New String Day

[PhilWA]

I just removed the Martin 620's from my Kanile'a Super tenor and installed some of the Aquila Sugar labeled as Squeakless. These are reentrant strings and so far I am liking them quite a bit. They seem to be a bit easier to play bar chords and they sound very nice played finger style. The Martin strings lasted pretty close to 4 months and they sounded pretty good up until about a week ago when they started sounding a bit dead to my ears. The Aquila's are nice and bright without being overbearing about it. The G sounds much better than the Martin strings ever did. Also, no squeaks detected so far. I tend to practice around an hour a day so your mileage may vary on the Martin strings.

Phil

 

[bbkobabe]

The Martin strings lasted pretty close to 4 months and they sounded pretty good up until about a week ago when they started sounding a bit dead to my ears.

Let us know how long they last... Some of these Aquila's have breakage issues. They break before they wear out...

They never stayed on long enough for me to find out how long they wear.

As for me: I first put on the original version of the Aquila Sugars, and the squeaking sound made by my fingers on the strings drove me crazy!

So, I tried the Squeakless version when they were reformulated. Even the "squeak-less" versions were squeaking too much for me... Yes, they squeak "less"... but I couldn't get past it. Maybe I was already biased from my first experience... I have read here on UU that this effect diminishes over time, but...

And I love the sustainability aspect... but...

I didn't leave them on long enough to find out how long they would last...

I like the Aquila Lava strings better... give them a try sometime!

 

[Kenn2018]

I thought the Sugars sounded about halfway between Nylguts and Fluorocarbons. A very nice sound to them once the squeak was gone.

I don't like thick strings. They hurt my fingertips. These were too thick for my comfort. But I have friends who love them.

I think Aquila has solved any breaking issues their strings have. The Reds will break if they aren't installed and brought up to tension as recommended. I haven't heard of any other widespread breakage issues.

 

[PhilWA]

My next two string tests will be a set of Aquila Super Nylgut or a set of D'Addario Titaniums. These are what I have on hand at the moment.

I mostly play guitar so the thicker strings do not bother me too much. Still testing for that magic string for this beautiful instrument. Thanks for the suggestions, I will add those choices to my list of strings to try.

Phil

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

As I’ve posted in the past, Martin should get out of the fluorocarbon string business and keep doing what they’ve always done best.

 

[PhilWA]

Actually the 620’s were not all that terrible and 4 months seems like a pretty good lifespan compared to what I get on some other instrument string sets.

 

[EDW]

Let us know how long they last... Some of these Aquila's have breakage issues. They break before they wear out...

They never stayed on long enough for me to find out how long they wear.

As for me: I first put on the original version of the Aquila Sugars, and the squeaking sound made by my fingers on the strings drove me crazy!

So, I tried the Squeakless version when they were reformulated. Even the "squeak-less" versions were squeaking too much for me... Yes, they squeak "less"... but I couldn't get past it. Maybe I was already biased from my first experience... I have read here on UU that this effect diminishes over time, but...

I tried the original version and loved them, but the squeaking was very pronounced for me. Th improved version still had the issue a bit for me. I had not tried them again for some time. I recently tried the Sugars again and I have not had any issue squeaking at all. The are very nice strings

 

[M3Ukulele]

I have Sugars on my TT solid spruce top. I always recommend keeping new string on a month or more before passing judgement. First week, ther was some squeak but it didn’t put me off. Now five weeks later, sound great, no squeak, rock solid tuning. By the way, they had A relatively short period before they held tune. Now, i rarely have to adjust tuning. I like them for sure.

 

[PhilWA]

Thanks for your reply. I am noticing a little bit of squeak but nothing totally objectionable. They certainly settled in much faster than the Martin 620's ever did. They were pretty consistently almost a half tone flat every time I went to play. I will stick with them and see how they work out eventually. So far so good as the old saying goes.

 

[about2]

Good to hear. I liked the squeak less version but removed them after a week as the squeak was too much. Maybe I gave up too soon. I still have em, so I may try them again.

 

[SurferJay]

I tried the Sugars a while back. I went through two packs very quickly so could not justify the purchase of more. I did like the sound of them but it does not compare to the Uke a Logic strings so if you are in the market for fluorocarbon(ish) strings I would just get the superior strings.

I’m currently using Aldrins Aquila strings and they are outstanding. They are just super balanced in all aspects and very comfortable play. They are also incredibly durable.

 

[PhilWA]

I tried the Sugars a while back. I went through two packs very quickly so could not justify the purchase of more. I did like the sound of them but it does not compare to the Uke a Logic strings so if you are in the market for fluorocarbon(ish) strings I would just get the superior strings.

I’m currently using Aldrins Aquila strings and they are outstanding. They are just super balanced in all aspects and very comfortable play. They are also incredibly durable.

Thanks I will put a couple of set of the Aldrins on order. The sugars sounded much better today and they really seem to hold tune quite well.

Phil

 

[PhilWA]

I just did an interesting test of the Sugar strings. I had been hearing some very minor squeaks that have been mentioned, mostly while strumming. I just made a test recording using a couple of high quality Rode pencil mics and never heard a squeak at all. The next chance I have I will record some strumming and see if they show up then.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Though I've raved about Fremont Black Lines during the past few weeks, my High g is now going waaay flat between practice sessions (had to tune it up from E yesterday). The strings have now been on my uke over a month, so the stretching ought to be long gone. Could this be caused by the recent change in humidity due to colder weather, switching from AC to gas heat? If so, why is it only affecting the second-smallest-diameter string?

 

[PhilWA]

One final update. I recorded again this morning but this time while strumming. Same X-Y position on the Rode NT-5 microphones. I did at first hear some squeaking going on and but noticed that is seemed to come more from my fingernail going across the strings than the strings themselves. I changed my stroke to only use finger and thumb pads and the noise completely went away. I also should make note that the Aquila Sugar strings have really settled in well. When I prepared to record today the strings were only a few cents flat compared to the Martin 620's which could be almost a half tone flat.

Phil

 

[hendulele]

I put a set of Sugars on my Martin 0XK concert (HPL). I like the feel and the sound much better than the Martin strings, and I typically prefer fluorocarbons. The HPL is a little bass- and midrange-heavy. The Sugars accentuate the upper registers and give the uke a more balanced sound.

I may try them on my Firefly banjolele next.