b00geyman
Member
There were a few threads on Aquila Red series here, mainly mixed feelings, so I decided to contribute with my own experience.
I bought a set of Aquila Red series for my Lanikai LU-11 soprano. Before that, it had Aquila nylons and it sounded okay, but it was fairly quiet and somewhat dull on finger picking.
I replaced the strings myself, one at the time to preserve the tension, starting from high G. I first pre-tensed them using my hands and a piece of soft cloth. You will know you're good when most of the red dust residue is gone.
I then carefully wound them, three-four wounds on each peg, about half step at the time, leaving them somewhat under-tuned to tense them properly.
When I finished replacing the strings, I tuned the uke [GCEA] and left them like that for a few hours. I then re-tuned the uke.
I'm pleased to say that they stayed in tune for the most part, except for C which I slightly over-wound by mistake.
The strings definitely work. They brightened up the uke unbelievably well, to the point it is now a different instrument altogether. They resonate beautifully, especially for finger-picking and campanella styles. They look unusual, but on this uke they do not really stand out, since the fretboard is mahogany and the body is pretty dark.
They are a bit coarse in the beginning, so bear that in mind if you have sensitive fingertips, but this seems to go away after a while due to sweating and, I assume, soaking the grease from the fingers.
They also have a lot, A LOT of scratching noise in the beginning as well, when you are sliding your fingers down the strings. This also goes away after a while.
One thing I noticed, they seem to be much more sensitive to humidity changes than the nylons [obviously], so you'll have to tune your instrument fairly frequently if you play in a room susceptible to humidity changes. If you keep your uke in a case, this does not happen as often.
Another thing, which was a slight disappointment for me is that sliding doesn't sound as good as with the nylon strings. This is not only due to scratching noise. Once this goes away, sliding is simply too quiet. First note resonates well, but when sliding a few frets up or down, sustain simply drops sharply.
If you're strumming, while nylon strings are pretty forgiving, the reds are relentless. You can hear every note and especially missed or half-pressed strings. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
They respond excellently to the strumming/picking angle and sound differently depending on your strumming/picking finger/nail position. Again, not necessarily a bad thing since it improves technique and precision.
In conclusion, if you play a lot of finger picking and campanella on a relatively quiet uke, these strings are for you. If you are more inclined to strumming and sliding, pick nylons. Nylons are much easier to maintain and keep in tune, but are not as bright and resonant.
Hope this helps.
I bought a set of Aquila Red series for my Lanikai LU-11 soprano. Before that, it had Aquila nylons and it sounded okay, but it was fairly quiet and somewhat dull on finger picking.
I replaced the strings myself, one at the time to preserve the tension, starting from high G. I first pre-tensed them using my hands and a piece of soft cloth. You will know you're good when most of the red dust residue is gone.
I then carefully wound them, three-four wounds on each peg, about half step at the time, leaving them somewhat under-tuned to tense them properly.
When I finished replacing the strings, I tuned the uke [GCEA] and left them like that for a few hours. I then re-tuned the uke.
I'm pleased to say that they stayed in tune for the most part, except for C which I slightly over-wound by mistake.
The strings definitely work. They brightened up the uke unbelievably well, to the point it is now a different instrument altogether. They resonate beautifully, especially for finger-picking and campanella styles. They look unusual, but on this uke they do not really stand out, since the fretboard is mahogany and the body is pretty dark.
They are a bit coarse in the beginning, so bear that in mind if you have sensitive fingertips, but this seems to go away after a while due to sweating and, I assume, soaking the grease from the fingers.
They also have a lot, A LOT of scratching noise in the beginning as well, when you are sliding your fingers down the strings. This also goes away after a while.
One thing I noticed, they seem to be much more sensitive to humidity changes than the nylons [obviously], so you'll have to tune your instrument fairly frequently if you play in a room susceptible to humidity changes. If you keep your uke in a case, this does not happen as often.
Another thing, which was a slight disappointment for me is that sliding doesn't sound as good as with the nylon strings. This is not only due to scratching noise. Once this goes away, sliding is simply too quiet. First note resonates well, but when sliding a few frets up or down, sustain simply drops sharply.
If you're strumming, while nylon strings are pretty forgiving, the reds are relentless. You can hear every note and especially missed or half-pressed strings. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
They respond excellently to the strumming/picking angle and sound differently depending on your strumming/picking finger/nail position. Again, not necessarily a bad thing since it improves technique and precision.
In conclusion, if you play a lot of finger picking and campanella on a relatively quiet uke, these strings are for you. If you are more inclined to strumming and sliding, pick nylons. Nylons are much easier to maintain and keep in tune, but are not as bright and resonant.
Hope this helps.