AQUILA UKULELE STRINGS - IN DEPTH (6 high G sets compared with samples)

I spend my life explaining the differences between different strings and materials in my day to day at Southern Ukulele Store. I even made a pretty detailed video about Aquila for the shops channel that many have found helpful here;

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The thing missing from that 2018 SUS video was audio samples of each string set. In this video we compare Nylgut, Super Nylgut, Lava, Sugar, Red and Green Nylon (AGxAQ) strings on my Kanile'a SUS-T Tenor Ukulele.
Thank you to the kind folks at Sutherland Trading for supplying 6 sets of Aquila for this video. Thank you to Rob at Southern Ukulele Store for a bit of equipment help too.

The strings can be purchased at SUS here;

NYLGUT TENOR

LAVA TENOR

RED TENOR

SUPER NYLGUT

SUGAR TENOR

ALDRINE TENOR

If you have any other questions please feel free to comment and I will respond - if you are going to ask me which strings will suit your Ukulele, please do try and watch the video first and come to your own conclusion... haha.

I would be so grateful if you checked out one or all of the links below... your support and interest in my content means the world to me.

IMPORTANT LINKS

#aquilastrings #aquilacorde #ukulelestrings

[arnanyathavan]

sound comparison
new nylgut: 5:19
lava nylgut: 7:27
nylgut red series: 12:20
super nylgut: 15:08
suger series: 19:21

[.tsuki_]

This was helpful, thank you. Also, I'm Italian and you're pronunciating "aquila" right, "aquíla" is far more right that "akíla" but if we want to be annoying the perfect way to say it is "áquila" with the accent on the first "a". Anyway this video saved my life

[MichaelStoneham]

Great to see a good review of Aquila strings. Many people often say they tried Aquila strings often referring to the Nylgut/New Nylgut strings.

[TheIronDuke]

Bought the reds, love em. On my super tenor the A snapped after a couple of days. I replaced the single A with a nygut and kept the reds on the other three. Been playing for weeks, love it. All my regular tenors now have full reds

[djentlover]

Strumming comparison:
Nylgut regular 7:28 (clean, simple sound, some jumping high resonances)
Nylgur red 12:53 (long sustain, reduced attack, slightly metallic, loud)
Nylgut super 15:42 (as regular but sharper and louder)
Nylgur sugar 20:02 (complex and smooth attack, short sustain, very little resonances)

[bobo_momchillovich]

Thank you Alex! You are my spirit animal. Going in Mariana trench depths on strings is just the thing I need and love to do myself. Please do continue with other strings! For future videos maybe in depth view of tonewoods, laminates vs. solids and all that other eternal debates in our community. Whatever it is - just keep it going! You have a follower in me.

[jeannemurphy]

Thanks, Alex, very helpful video, as always! I have a Kanile'a tenor with super Nylgut
strings. It was useful to me to hear these different strings on my instrument. Turns out I like the super Nylgut best!

[andrewriecke]

Just bought a set of the sugar strings, and I've got to say they really are a good set of strings. I've only used Nylgut (New and Super) up to this point since I'm new to the uke scene, but this video was my go to when looking at getting a new set of strings for my Aklot. Thanks Alex, amazing content as always!

[audreygiamlayhoon]

Thank you, Alex!
I looked out for this.
As expected, comprehensive, informative, educational...and authoritative. Everyone will be referring to this video for a long time 😀

[kristalind]

Thank you, Alex for these string videos, very helpful!!! I have tried fluorocarbon (clear and brown) and nylon (D´addario and GHS)- not for me really. But I love the Sugar strings- good for strumming and picking too (on my laminate concert). I actually like a lot the feel of the Sugars- little sticky and squeaky and gleamy. And now have been using Reds for some weeks on my solid mahogany concert, probably gonna stick with them for some time. Love Reds for fingerpicking, the sound is great! Yes, they are rough surface- I find it more comfortable than slippery surface of fluorocarbon.

[waynegordon]

I really appreciate the review, Alex. Thanks for providing more background and context to this rabbit-hole activity of ukulele strings. I wondered about the Martin 625 heritage. I tried them on a Moonbird tenor that needed a string change, but felt that the clarity and pureness of tone wasn't quite there for fingerpicking. These strings have a sort of twang that might work well on a solid cherry uke I use more for strumming and will replace a set of Sugar strings that have not lost their squeak.

[LawrieFWhite]

Thank you - just taken up ukulele . This helps. I like the depth & tone of “red” especially with low G.
Interested in trying “sugar” to on my high g

[k.laffite]

Thanks for this great info! I think the word you were looking for was opacity (Oh - pass-ity.) Keep up the great work!

[robertolozanopetitsoleiluk]

Muchos thanks Alex 👍 really really interresting ! The comparison is the best way to choose what we need...

[andrewriecke]

Great video and super informative! As a K-5 (US) music teacher planning to teach students ukulele, this is great info for when I'll eventually be restringing my class set. Thanks again!

[alinecharbonneau]

Love the Reds with low G for my tenor ukuleleé They have a full body sound that. I'm more of a folk guitar/ukulele player so I like a softer feel. Thank-you for these videos, really informative and helpful.

[RickHenderson]

Thanks very much for the deep dive, Alex. I was unlucky enough to try the Reds when they broke all the time. (I recall that here in the States, Mim used to issue a stern talking-to to anyone who asked her for them, even though she offered and sold them.) Of all the Aquilas, the Sugars and Martin Premiums have worked best for me, and I'm glad to see you like them too! One thing about the Sugars I really appreciate is they seem to maintain volume and sustain when you play higher up the neck, even on sopranos. And they are pretty durable, too. Great video.

[ira_metal]

Awesome video!! I really appreciate it! I just put my first Aquila super Nylgut on my uke and they are as squeaky as the sugar ones you show us on the video! Hope it goes away in a few days ☺️

[davidmolloy]

Hiya Alex, thanks very much for another great post. I'm thinking of putting some sugar's on, as every review says how good they are particularly for picking on solid instruments. I know that is a bit of a generalisation, but you know what I mean! The squeak on the video sounds a bit like a new pair of leather shoes. I love Martin 600s on my concert though so it will be interesting to see the difference between those and sugar's on a tenor.
Take care and stay safe. David ❤️🎶🎸🇬🇧

[urkwez]

20:20 Nice strings if you playing Pizzolla!