Aquilla String question

Pikagirl

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A quick search didn't really answer this question for me. I bought a Luna High Tide Concert Koa uke (aka Lorelei) a couple of months ago and it came pre-strung with Aquillas. The last week or so the strings sound "dead" to me (not really ringing like when I first tried/bought the uke). Is that normal?

I strung my dolphin bridge with Martin M600s and I like the sound on that one. I have a spare set of both the M600's and the Aquilla New Nylgut, any opinions on which I should try on Lorelei?
 
I like the Martin strings a lot more than Aquila.
 
Does anybody know about the Aquila "Bionylon" strings? They are supposed to be the strings on the Excelsius that I ordered. I may order some Living Water soprano strings if I don't like them. I am only familiar with the Aquila Nylgut strings, and though a lot of people like them, they are not my favorite flavor.
 
Might have something to do with the high humidity. I believe the fluorocarbon strings will be less affected by the humidity than the Aquilas. If it were me, I'd wait and see whether it improves when it's not so humid unless you know that the RH is not too high.
 
I like to try new strings, so I would say try the ones Lorelei hasn't had yet. If you don't like them you can always change them again! (This is how I got to be fairly adept at changing strings. The first time was ugly.) I try to be very careful when I remove strings that aren't dead, and I package them up carefully so I can try them again.

I'm finding myself becoming very fickle with strings, especially with my Dolphin! I used to dislike the Aquilas but now my opinion has softened. I'm using Ko'olau Golds right now (the yellow looks great on Fifi), and I used to love them but now my feelings are somewhat mixed (although I still really like the Golds on my mango soprano, Coco). Coco arrived wearing Worth Clear which I kind of liked but didn't love (liked the sound, disliked the feel), and I will see if I can get them on Fifi if they are long enough next time I change her strings.

What was I saying? Oh, yeah, try the Martins. And let us know what you think!
 
Hmmm,not normal. Perhaps someone knows why, but unlikely Martins would sound brighter on many ukes, although I've heard of a few instances where some thought they did. I tried martins on a solid mahogany soprano and talk about "dead." Try some new strings, but make sure the setup is ok first.
 
I use Worths on my Luna Cedar and they sound amazing. I've used a bunch of strings on it and these are easily the best.
 
Maybe you just got sick of the sound that it produced. When I first strung my ukulele with aquila (one of the white-stringed versions, I don't exactly remember), I absolutely loved the sound, but as time pressed on, I quickly got sick of them and opted for new strings.
 
I bought a Luna High Tide Concert Koa uke (aka Lorelei) a couple of months ago and it came pre-strung with Aquillas. The last week or so the strings sound "dead" to me (not really ringing like when I first tried/bought the uke). Is that normal?

My first ukulele (a Kala KA-T, which is a laminate) came with Aquila strings, and after a few month of daily play, the strings seemed dead to me--exactly as you describe, not ringing. I restrung with more Aquilas and the sound improved dramatically. My second uke also came with Aquila strings and after a few months those strings started to sound dead to me; I restrung with fluorocarbons. So yes, in my very limited experience, Aquila strings can begin to sound dead after a lot of play, especially on a laminate uke, which I believe your Luna is.
 
I decided to restring with the Aquillas(and thanks to whomever posted the cordoba video on how to tie off the strings... so much easier now I know how to do it instead of guessing). Of course my cat, Odin, is being that cat today and stalking my uke. :uhoh:

It does sound better but I think I'll try some other strings next time to compare.
 
Does anybody know about the Aquila "Bionylon" strings? They are supposed to be the strings on the Excelsius that I ordered. I may order some Living Water soprano strings if I don't like them. I am only familiar with the Aquila Nylgut strings, and though a lot of people like them, they are not my favorite flavor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ILpHArVKw
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?44375-Aquila-Bionylon
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...uila-Bionylon-Low-G-with-wound-G-and-C-Review
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?39410-Aquila-Bionylon-Strings-are-available
 
All strings will eventually go dead. How quickly depends on a lot of factors... How much play they've had, the conditions the string experiences, your style of playing, the strings themselves, wound or unwound, the batches the strings came from, your skin chemistry... In short 'strings don't sound good no more' = 'put new strings on'.
 
The Nylgut strings are very sensitive to humidity. I took a uke with them to Louisiana for a weekend and it was more than a week after I got back before they started sounding normal again. The next time I took the same uke with fluorocarbon strings and had no issues.

John
 
Strings


Thanks, Kanaka! I will withhold my judgement until I have tried out the bionylons, but I tend to gravitate toward Living Water and Worths, so I suspect that is where we will end up. I think part of it is the playing style and the sound that is desired. We do a fair bit of fingerstyle, usually of classical pieces. I don't think a string that aspires to sound like gut is a good match for the music. Purer and clearer with more sustain is what we are looking for - and good intonation is a must. Those are some great links!
 
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