D'ADDARIO UKULELE STRINGS - IN DEPTH (Carbon, Nyltech, Titanium, Clear & Black Nylon with samples)

I spend my life explaining different string sets and string materials in my day to day at Southern Ukulele Store and I have wanted to make a video on D'Addario for a long time being one of our most popular string brands.

3:56 Carbon Sound Sample
6:59 Titanium Sound Sample
9:42 Clear Nylon Sound Sample
12:51 Black Nylon Sound Sample
16:32 Nylgut Sound Sample

D'Addario have been around seemingly since the invention of the wheel and when the Ukulele grew to new heights D'Addario were among the first to introduce a plethora of different string types for the Ukulele. In this video we talk about and compare Nyltech, Titanium, Carbon (Fluorocarbon), Clear Nylon and Black Nylon and hopefully shed enough light that you the viewer/listener can make a more informed purchase.

This video does not have a sponsor but please consider ordering these strings from the Southern Ukulele Store at the links below.

CARBON SERIES

TITANIUM SERIES

NYLTECH SERIES

CLEAR NYLON SERIES

BLACK NYLON SERIES

In this series of videos I am using a Kanile'a SUS-T Cedar topped Tenor model available exclusively at Southern Ukulele Store.

If you like the song I am playing you can learn it here;

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

[pixel-junky]

Playtests
3:56 Carbon
6:59 Titanium
9:42 Clear Nylon
12:51 Black Nylon
16:32 Nylgut

[ryismyname]

Good on D'dario for offering all of the types of strings. Most brands tend to stick to a couple of materials.

[KXHelpercom]

I have to say that I really like the roundness and the sustain of the sound from the Black Nylons. I'm gonna get me some and give them a try on my new Baritone.

[FenrirInFlowers]

I use D'addario Titaniums on 2 of my ukes. My acacia tenor and mahogany tenor have a magical, bell-like twinkle with them on that I love. I find them very comfortable with great intonation.

I've had less luck with the Nyltech. I have an older Lanikai soprano in some need of setup, which mostly just sits in my closet while I keep forgetting about it. I did finally get around to changing the strings after about six years and decided to try the Nyltech to see if they might be more comfortable with the high action on that uke than the Aquilas it came with. For that particular uke it brought out all the problems the Aquilas were masking and sounded like it had been strung with buzzing rubber bands. So in the closet it continues to lurk, waiting for the day I finally take it down to the local music store.

I have a few sets of D'addario strings I want to experiment with on my favorite uke, a Kremona Coco that I got this spring. She's a solid cedar top with solid rosewood back and sides, and she is a glorious canon. She came with Aquilas, and they are pretty good on her though I did switch her to a low G. I do wanna try some flurocarbons and some titaniums on her just to see what qualities they bring out in the uke. I have the other strings to experiment with, but since she sounds great already I haven't been in a particular hurry.

[MariUSukulele]

strings... a lifelong quest! thx 4 all the info, Alex!

[florentintise]

I am a classical guitarist but I do own two baritone ukuleles. One is fitted with the Titaniums and the other with Nylotechs. The Titaniums are loud and clear but the top two strings are scratchy (I play with fingernails so maybe that’s why). The Nylorechs are ok but the sustain is less than desirable, and the fourth string is quite weak.

Still have to try the Clear Nylons. I’ve been fitting my classical guitars with the Pro Arte EJ45 for many many years, so chances are the Clear Nylons should be best for me.

Enjoyed watching your video.

[scotsirish]

Excellent overview, thank you so much for your video, very helpful

[michellezalph]

You are an awesome reviewer! Can't thank you enough for your thorough and interesting reviews and playing!

[cgraham]

Thanks - this was really useful. I recently switched from Nylgut to Carbon, but based on this, I think I want to try clear nylon as well.

[liannejohnson]

This was super helpful, Alex. I am at that point where I am just discovering the differences that strings can make...so am trying different ones each time I change them. I have a set of titaniums sitting here ready to be called to service lol, looking forward to trying them now. I'm starting to figure out what I like and don't like, it's a fun way to explore different sounds without breaking the bank :). Now I am also curious about the black nylon. Really appreciate the time and effort you put in to your content. Thank you for the great video! :)

[aaron]

What a helpful video! I wish I had found this before trying out all of these and disliking half of them haha. I had wondered why the Nyltechs sounded identical to Aquilas, so thanks for solving the mystery. My favorites are the clear nylon which sound amazing on my Kala spruce/ebony baritone.

[pixpusher]

Your string demos are very helpful. Thank you.

[dubcfred]

Thank you so much! We received an older children's ukulele and are excited to order new strings for it.

[swainsongable]

Thank you for posting this, exactly the info I needed 🙂

[afredericks]

Really appreciated this breakdown as it’s hard to guess from the package description alone. Thank you for the knowledge share!

[connormaczee]

Bought a shima uke and it came with D’addario carbons I believe. Really liked em and now I’m trying Martin flurucarbons. I find the thicker Martin strings better for strumming as I find them a bit louder however there are some riffs I like to play that i find a lot easier on D’addario die to them being skinnier strings. Really like both so gonna go back to D’addario after my Martins and have another comparison. Great video keep it up

[raggedyedgemusic]

Gonna try the Nyltech. Was given a Flight uke with Aquila Nylgut and its volume far surpassed my tenor uke with Alice AU046-T, which advertise as warm and bright tone, but to me was simply harder to play and (more importantly to me as a guitar player used to heavy gauge strings) and produced much less volume.

[DanielFlores-kuos]

Great video as usual Alex.
I have used the Carbon, Black Nylon, and Titanium versions. I think I may try the clear nylon strings on one of my ukuleles.
My favorite D'Addario strings so far were the Carbon. Yet I fine the low G to be excessively thick.
I have never yet stuck with any D'Addario set.
Even with trying nylon I am torn between trying the D'Addario and the Ernie Ball clear nylon strings. These days I mainly use Oasis/Freemont Blackline/Freemont Soloist combined sets. With the actual combination changing depending on the instrument. Or PhD(Premium High Density) flourocarbon strings.
Keep up the great work. 😊

[christopher_lp]

The D'addario Nyltech as very easy to get here in the States. I find them to be a fine string and about $5 US, which makes for a great combination.

[rodneyvincents.ramirez]

Thank you Alex :) now I know why kamakas sound better with black nylon strings ;) they are somewhat made to be played softly ;) the nyltech strings are also good ;) they sound like a aquila drenched by the brightness of d'addario