RESULTS Aquila and Worth strings compared

Although I seldom comment on string threads, I found this one very informative and not overly fussy. I think your comparisons are interesting, Ken.

I will say, for myself, I use a lot of strings and, as of two years ago, I use nothing but Aquila Nylguts. Picking, strumming/whatever, they seem to take it and hold up for longer than most others. I probably change my strings more often than most, and "break in time" is important to me. 2 to 3 days with Aquilas. They're stable and actually improve intonation on most of my ukuleles. I
confess that I primarily play sopranos live, but I have all sizes and play most of them on various recordings.
This is just my own, admittedly egocentric, take on the subject. I have used all of the Worths and they feel less stable to me and harder to "dig into".
 
Ken Middleton said:
When you look at the diameter of the strings in each set, there is not as much choice as you think. And the colour of the strings makes no difference.
Click to expand...

I am wrong. Sorry. There is a slight difference between the same gauge brown and clear Worth strings.

I have recently spoken with Masaya Takahashi who makes the strings (in Kobe, Japan). They told me that the aim is for the brown one's to be "a little milder".

However, that they also confirmed that the aim is to "show beauty" by choosing the right colour string to "unify it with the body" of the instrument. Their intention being to use brown on dark-bodied ukes (e.g. mahogany) and clear on light-bodies ukes (e.g. mango).

Who am I to argue.

KEN

...
 
buddhu said:
This is an interesting thread. I've always wanted to try Worths properly on my Kala tenor, but I'm not sure which ones I am supposed to use.

So, for a solid mahogany Kala tenor, which would be the correct ones?

So many variations. Too complicated... I wish their labeling was more explicit about which strings are for which size of uke.
Click to expand...

R. I was searching for Worths here in the UK and found this guy on ebay, if you click on the various packs it give details of the type, he does do a concert set.....I'm I correct that they come in double length, so 2 for the price of one? if so we could go halves, as I've only got one Tenor.
 
With the Worth clears, I sometimes hear a distinct clicking sound as my fingernail hits the top string on downward strum. I don't get this noise with the brown strings. Does anyone else have the same experience?
 
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Yes, I noticed the same thing. The clears seem to have a harder finish.
 
UkuEroll said:
R. I was searching for Worths here in the UK and found this guy on ebay, if you click on the various packs it give details of the type, he does do a concert set.....I'm I correct that they come in double length, so 2 for the price of one? if so we could go halves, as I've only got one Tenor.
Click to expand...

Doh, sorry Leroy. I didn't spot your latest post here until just now. I ordered some BTs (the brown ones for tenor size) a few days ago on Ken's advice. I've strung my Kala ASMT with them and... Wow! I love them. I like them even better than the Aquilas I've been using since I stated playing. That's it for me - I'm sticking with these!

Thanks for the recommendation, Ken. Very good call.

After a bit of work on picking melody out in pluck-strum style I've also had a bit of a revelation regarding re-entrant tuning on tenor. I'm sticking with that now and abandoning low G.

That means I have a brand new set of low G Aquilas that I won't be needing. Leroy, you're welcome to take those off my hands if they are of any use to you, mate. :)
 
I like the Worth browns on my Kamaka, but went back to Aquilas on my Flea. Glad to hear you got in touch with Worth to confirm that there is a difference between browns and clears.
 
haole said:
I like the Worth browns on my Kamaka, but went back to Aquilas on my Flea. Glad to hear you got in touch with Worth to confirm that there is a difference between browns and clears.
Click to expand...

I second that. I was restringing my Kamaka like crazy to get rid of my buzzing issue and ended up putting on some Worth Browns. I had bought them for my Kanile'a and hated them on the Kanile'a. Not only have they gotten rid of my buzzing issue (it now only buzzes on the open E string maybe 2-3% of the time) but they also sound terrific on the Kamaka. I bought two more sets from MGM to stock up.

I do have Aquilas on the Kanile'a right now though.

Thanks for doing this in depth comparison, and also getting the word from Worth directly on the differences.
 
Last night I restrung my tenor Fluke. It had Worth Clears on it, and I replaced them with Aquilas. I'm already familiar with Aquilas from using them on my Flea and my Lanikai LU21 soprano, so I had high hopes. But so far I'm rather disappointed.

The larger body of the Fluke makes it a warm, full sounding instrument, and the Worth Clears really sang nicely on it, with a clear, bell-like tone and nice sustain. The Aquilas have a sound that is less "pure" - which I believe is their intent, as they are designed to closely replicate the sound of natural gut strings.

The result is the sound of the Aquila strings have more "dirt" in them - some interesting overtones that on one hand are very organic and pleasant, but on the other they make the instrument seem a little more honky and dissonant. Perhaps a good analogy would be the difference between a typical pure piano sound and the "honky tonk" preset many keyboards have, which purposely includes some not-quite-perfect intonation.

I'm NOT saying the Aquilas don't play in tune, I hasten to add. I'm just saying that in addition to the fundamental pitch of the string, you hear certain dissonant - but still pleasant - overtones.

I like that kind of dissonant honkiness on my soprano, but I'm finding that on the tenor Fluke it seems like a bit of a step backwards from the pure, clean sound I was getting with Worths.

As they do on my Flea, the Aquilas really bring out the low midrange of the Fluke, with the C and E strings somewhat dominating the mix. The strings also produce more of a "thump" when plucked - again, I like that effect on smaller ukes, but am not sure it's really my cup of tea on the larger, louder Fluke.

