Improved Aquila Red Series strings, low G

The Aquila Red Series of strings, for example a low G for ukulele, has raised a lot of interest but as followers of Ukulele Underground Forum will know, some players have experienced problems with them, e.g. strings snapping.

Aquila responded to the feedback very quickly and worked on improving the Red Series, and there have already been favourable responses from folk on the Forum.

I haven't tried the new improved strings yet, but Andrew Kitakis of Hawaii Music Supply has just written a detailed review of the new improved strings and you can read it in full on his blog here.

Andrew also talks about fluorocarbon low Gs, and here's a reminder that Living Water Strings, a brand of excellent quality fluorocarbon strings sold by Ken Middleton, now include sets of strings with low G.

The Aquila String Harvest

If you like Aquila strings, or even if you don't like Aquila strings - A bit of fun to cheer you if you have that Sunday Night feeling because it's Monday tomorrow! An Italian autumnal idyll...



Reblogged from Uke Hunt... great blog, that....

What am I going to do with a tenor banjo? I could always string it like a uke - like Valery Sauvage!

The Entertainer by Scott Joplin - on tenor banjo.



The very talented ukulele and banjolele player Valery Sauvage, known as "ukeval", from France has replaced the metal strings on this vintage tenor banjo with nylon; extra-long Aquila new nylgut strings - and strung and tuned it like a baritone ukulele! So there's a third way of stringing a tenor banjo! It sounds pretty good, too - and definitely something I'll experiment with.

It was Valery's videos that first acquainted me with the music and playing of Roy Smeck. More about "Wizard of the Strings" Roy Smeck another time - but check out ukeval's channel for more great music... he's a fine musician!

A new Kiwaya KTS-4 Soprano for a very happy bunny

So much excitement - it seems a long time since I had a little fantasize about what my ideal soprano ukulele would be like, and I dismissed any ideas of owning a custom-built uke as quickly as I had dreamed about one. Why people have them is a whole subject for discussion in itself - suffice it to say, I'm not in the market. I'm still a learner and was brought up not to be extravagant. But I did decide that I wanted a soprano for a traditional sound, and that I wanted a good one - for quality of build, precise intonation and a beautiful finish, in solid wood.

When it came to factory-built ukes, there were three contenders, and I wanted to see them and play them. Whilst in London, I dragged poor LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) off to a ukulele shop - yes, a music shop selling just ukuleles, and advertising the Kiwaya and the Bruko on their website - but no chance, they don't seem to actually stock them. I did spend a happy hour in there playing all the other solid wood ukes though, while LSH spent an equally happy hour in the excellent pub across the road, where the draft bitter was apparently excellent - but I was particularly interested in the Kiwaya KTS-4; I posted Ken Middleton'e reviews of the Kiwaya (made in Japan) and the Bruko #6 (made in Germany) on here, and low and behold, a few days later a used Kiwaya KTS-4 (solid mahogany, no laminates) came up on ebay uk! What a coincidence is that!

I watched that baby and drooled over it all week - LHS doesn't really get why anyone should want more than one wooden uke. And I like a peaceful life. But as the final minutes ticked away I got very twitchy... and he noticed. Doesn't miss a thing - not after forty years. So I told him about it. He must have been feeling particularly mellow - because he replied "You'd better get up the stairs to your computer then!"

"What - to bid for it?"

"Yes if you like!"

Did I need telling twice? I do love that man of mine...the minutes ticked away while I fiddled about getting to the page... now what should my maximum bid be......?

Well - I got it! And yesterday it arrived. It's fitted with Aquila strings, which I plan to change very quickly, so I'm not going to talk much about the sound except to say that yes, the intonation does seem to be spot on, just as it should be, and when you pluck the strings, you can feel the whole body vibrate. The body is built of very thin wood - which, in a ukulele, is a good thing, as long as the internal bracing is adequate.

I just love the look and feel of this uke - it surpasses expectations. The satin finish on it just glows. The tuners are good quality friction tuners and the neck is nice and thin. Rosewood fingerboard, of course. And it is SO light - I'm going to weigh it and compare the weight with my little Mahalo soprano - just to see the difference.

