Aquila revisited on Tenor

M3Ukulele

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Never been huge fan of standard Nylgut Aquila Strings. I see they have New Nylgut and they are really white. I like to support Mimmo and like what company is doing. I like Reds. I like Carbon Black. Lava were cool but tension was too high more me. I’ve read Super Nylgut Strings are Same as Lava string but white.

Then I read in UU about putting concert strings on tenor. So, I put New Nylgut Concert on my Tiny Tenor Solid top and they sound and feel great! They settled in nicely in a day . Now two weeks in they sing,

Gone is the boomy C string when I last tried them. I think I’m going to give some of the other models in the line a try in CONCERT scale.

I just found new formula Reds in Tenor and bought them. Dealer didn’t have Red concerts. So, after a month or so I will change out and see what I think.

I’m a self proclaimed flurocarbon Carbon player and my go to is Oasis brights. But , this little experiment was an eye opener.
 
Sorry, posted to wrong section. This should be in Uke Talk. I got distracted while surfing. Maybe moderator could move this. Not selling anything. My BAD
 
I used to not like Aquila’s but then I kept buying ukes that had them and just left them on. I have grown to love them. They work fantastic on my kanilea tenor.

Btw my favorites are oasis brights too!! But Aquila’s live on the kanilea.
 
I noticed a Kanilea uses them as standard and while I’ve never played one HMS sound samples are always great. Kanile’a are on my must try, must buy list. So, they seem to have optimized for Aquila. They have their special Tru bracing etc. Anyways got to thinking, I must be missing something with the Aquila and where I live guitar dealer has Aquila and DA’Addario and that is pretty much it.

The key re discovery is that the concern on a tenor are more to my liking. No booming C string. Tension feels great on fingers. They settled in very fast. Two weeks I. They stay in perfect tune.

I now will retry all the variations on this TT But in Concert. maybe Lava, which I like in Tenor scale but they had too much tension, will been better.

I like changing strings Every 1-3 month 6. months would be a long time for me but some do stay on that long.

It gives me options. I do order from strings by Mail, usually bulk 4-6 packs of various strings......now when I run low I KNOW I can always put some Aquila’s on and be happy.
 
Never been huge fan of standard Nylgut Aquila Strings. I see they have New Nylgut and they are really white. I like to support Mimmo and like what company is doing. I like Reds. I like Carbon Black. Lava were cool but tension was too high more me. I’ve read Super Nylgut Strings are Same as Lava string but white.

Then I read in UU about putting concert strings on tenor. So, I put New Nylgut Concert on my Tiny Tenor Solid top and they sound and feel great! They settled in nicely in a day . Now two weeks in they sing,

Gone is the boomy C string when I last tried them. I think I’m going to give some of the other models in the line a try in CONCERT scale.

I just found new formula Reds in Tenor and bought them. Dealer didn’t have Red concerts. So, after a month or so I will change out and see what I think.

I’m a self proclaimed flurocarbon Carbon player and my go to is Oasis brights. But , this little experiment was an eye opener.

I have 2 questions. I mention not liking the high tension og the Lava's, but wouldn't concert strings on a tenor be "high tension"? Second, have tghey ever gotten the Reds settled down so they don't break even sitting inside the case? Thanks...
 
What I’ve read on the forum is that concert string on tenor has less tension. Thinner string. This is what I have found.

I also, read that Aquila changed formula After Sept 2018, they are darker I. Colour and are supposed to be less resistant to breaking. I can’t verify, just what I believe I read on UU. The Red Tenor is purchased were darker than ones I tried before. Their mfg date was Jan 2019. Can t really comment more, until I try. Key with Red in the past is to make sure no sharp edges on nut, or saddle or tuners. Pre stretch is a good idea. There is a video on Aquila site about this.

Everything I read on UU from various threads would indicate tension of concert on tenor is lower.

If anyone knows for sure, please chime in!

I will try Lava concert scale on my TT iwhen my month use is up. I will report back. I will also try the tenor Red and see if they seem different,
 
Been thinking about putting some super nylgut soprano strings on my concert, but was a little worried it would sound too thin.

I might actually have to give it a try now.
 
I can’t see it hurting. Let’s us know what you think. String are the most inexpensive way to experiment with sound a players has. It’s pretty simple. If you put them on and tension to floppy you will know immediately. I suspect you will be fine.

Interesting discussion on the podcast by HMS on saddle materials and how much they affect sound. Changing strings is way easier. Point is, most small tweaks like this are pretty easy and cheap to do. I’m glad I tried concert on my TT. I will try Super Nylgut or Lava in Concert on my Tiny Tenor I’ve read Super Nylgut and Lava are the same, save the fact that Lava have a dark colour added. That is just what I read.

What I tried was New Nylgut. Not sure the difference between New Nylgut and Super Nylgut. But it’s a inexpensive change either was. I’m glad I’ve left my Aquila’s on and will do so for a month. They settled in real nice and “sing” really nice on this particular ukulele
 
M3, did you ever try the Lavas? If you did, I'd be interested in knowing how you liked them.
 
I noticed a Kanilea uses them as standard and while I’ve never played one HMS sound samples are always great. Kanile’a are on my must try, must buy list. So, they seem to have optimized for Aquila. They have their special Tru bracing etc. Anyways got to thinking, I must be missing something with the Aquila and where I live guitar dealer has Aquila and DA’Addario and that is pretty much it.
I was at the Kanilea'a factory tour last week and indeed they sounded great. I played mainly their six and eight strings as they had several in the showroom, and they were so much more powerful than my old six string Kamaka (which I also have strung with Aquilas) it was unbelievable. So it's not just the strings. One big difference is that they use GHS phosphor bronze for their wound strings (G and A) that I was very impressed with, and they said they also last much longer than the silver-wound strings.
 
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