being played and now the regular Aquila strings feel really odd. Funny how we get used to things.

You will only get one set out of a set of strings but they are usually under $6 through the various string sites online. As we speak strings by mail has reentrant sets of Aquila reds under $5. and low G sets for just $.35 more. If you are trying strings it would be terrible to simply overlook them.

Ive put M600's on a some inexpensive ukuleles I have given away. The local music store stocks them as does the local guitar center. They felt better than white Aquila strings sounded as good and seemed to stay in tune quickly but I haven't spent much time with them.

I've not tried the Aquila reds on a scale shorter than tenor because every set I've tried has at least one string that snaps. I know Mimmo has tried multiple reformulations to make the strings more supple, but I've had no luck and so, after six or seven tries, I went to fluorocarbons and haven't looked back. Fishing line, based on the recommendation from Barry (bazmaz) http://www.gotaukulele.com/2015/05/something-fishy-fishing-line-as-ukulele.html YMMV

As always, Aquilas sound better on some ukes, Martins on others.

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That's always been my experience. Certain instruments "like" certain strings. Experimentation is part of the fun! Find which strings work on which uke and go for it!

Funny how we get used to things.

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that's true. I've seen it playing the bass guitar. we have a lot of different strings, from rough stainless steel to polished smooth flatwounds, nylon tapewound, nickel plated, and every brand has a different texture due to the diameter of the coil/wrapping.
but even with sandpaper-like steel strings, you'll get used to them and then find odd and slippery every other set

I should give Aquila Reds a try, but I red that they break easily, so I'm afraid about it. however, they cost 5 euros here, so I'll give them a try at some point. however they seem to be too bright for my tastes
I like the Super Nylgut because they are warm, but still clear sounding compared to the New Nylgut, which are too boomy.

listening to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QZjelJAAIA I prefer the Martins, because they are snappy, but woody. listening to Aquila Red videos, the sound seem to be too bright.

awul,couldn't get them off quick enough.

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can you explain why?

Do you have a problem getting these brands in Italy?

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yes, and I can't find them even on online stores in Europe... even Martins are hard to find, and they cost much more than Aquilas I have to buy them from an UK store, and a set would cost me 14 euros shipped.
Aquilas are 5 euros shipped...

hendulele said:

... I went to fluorocarbons and haven't looked back. Fishing line, based on the recommendation from Barry (bazmaz) http://www.gotaukulele.com/2015/05/something-fishy-fishing-line-as-ukulele.html YMMV

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One of his more controversial articles, but definitely a thought-provoking one. As one of the commentators pointed out, if you buy 40 packs of strings in bulk, you probably get close to how much Barry paid for the four reels of Japanese fishing line. Ludwig, also in the comments, touched on Barry's enthusiasm, though the fishing line experiment was a bit larger insofar that he used it on multiple ukes, which is probably the best way to get a more objective view.

There's definitely room for hearing what we want, hope, or expect to hear when it comes to strings, especially fluorocarbon strings. For example, I cannot hear a noticeable difference between Worth browns and clears of the same gauge, but I also didn't expect to. Others, meanwhile, do hear the Browns as warmer and the Clears as brighter. Is that because the colors themselves imply that (dark vs light) or because they have better ears? Probably both as I seem to only notice non-subtle tonal differences, like mahogany vs. koa, but not more subtle ones, like koa vs. acacia, unless I know there is a difference. So my ears are probably not a good reference.

This is also why I don't try to go overboard with strings. It's often said that they are inexpensive (certainly more true for the US), but the $10 here and $17 there do add up. What matters to me is feel, which is mostly caused by tension and gauge, so if I find something that "feels good" and that is available, I just stick with it.

Substantial differences exist between the materials. Fluorocarbon strings feel and sound different to nylon strings, whose sound and feel differs from Nylguts. Real gut strings are probably different again, but I haven't tried those and don't intend to. So I would venture the probably overly simplistic suggestion to try all three, or four, if you must, material types and see which you like best. (With Aquila it is a bit different since they use different substances and combinations for their different strings, so maybe one needs to test more here.) And then just stick to what works for you.

I used to use mostly Martins, then switched to Worth because my custom tenor and the KoAloha pineapple came with those (the Opio now did too). They didn't really seem different to me, but I blamed that on my ears (not as sure anymore now) and since the ukes sounded great, I stuck with the brand. My entry concert came with Nylguts and I keep using Nylguts on it, because (by now) it sounds good to me with those. So from that perspective, I'll probably experiment with Aquila strings, but worry less about which fluorocarbons I put on. One exception are special gauge strings, e.g. for a less common tuning, which are probably best obtained from Southcoast.

To me the fluorocarbons are more "slippery" than the Nygluts. What I mean is that I fret the Nygluts easier than the fluorocarbons. They feel more stable while fretting. Also they seem to have a more mellow sound, and that is my objective. I like to play jazz and the mellow sound works for me. But like anything else it's a matter of opinion. We hear things differently, the conditions we play in are different our equipment is different. But the Martin's sound better on my Martin concert, funny how that works.

All strings have strengths and weaknesses. I like Aquila Nylgut strings. They're my string of choice. They're loud and have a complex sound that's not that strong in the mid-range. Flouro-carbon strings sound "sweet" by comparison with a strong midrange sound. I have one 8 string ukulele with fluro-carbon strings on it for variety and it sounds nice but in general I prefer the sound of Nylguts.

You should try other strings and find what you like.

Anthony

With the number of strings available on the market and being such an inexpensive upgrade, I can only say try several different brands and let your ears be the judge. You may find characteristics in an off brand that you like. I still use on ocassion, guitar strings from Savarez and Tomastik Infield. Bottom line, dispense with the hype . . . if you like the tone and feel of a particular set, by all means continue to use them.

This seems like an appropriate thread to ask my question (hope I'm not off the subject too much). I have the Martin strings on my Martin Ck1 and I do love them. However, for various reasons, I need to change the Martin to a low g tuning and Martin doesn't make the low g set. Should I buy a whole new brand (Oasis or Worth or...?) or buy a single low g string from ? All suggestions very welcome!

EmmaQ said:

This seems like an appropriate thread to ask my question (hope I'm not off the subject too much). I have the Martin strings on my Martin Ck1 and I do love them. However, for various reasons, I need to change the Martin to a low g tuning and Martin doesn't make the low g set. Should I buy a whole new brand (Oasis or Worth or...?) or buy a single low g string from ? All suggestions very welcome!

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Buy a single Fremont Soloist low G string - you can get them on eBay, HMS, Elderly among others. In my experience with low G sets, they all sound off balance, particularly on concert scale, especially the unwound low G strings. I use the Martin fluoros/Fremont Soloist combo on my low G Kamaka concert and find it to be pretty unbeatable.

Thanks, that's what I'll do. Appreciate your advice, Janeray 1940.