So - that's my soprano story. I'm very happy with my concert uke, and I love this - and I can't really get into tenors at all..... so I'm a happy bunny. A very happy bunny......

Plan - put Living Water Strings on it. Aquilas are very loud, and I want to try the Living Water - because they are just beautiful on my Tanglewood concert uke.

Then - put a Living Water low G string on the Tanglewood to try it out. A low G set-up is great for the jazzy numbers...busy day tomorrow....

Today's musical ventures....

Today's great musical acquisition - a kazoo. Or rather, his 'n hers kazoos - got LSH one as well. Now we can do kazoo duets. It'll go with the old washboard we came across in Brecon the other week.... I spotted it, he grabbed it and laid claim to it... handed over the £12 asking price and tucked it under his arm with smug self-satisfaction....."Keep your filthy hands off it - that's mine!" was the loving remark as we left the shop. We talk to each other like that - that's forty years of marriage for you.


Also today - I've restrung my Slingerland banjo-uke again. I'd got some fluorocarbon strings on it, and had tried to tune it up to D tuning, but I could tell the strings didn't like it - sure enough, the 1st string broke. So I've gone for nylon strings this time, after recommendations from Johnny Foodstamp and others in the George Formby Society. They arrived today, I've put them on and they have gone up to D tuning without a grumble - so I think I'll be happy with those. Full marks and many thanks to the obliging folk who run the GFS shop online.

Been playing the banjo-uke and kazoo together... now that's what I call fun!

Living Water Strings - now Low G strings too! From Ken Middleton

If you like good fluorocarbon strings on your ukulele, and you use a low G string, you'll be pleased to hear Living Water Strings are now available from Ken Middleton with a low G option in concert and tenor sizes.

I am trying out the concert size and am thrilled with how it sounds and blends with the full set. Like the other Living Water Strings, there is a very pleasing crystalline ring to these strings - I will be writing in greater detail shortly - watch this space!

My Slingerland - a tinker-toy indeed

The other day I declared my intention to bite the bullet and do some adjustments to my lovely 1920's Slingerland banjo-uke. It had been sitting on a shelf staring morosely at me, stringless and with the tension hooks all loosened off for at least a month - but I did it, I removed the resonator and then the calf-skin vellum to inspect it - and have now put it all back together. Phew - not too bad at all. It really is a beauty, if a humble one, compared to the later Dallas's and the Ludwigs!

The screws inside the head all needed tightening - but I have done it - I don't know whether they're too tight, but it's done - the vellum has gone back on, in exactly the same place, and I've tightened the 16 tension hooks back up, a little at a time, working evenly back and forth around the head. It wasn't too onerous after all - it has been a few days now and it all looks and sounds ok. I scoured the internet for advice, and there is good information and advice to be had from highly respected banjo-uke people; John Croft, "the ukulele man"and the late great Dennis Taylor's website.

One thing about a Slingerland is that they are well-built, sturdy little instruments, always recommended to new players wanting a well-made vintage instrument at an affordable price. Well, I hope mine stands up to the tightening-up treatment that I've given it! New Mya-Moe fluorocarbon strings on it now, sounding very nice; they are still settling in and needing frequent retuning. In a few weeks I plan to try out the very popular GFS nylon strings...

At Last a Great low G - What Now? Fingerstyle Ukulele Instruction Low G Tuning by Aaron Keim

Over the moon at having a good low G string on a uke at last,(new Aquila Red Series)I've found this great video tutorial on fingerstyle with a low G by Aaron Keim.

Find Aaron Keim, "The Quiet American" here. If you vaven't come across him before, do look - and his videos are superb.

In this one he teaches and then combines two fingerstyle techniques; the roll and the pinch.



Stringing the ukulele with a high G at the 4th string, known as re-entrant tuning, is the traditional way to string a uke. It's bright, it gives that traditional uke sound, and most chords and tabs are for a uke strung this way. The high G is great for bluegrass and clawhammer fingerpicking too. But for classical and jazz pieces, people often choose the low G option.

