Avoid Aquilas on my Baritone?

kissing

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Well I bought a new Baritone a bit over a month ago.
It was a Legacy brand Baritone. The Legacy brand itself (appears) to be Australian, but I'm sure the products are made in China.

However, it still was a very well made instrument. I could tell that the saddle had been sanded down to a comfortable action, and it seemed set up. I've tried their Sopranos and Tenors in the store, and they sounded really good with great intonation and action. I would recommend them to anyone in Australia who happens to see them on sale.

..Anyway, back to the main point :rolleyes:
They came with what appeared to be GHS strings, so I replaced them with Aquila baritone strings (DGBE). But the wound strings felt incredibly tight when I got them in tune and I worried about whether it was too much tension.

Apparently it was too much pressure. Within weeks of having the Aquilas, the screws holding the geared tuners (both of the wound string tuners) came dislodged from the headstock, and I was unable to screw them back in since the threads were worn :eek:

I have taken it into Warranty, and waiting for a replacement to arrive.

But this does make me concerned about what strings to put on it next. I don't want to put Aquilas on them again and risk the strings being too tight (have anyone else noticed this with Aquila bariton strings?). What's a string that sounds great and isn't as tight as Aquilas for a Baritone?

I was considering D'Addarios. Anyone had experience with them on a Bari uke?

Thanks!!
 
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That's pretty strange. :eek: Not sure if the uke has anything to do with the problem, or if it was just the strings being too tight. Either way, I've had bad luck with Aquila's wound strings (they wear quickly and soon start to come unravelled at every point where they touch the frets). Give D'Addario classical guitar strings a shot; they work pretty well on my baritone.
 
I put Aquila GCEA unwound baritone set on mine and I'm happy as a clam.
 
helpful hint i just learned doing my own repairs: if you strip the wood out a good way to fix it without just getting a larger screw is to break off a toothpic end and jam a bit into the stripped cavity with some superglue.
 
Aquila's wound strings (they wear quickly and soon start to come unravelled at every point where they touch the frets).

My low g is doing this. It's not even 3 months old. I have no idea how long it should last, but will probably try something different soon.
 
My low g is doing this. It's not even 3 months old. I have no idea how long it should last, but will probably try something different soon.

More than two months? What's your secret? :eek: I shredded an Aquila low G to the point where it was unplayable within a week.
 
More than two months? What's your secret? :eek: I shredded an Aquila low G to the point where it was unplayable within a week.

My secret is.....I just noticed. I had no idea I should look for that.:)
 
My first uke experience was with a vintage Martine baritone. I put Aquila bari strings on it, with of course wound 3rd and 4th. On the first two sets :eek: the D string broke at the tuner post just as it was coming into tune! After the second break I thought well shame on me and wrapped that part of the third set in clear tape, and it was fine. But I neither saw or felt any "sharp" edges on that tuner and it had had wound strings on it previously. But I can't say I like any wound strings, and don't really care for Aquilas on anything except my concert cigar box, which needs to be loud and brash, (and on a concert the strings are unwound). I feel for the most part they are over rated, but do have their place.

I have a set of Hilos on one bari and Worth brown medium tenor strings on another, and the tenor strings sound really sweet on that bari, the Hilos not so much on the other. John Kavanagh had suggested that I try light tenor stings, and I'm happy with that, and I also tune them up a half or full step per his advice. They are on an old Giannini, which has a heavy gloss finish, and I didn't think they would be able to drive the sound board sufficiently, but it makes a super fingerpicking uke.

Also the Worths are not as tight as Aquilas were tension wise on my tenor. The tenor currently has Worth clears, and they feel thicker than the browns but still have great sound, and seem to be as loud but easier to fret than Aquilas and have great sustain.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone!

Its good to know that I'm not the only one who's had problems with Aquila's wound strings.
I guess I'll stick to non-wound strings for Aquilas and experiment with other brands :)
 
and then you have yourself a nice large-body tenor :D
 
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