Fat White Strings

[Ukecaster]

You know, the Aquila variants, fat white strings. Haven't heard much talk of them lately, with the myriad of newer string brands available. What's your favorite variety of white Nylgut/Nyltech strings, and why, especially for soprano, and not just on cheap low end sopranos, where many only use them to make the cheap instruments sound better. And, what do you consider their strengths, e.g. better for picking vs strumming? Not even sure what's available these days, but remember Nylgut, New Nylgut, Super Nylgut, and Daddario's Nyltech.

 

[Neil_O]

I have strings on most of my ukes!

 

[hendulele]

After swearing off the Nylgut family, I’m back! Fluorocarbons are a bit bright and chimey for the stuff I play now. Nyltechs have never quite worked for me — even on banjoleles, where they seem to be standard equipment. New Nylgut and Super Nylgut do the trick. The Supers are a little more subdued, so they work best for me on a really loud and treble-forward instrument. The regulars (new) are my choice otherwise. I’m also dipping my toes into regular nylon strings for bright, vintage sopranos.

The “white strings” are pretty nice to revisit after all my wayward wanderings.

 

[EDW]

I really like Nyltech strings. When Aquila hit the scene they made a huge impact because of the great sound and quality. At that time I was a fan of fluorocarbon strings, especially Worth. At some point I was looking for something to give me a fatter sound on vintage sopranos that might emulate the strings that would have been on those instruments originally (gut). I gave Nyltech a try, which are some variation of Nylgut produced by Aquila and sold by D'Addario. Since that time I really have not looked back. I love the rich sound that they produce.

Over the years it seems that the Nylgut style strings have fallen out of favor some since their early years. I think many people associate them with cheap instruments. I understand why people might prefer carbon strings, especially if you want more chime and sustain. At the same time, if you want more midrange and body, especially for those of us who do primarily rhythmic strumming, the Nyltech or Nygut string are well worth considering. FWIW- in recent years from time to time I have tried other strings and then returned to these.

 

[hendulele]

And now, there’s a NEW Aquila string to consider, though it isn‘t white:

Ibanez AUT10 Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW

Got A Ukulele looks at the new AU10 Tenor ukulele from Ibanez Guitars

www.gotaukulele.com

 

[man0a]

I never liked the feel of the white Aquilla strings - too stiff and rough for my taste. I do like the green Aquilla AGxAQ strings.

 

[FatherMother]

The nylguts and super nylguts are really good for sliding - in my experience, they are consistent and louder for sliding than fluorocarbons, maybe because they are fatter. I have a luthier-made spruce-top tenor that came to me with nylguts and it sounded wonderful. When it finally came time to change the strings, I went with fluorocarbons and immediately disliked the sound. I definitely wasn't used to the super-bright sound coming from this particular instrument, although I had switched every other ukulele that I owned over to fluoros and loved them. I tried to get used to them on this spruce-top, but it was just too brash and bright, so I switched back to super nylguts and am happy with the sound again. I would like to try the Martin polyguts on this particular instrument next time it needs a string change.

 

[Altrove]

I'm not a fan of Aquila strings, even if here in Italy they are the most popular ukulele strings. I'm a little jealous of the wide choice of brands you have in the US. Ok, we have the internet but for strings often it's not worth for the shipping costs.

Anyway, speaking about Aquila strings if I really have to choose I prefer the super nylguts (black package) over the regular nylgut ones (yellow package) because they are less thick and feel a bit less stiff. I like high tension strings but the white nylgut are so stiff that they play loud but at the same time they muffle a lot of sustain. Of course everyone has its own preference, but from my own experience the only ukes that really benefit of the regular thick nylguts are the cheap laminate sopranos.

 

[Kenn2018]

Don't like them. Especially on my tenors. And all of my ukes are tenors.

Nylons are, however, pretty good on my two tenor banjoleles and on my tenor resonator.