Aquillas hurt.

poppy

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I must be the only person in the world whose fingers hurt when I use aquillas. It happened with my OU6 and I figured it was just poor set up. But when I had the work done Ihad no more problems as Ihad worth BMs put on. Same with the Honu concert ,it is now my favorite uke and plays so easy. Well I got a new mainland tenor SOS so I swapped strings and left the set up alone. The second day on the AQUILLA s I had to put the uke away. Fingers were so sore I quit for the day. Put on a set of Fremont blacklines and I can play a couple of hours no problem!
So are they that much harder ? tighter ? Are worth clears similar to the BMs . I don't have huge callousis but I play 2-4 hours prettyy much daily what other strings would have a similar tension and feel as the worth or blacklines?
 
Some people do complain about Aquilas more than others, but for a beginner any strings can hurt. You need to build callouses up on fingertips and once they are there, you will never be in pain again.

If you are, I'd look at fretting technique. You actually only need a light touch, enough to engage the string at the fret. Many beginners squeeze too hard, which not only hurts, but hampers the speed at which you can play.

See link - http://www.gotaukulele.com/2010/10/beginner-tips-ouch-my-fingers-hurt.html

EDIT - not suggesting you are a beginner btw! My response was more a general bit of advice. I'd wager you are applying too much pressure
 
Some people do complain about Aquilas more than others, but for a beginner any strings can hurt. You need to build callouses up on fingertips and once they are there, you will never be in pain again.

If you are, I'd look at fretting technique. You actually only need a light touch, enough to engage the string at the fret. Many beginners squeeze too hard, which not only hurts, but hampers the speed at which you can play.

See link - http://www.gotaukulele.com/2010/10/beginner-tips-ouch-my-fingers-hurt.html

EDIT - not suggesting you are a beginner btw! My response was more a general bit of advice. I'd wager you are applying too much pressure

Not only beginners but many players do press too hard. It's easy to get carried away in the music sometimes. Also, the angle of how you press the fingers and where you press may have an impact.
 
I don't really feel them, but then, I play an acoustic guitar, so anything softer than those strings feel good to me. My mom only plays the uke, and always used the Martin strings. I turned her onto Aquilas, and she did complain that they made her fingers sore, but now that she's played with them on for a while, she no longer complains. Like bazmaz said, you just have to build up your callouses, then the soreness will eventually go away.

Dan
 
Concert and soprano aquilas no problem but I don't like the stiffness of the aquila tenors.
They even bothered me a bit on my concert but not as bad for sure. I have some fair calouses they have peeled frequently over time. I do mostly rythum (chords) don't know if that changes things. I do know the new tenor is much better for me since I put on the fremonts. The Aquillas feel hard and the texture is not as smooth Couldn't find the size on them to compare ,perhaps they are larger dia?
I like the sound on some of my ukes but if I won't play them with them on its a waste. I did devolope on new calouse on my index finger at the first joint from doing bar chords, but that may well be due to the difference on the neck with this model. its a little thicker and wider than my other ukes. I have small hands short fingers. were a mens cadet or small in a golf glove.
 
The Aquila tenor strings are definitely a bit stiffer, which I feel on my strumming finger more than on my fretting fingers. Definitely a little stiffer than the concert or soprano strings. They don't bother me at all, and in fact, I love the way they feel. I prefer a stiffer string anyhow.

Dan
 
Try playing acoustic guitar for a little while, and then go back to the Aquila strings ;)

In all seriousness, it won't take very long for you to build up callouses. If you don't want to wait, you could always use fluorocarbon strings.
 
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