For a fantastic and popular classical piece, see John Moen's arrangement for Prelude for the First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, posted 5th May this year, and for more on jazzy chords with a low G, see Glen Rose Jazzy Ukulele. (Post done here 31st May 2012).

New Aquila Red Series low strings - review

Presumably in response to a general lack of satisfaction with low G strings for ukulele, Aquila Corde of Italy have developed a new unwound low string, the Aquila Red Series. I couldn't wait to get my hands on one, because all efforts so far to get satisfaction from a low G have ended in disappointment.

Well, mine arrived yesterday and I've put it on my faithful old Greg Bennett UK50 laminate mahogany concert uke. I'm thrilled with it.

So - more information.

The strings are about twice as dense as Aquila's standard new nylgut, and the brick-red colour comes from a copper compound which they have impregnated into the material to alter its characteristics. I find the colour quite pleasing.

The string is very, very stretchy; it takes many more winds than usual to get it up to pitch, so the tuning peg ends up very full. It will obviously take a while to settle in, and will need tuning up for some days - for me, anyway. I haven't done any pre-stretching. It looks slightly thinner than the C string - this can be checked on Aquila's website. Once up to tension it does drop properly into the 4th string slot, and the if you buy from DrClucks Musical Emporium, they enclose a very helpful info sheet about care during installation, including a warning about taking care that the slot at the nut is rounded and smooth. The feel is good - it doesn't feel at all plasticky, but feels rather like the old real gut strings.

What I am really impressed with is the sound. No problems with intonation now, and the sound balance with the other Aquila strings on the uke is good. The loudness and level of sustain are just right. The strings all do seem to belong together.

It's great to have this string now on my "2nd" uke; it means I can now start to get to grips with the pieces that do need or sound better with a low G.

Exciting!

Congrats to Aquila and thank you!

They are not yet widely available but you can buy Aquila Red Series single unwound low G and Baritone D strings easily, either from Aquila Corde of Italy's website, or on ebay from DrCluck's Musical Emporium, US. I got mine from DrCluck's and they were delivered to the UK in five days, dropping through the letterbox with no extra charges. Great service.

POST SCRIPT .... edit April 2013

The Aquila Red Series of strings, for example a low G for ukulele, has raised a lot of interest but as followers of Ukulele Underground Forum will know, some players have experienced problems with them, e.g. strings snapping.

Aquila responded to the feedback very quickly and worked on improving the Red Series, and there have already been favourable responses from folk on the Forum.

I haven't tried the new improved strings yet, but Andrew Kitakis of Hawaii Music Supply has written a detailed review of the new improved strings and you can read it in full on his blog here.

Andrew also talks about fluorocarbon low Gs, and here's a reminder that Living Water Strings, a brand of excellent quality fluorocarbon strings sold by Ken Middleton, now include sets of strings with low G.

Living Water Strings by Ken Middleton - Review

Just over a week ago, before rushing off to spend a few days mooching around Devon with a very nice bunch of WI ladies, I put a set of the new British made fluorocarbon Living Water strings by Ken Middleton on my Tanglewood Cove Creek concert uke before I packed it to take for a sing-along at the end of the trip. We had such a busy schedule each day, rushing off to see the sights and going out in the evenings for meals (fabulous!) that until the last evening I had only a minute or two each day to play my ukulele. Just enough time to tune it up and strum a few chords and pick a few notes.

I now feel ready to give you my review.

First of all, remember - I'm relatively inexperienced, uke-wise... so please read what I say with that in mind. I can't give you any personal comparisons with other brands of fluorocarbon strings, because I've never used them; this is my first experience of fluorocarbons. (I do have a set of American ones ready to put on my banjo-uke, but that wouldn't count, anyway; a banjo-uke sounds so different.)

I have allowed just over a week for the strings to settle in, as they are flexible and stretchy. I did not tug at them in an attempt to stretch them and make them settle more quickly; I felt that was the safest approach so as not to risk spoiling them.

So this is my review, now that the new strings have pretty well settled in, and I have relaxed and played, and listened.....

First impression on receiving the strings was of the packaging, which is very attractive. Strings for each size of ukulele are packaged in a different metallic shade; e.g. concert size are in silver. Each string is in its own sellophane packet, clearly labelled by name and by position.

