Strings - Kala Reds

Farp

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I see there still is a lot of discussion regarding Aquila Reds. Are Kala reds made by Aquila, or are they manufactured elsewhere?

The reason I ask is because I put them on my grandkid's baritone ukulele. They've been on there now for well over a year. I have just replaced the 4th string, but the others remain (he doesn't play it much, but they've been strummed several hours).

I use different strings on my two personal baritones; but I have to say, I like the feel and tone of the Kala reds better than what I have been using on my own ukes.
 
I see there still is a lot of discussion regarding Aquila Reds. Are Kala reds made by Aquila, or are they manufactured elsewhere?

The reason I ask is because I put them on my grandkid's baritone ukulele. They've been on there now for well over a year. I have just replaced the 4th string, but the others remain (he doesn't play it much, but they've been strummed several hours).

I use different strings on my two personal baritones; but I have to say, I like the feel and tone of the Kala reds better than what I have been using on my own ukes.


I thought that the KALA REDS were red-colored fluorocarbon (never tried them myself), but I know from posts by Mimmo of Aquila, that the Aquila REDS are based upon the Nylgut formulation that has been impregnated with copper powder in order to increase the linear density of the material, and thus the AQUILA REDS are thinner than Nylgut.

Maybe I was misinformed?

I have used Aquila REDS, but no matter what, and following the instructions, one or more strings on each set broke on me, on multiple sets and also from the supposed 'improved' formula, on more than 4 different ukes, so I had to give up on the Aquila REDS.
 
The package says "Made in Argentina." What company would that be?
 
dudes, it is very hard that a brand tell you who actually is making their strings.
why you want these informations? This is the first thing that came in the mind of an owner.
generally speacking to be able to stay in the market has one big rule: one must preserve all the know- how and the realted 'secrets'.
There are many workers and the relate family that one must preserve.
Oncemore there is no law that oblige one to to tell to somebody why, where and what....
In my feel the safety of my collaborators take always the first position. For Mike of kala same. He is a serious and honest man.
Ciao
Mimmo
 
Mimmo, I agree, I think sometimes people ask too many questions.
"Just move along sir, this is non of your business", comes to mind.
I don't care where Reds are made, I trust you. I may try another set, people are reporting less breakage now. I like the sound and the feel, so why be concerned about whether they are made in Italy, the US, or Mexico?
 
Mimmo, I agree, I think sometimes people ask too many questions.
"Just move along sir, this is non of your business", comes to mind.
I don't care where Reds are made, I trust you. I may try another set, people are reporting less breakage now. I like the sound and the feel, so why be concerned about whether they are made in Italy, the US, or Mexico?

Some folks may want to buy things only 'Made In USA' or wherever is local to them.

I remember when I was a kid, anything that said 'Maid In China' was cheap, easily broken and disposable.

Of course these were plastic toy cars and army men type things, but nowadays it seems China has upped their game for lots of things, not all things, but most of it that I've seen is not garbage, unless you frequent the 'Dollar Stores', and there really is where inferior-produced items often go to languish and die.

If I saw strings at the Dollar Store, yes, I would buy a set out of curiosity, but expectations would be low, very very low. :)
 
I thought that the KALA REDS were red-colored fluorocarbon (never tried them myself), but I know from posts by Mimmo of Aquila, that the Aquila REDS are based upon the Nylgut formulation that has been impregnated with copper powder in order to increase the linear density of the material, and thus the AQUILA REDS are thinner than Nylgut.

Maybe I was misinformed?

I have used Aquila REDS, but no matter what, and following the instructions, one or more strings on each set broke on me, on multiple sets and also from the supposed 'improved' formula, on more than 4 different ukes, so I had to give up on the Aquila REDS.

Yeah, Booli, the same happened on my ukes. I don't use the reds anymore at all either. :eek:ld:
 
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EDIT: after writing this I Googled "Kala Red Strings", and found out it is something different than Aquila Red. Anyway, off topic I guess, but here are my brief thoughts on Aquila Red strings.... :)

Are we talking about Aquila Reds?? Thread started out with Kala Reds...

I discovered the "alleged" breakage issue with the unwound Aquila Red low-G string was partly my fault. This string is thick and has a textured surface, so it doesn't glide smoothly in the nut slot, so the string can easily catch in the slot during tightening, resulting in too much tension between peg and nut. The string "catching" could be an issue as well for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings if the fit in those nut slots is snug.

Now that I've discovered this issue, I'm careful when tightening the unwound low-g Red and am not having any breakage problems.

I like Aquila Red strings. I'm sure they can work well in many kinds of ukes, but I find they add brightness to a lower-priced uke that maybe sounds a bit dull.
 
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I like you.

dudes, it is very hard that a brand tell you who actually is making their strings.
why you want these informations? This is the first thing that came in the mind of an owner.
generally speacking to be able to stay in the market has one big rule: one must preserve all the know- how and the realted 'secrets'.
There are many workers and the relate family that one must preserve.
Oncemore there is no law that oblige one to to tell to somebody why, where and what....
In my feel the safety of my collaborators take always the first position. For Mike of kala same. He is a serious and honest man.
Ciao
Mimmo
 
I believe they are made by the Illuminati, at their secret base on the dark side of the moon.
 
Some folks may want to buy things only 'Made In USA' or wherever is local to them.

I remember when I was a kid, anything that said 'Maid In China' was cheap, easily broken and disposable.

Of course these were plastic toy cars and army men type things, but nowadays it seems China has upped their game for lots of things, not all things, but most of it that I've seen is not garbage, unless you frequent the 'Dollar Stores', and there really is where inferior-produced items often go to languish and die.

If I saw strings at the Dollar Store, yes, I would buy a set out of curiosity, but expectations would be low, very very low. :)

Booli,
I was kidding....sorta.
 
Booli,
I was kidding....sorta.

Glad you posted this. I was going to jump you for suggesting that sometimes people ask too many questions. It seems to me that asking questions and sharing information is a primary purpose of this or any other forum, n'est ce pas? For me, I was just curious to hear if Kala Reds were made by Aquila, even though the package states the Kala's are made in Argentina. If anyone's going to get flamed for asking a question on a forum, it's a safe bet my next post wouldn't be a question.
 
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