About the new Thunderbrown Aquila strings for bass ukuleles 20 -26 inches scale

mimmo

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Hello guys,
Mimmo of Aquilastrings here.
I would like to inform you that we have just introduced in the market the new Thunderbrown strings: they are thinner, louder, no sticky at all. Why? there are a lot of copper powder in them. The Thundergut 4th string E has a diameter of 5.0 mm; well, in the Thunderbrown is of 3.90 only (because it was densified by the copper powder).


At the same time we have re- designed the Thunder- reds and Thunder -black sets: they are now no sticky, louder than before and there is no 'sausaging effect' at all.
See here a demo (emglish subtitles coming soon)
 
Checked the price on the Aquila website, and wow, super expensive!

Any idea when these might hit the USA market at a more reasonable price?
 
I use LaBella round wounds on a Hadean F-style. Even though the Mimmo's YT is not in English I could tell he is addressing all the reasons why I chose Labellas. Starting at 3:28 he demos the sound of these Thunderbrown strings. Now I am very tempted, but would have to acquire another bass as the rounds do create a great "Motown" sound.

I really think the "new technology" of infusing copper (think Aquila Reds) to create higher density, which allows thinner string diameters, is going to be here for a very long time.

Thank you, Mimmo!
 
Thanks guy and sorry for the cost: there is a lot of very expensive copper powder in these strings (during the pandemy the cost of that damn copper powder raised). However the cost of these densified/loaded strings should be compared with those of the wound string sets, not the pure rubber ones.
Well, they should last a longer time than the wound strings....
All the best guys
Mimmo

Ps: Monday I will re discuss the final price with my collaborators in order to check if we can drop it of a certain amount. At present it is 29.50 euros for a standard 4 string u.bass setup instead 24.0 of Thundergut (with no metal copper).
 
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Honestly the price of the strings themselves is reasonable. Have y'all priced flats or rounds lately? The problem for US buyers is the shipping. For me to order one set is almost €29 shipping plus almost €13 VAT (which I think shouldn't apply for a non-EU sale). Altogether it would cost over €71, about $85 after exchange and bank fees. That's insane. We would need some kind of distributor or group buy or something to get these in the hands of U.S. buyers
 
It's probably safe to assume these will soon be available from Kala, et. al.
 
Well, we have sent the samples a few days ago to Kala and all our EU and USA distributors. My idea is to stop to produce the traditional rubber strings with all the 4 strings at the same density (i..er. our dark yellow Thundergut and the old Thunderblack) in favor of an improved version of Thunderblack set whose density of the 3rd and 4th is increased by metal powders. And start to supply the chinese factory with this new version instead Thundergut. I have already upgraded our on line store. Mimmo
 
Are any UBasses now being sold with these new Thunderbrown (or Black or Red) already installed?
 
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Thank you, Uker Danno. Quite tempted. Have any of you out there actually tried them? My big question is how do they compare in stand up bass sound compared to the Pahoehoe strings? I do like that stand up bass sound.

As Jim Hanks pointed out, the price seems reasonable, and strings and beyond is a good company to buy strings from.

Cheers
 


A Magnus Sjöquist review in English.

This is a very thorough review. My only gripe is that when he compares them to the Pahoehoe strings he is accompanied by another instrument that gets in the way.

He loves these strings and is obviously a very good player who also loved the Pahoehoe but finds these to be even better He thinks they really bring out the E string. And he speaks of a wah sound he was seeking. Well worth watching.
 
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Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Okay, I’ll blame it on UkerDanno for connecting me with a decent price and also blame Jim Hanks for saying it was a decent price, but most of all I blame Magnus Sjöquist for convincing me with his thorough video. Mimmo, however, on second or third thought, should probably shoulder the majority of the blame.

I‘ll give my personal thoughts once I receive them in four or so days plus a few days for letting them settle in.
 
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Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Okay, I’ll blame it on UkerDanno for connecting me with a decent price and also blame Jim Hanks for saying it was a decent price, but most of all I blame Magnus Sjöquist for convincing me with his thorough video. Mimmo, however, on second or third thought, should probably shoulder the majority of the blame.

I‘ll give my personal thoughts once I receive them in four or so days plus a few days for letting them settle in.
I look forward to hearing how you think that they compare to the Pahoehoe strings.
 
I haven’t yet seen a negative review for the browns. Not the slightest. I’ll be ordering a set soon for the fretless I recently purchased which needs a new set of strings.
 
What I’m particularly looking for when I receive them is clarity in the tone of all the strings but particularly the E string. And, I am also looking forward to increased acoustic volume. The wah effect that Sjöquist demonstrates in his video review will also be a plus.

I have never disliked the feel of my Pahoehoe strings nor have I found them sticky which is not to deny that others have found them sticky. Sjöquist likes the feel of these new strings.

I had never heard of Sjöquist before finding his video review and am now very pleased with my finding him as a resource. I recommend that you look at his video on stringing a Ubass. He makes some interesting recommendations different from the Kala video on stringing. He recommends pulling the new string through and getting it almost to correct pitch before dealing with the knot. He says that initially it is important to not have too much string wrapped around the whatchamacallit because the strings will stretch out overtime. And on the D and G strings he uses an initial holding knot rather than a wrap around which I found to be a nice innovation. The fact that he plays very well and that his instruments sound great makes me respect his advice.

One will, however, note a Scandinavian manner of presentation sharply in contrast to that of Mimmo’s Italian exuberance, kind of like the difference between a Bergman movie and a Fellini movie. It all adds up to great cinema and in this case great music.
 
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I'm actually still wary of stickiness. I always preferred Pahoehoe over any of the Aquila, but when I used the Pahoehoe on a humid day outside, even they got sticky. I also want to test stretch, got very tired of having to trim the poly strings too often that wrapped on the spool of the tuners. I ultimately replaced all my poly strings with flatwounds, but I'm going to try a set of browns later today that are being installed on a custom bass uke to which my luthier, Eric's Guitar in Van Nuys, CA, is adding a pickup and preamp, but it's on the dry side here in Los Angeles right now, might have to test in the bathroom while the shower is steaming.
 
Strings & Beyond have the Thunderbrowns on sale for $34 right now. Free shipping for orders over $35, so you gotta buy one additional item, which isn't too hard to do.
 
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