I need to spend more time with these strings, to get to know what my Fluke is capable of when strung with these. But at the moment I'm predicting I'll probably switch back to Worths for the Fluke, while keeping Aquilas on my Flea and soprano.

I've also got a packet of Worth Browns sitting around - I'll probably try them next. All part of the fun-filled journey of learning to play my ukes!
 
Thumper said:
Last night I restrung my tenor Fluke. It had Worth Clears on it, and I replaced them with Aquilas. I'm already familiar with Aquilas from using them on my Flea and my Lanikai LU21 soprano, so I had high hopes. But so far I'm rather disappointed.

The larger body of the Fluke makes it a warm, full sounding instrument, and the Worth Clears really sang nicely on it, with a clear, bell-like tone and nice sustain. The Aquilas have a sound that is less "pure" - which I believe is their intent, as they are designed to closely replicate the sound of natural gut strings.

The result is the sound of the Aquila strings have more "dirt" in them - some interesting overtones that on one hand are very organic and pleasant, but on the other they make the instrument seem a little more honky and dissonant. Perhaps a good analogy would be the difference between a typical pure piano sound and the "honky tonk" preset many keyboards have, which purposely includes some not-quite-perfect intonation.

I'm NOT saying the Aquilas don't play in tune, I hasten to add. I'm just saying that in addition to the fundamental pitch of the string, you hear certain dissonant - but still pleasant - overtones.

I like that kind of dissonant honkiness on my soprano, but I'm finding that on the tenor Fluke it seems like a bit of a step backwards from the pure, clean sound I was getting with Worths.

As they do on my Flea, the Aquilas really bring out the low midrange of the Fluke, with the C and E strings somewhat dominating the mix. The strings also produce more of a "thump" when plucked - again, I like that effect on smaller ukes, but am not sure it's really my cup of tea on the larger, louder Fluke.

I need to spend more time with these strings, to get to know what my Fluke is capable of when strung with these. But at the moment I'm predicting I'll probably switch back to Worths for the Fluke, while keeping Aquilas on my Flea and soprano.

I've also got a packet of Worth Browns sitting around - I'll probably try them next. All part of the fun-filled journey of learning to play my ukes!
Click to expand...

I agree, the Aquilas do have a broader sound and can sometimes sound unusual on certain instruments. I find that they strum well on virtually anything. For fingerpicking though, brown Worths have a thinner, much purer sound. At least to my ears.

KEN
 
Thanks for all the input on this... I'm going to try Worths, I have Aquilas on my tenor right now and really dislike them. I know most people don't share that opinion, but I even prefer the original GHS strings to the Aquilas I put on. I think they makes the uke sound like a toy.
 
Ken Middleton said:
The Aquila feel thicker, harder and rougher. Because they are thicker, they feel tighter when fretted. But they do have a very precise, firm feel under the fingers.

The Worths feel smoother, thinner, softer and slacker. Sometimes you can hardly feel them at all.
Click to expand...

I guess this is why I prefer Aquila over Worths. I like the thicker, harder and rougher feel. I'm guessing that's because it's fairly similar to 13 guage strings I use on my acoustic guitars.

Maybe it's just in my mind, but to me thicker, harder strings sustain better.
 
Thanks for this posting. I started a different thread regarding tips on how to improve my uke's sound and playability. This thread just gave me an idea to try to try different strings on my tenor Kanilea. I just got a K-1 tenor and am having problems with the sound and playing with it. I am thinking that either the Aquila strings that came with it need to stretch a little more or the uke itself needs to break-in some more or maybe I'm just not happy with how this brand of strings sound on my uke -- or maybe I'm not playing it good enough. We'll see... I got to buy me some strings first.
 
Is there a brand of string with properties right in between Aquilas and Worths?

I've been trying both out, and am being a bit of a Goldilocks here. I like them both for different reasons, but Aquilas seem to be a bit rough and has that residual sound when your fingers rub against them, while the Worth clears I've just started to try on seem like it might slice my fingers open since they're so smooth and skinny.
 
mikeeG7th said:
Thanks for this posting. I started a different thread regarding tips on how to improve my uke's sound and playability. This thread just gave me an idea to try to try different strings on my tenor Kanilea. I just got a K-1 tenor and am having problems with the sound and playing with it. I am thinking that either the Aquila strings that came with it need to stretch a little more or the uke itself needs to break-in some more or maybe I'm just not happy with how this brand of strings sound on my uke -- or maybe I'm not playing it good enough. We'll see... I got to buy me some strings first.
Click to expand...

Kanile'as sound wonderful with either Aquila or Worth strings. It will improve with age, of course, but it should sound great straight out of the box. All of my videos that use a Kanile'a (about 100) have Aquilas fitted. The strings won't improve in tone much. In fact, as they get older they will become less clear.

If there is a serious problem with the instrument, get back to the dealer or even Joe at Kanile'a.
 
Ken Middleton said:
5 people commented that the Worths sounds better when they are picked and the Aquilas when they are strummed[/B]


KEN
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. For fingerstyle, I prefer worth clear.

BTW, I also found that Aquilas are not so good on ukes with piezo pickups. It sounds a little bit too bright and hollow. Worth sounds more balanced.

Good review! Well done Ken!
 
Thanks Ken for this comparison. I'm really glad you didn't identify which uke had which strings. I am new enough in playing that I didn't quickly pick up on each one. I definitely prefer the worth strings. Thanks. Also, thanks for your youtube vids.
 
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