The strings are made of 100% clear fluorocarbon; they're colourless. They are, like all fluorocarbon strings, I believe, thinner than Aquila New Nylgut, which are the highly acclaimed brand leader in ukulele strings, and the strings I have bought and used up to now.

Here are the diameter measurements so you can see the difference.

Living Water fluorocarbons in the concert size are in diameter

1 = 0.52mm
2 = 0.66mm
3 = 0.74mm
4 = 0.57mm

Aquila New Nylgut concert strings are

1 = 0.62 mm
2 = 0.80 mm
3 = 0.95 mm
4 = 0.67 mm

Being thinner, the Living Water strings feel quite different under the fingers for fretting. The biggest difference is in the thicker middle strings, especially the C string. I like the feel of them very much. Although I love Aquilas and do swear by them, Aquilas feel thick and hard in comparison when I turn to my other ukes, which are still strung with them.

The sound of these Living Water strings is beautifully bright and crystal-clear. The more I play them, the more I love them, especially in finger-picking. The sound reminds me of the clear resonant sound when you flick the edge of a crystal glass. When I first put them on my uke and played it, I was immediately aware that I needed to get used to fretting them in a more precise way; I was getting some buzzing and the strings were showing up my lack of expertise. But it hasn't taken me long to adapt, and the sound is heavenly. Apt, I think, because Ken states on the front of the packets "Made in Heaven!"

This difference in diameter does make a difference to the sound. Generally speaking, thicker strings are louder, and I have noticed a difference in volume when strumming a song accompaniment. Aquilas are the loudest strings on the market, I think I can safely say! But this is only a small part of the story. For more information on strings generally see Ian Chadwick here.

I love the sound and feel of Ken's Living Water strings; the name is a stroke of genius... try them, and think about it!

In my last post on strings, last week, I mentioned that Aquila have now released a new line; their "Red Series" of unwound low G strings. Ken Middleton will also be releasing his own low Gs very, very soon.... so I await both kinds with anticipation!

The thing about Ken's strings is that he himself is a wonderful ukulele player, and he has researched and sourced his type of fluorocarbon string to get the sound and feel that he wants.

That itself says an awful lot about these strings! My advice - get some - they're going like hot cakes!

From his website; also now from ebay!

Coming Up - Strings and things - Living Water and Aquila Red Series low G...

This is a post in rather a bigger hurry and less detail than I would like, because I'll soon be off to a fund-raising garden party in aid of the Toby Henderson Trust, Newcastle, thence on girlie few days to sunny Devon with the ladies of the WI - ukes in the bag for a sing-song, no worries!

But my head is also full of strings at the moment; uke strings, of course.

So please forgive the lack of detail and links this time.



Ken Middleton has now produced and is selling from his website his own new brand of fluorocarbon strings, "Living Water", made in England. Yesterday I replaced the Aquilas on my Tanglewood with my set and am starting to evaluate them. Too early for a full report, but first impressions are.....nice! good look, good feel, good sound, good value! Sorry but until I've finished Ukafrolicking around the West Country, that's all you're gonna get from me on this one at the moment.

Uke Hunt is one of my fave uke blogs, and Woodshed reports today that Aquila have now produced "Red Series Unwound Low G" strings. I have to get me some of those. I have already discovered that with a low G it's not easy to get a good sound, at least not on a concert uke. The first time I tried it, that low G was off again so fast - it was a guitar G string....

My current effort, on my Greg Bennett UK 50 is a thinner string, a d'addario C string. But as soon as it's fretted, it goes sharp. Not good. So I can't wait to get my hands on a string that has been developed for the purpose and I'll be ordering one or two when I get back.

A Union Flag Uke for the Jubilee Weekend

Scratching my head about what to buy for birthday present for a "diamond lady" celebrating a landmark 60th birthday this Diamond Jubilee weekend, I remembered seeing a little union flag soprano uke (made by Ashton) in my super local music shop. So I got it for her. It plays fine for a beginner - she doesn't play - yet. I spent much of yesterday putting together a booklet to get her going - a chord sheet, a few songs and a few tips to get her started. Can't wait to see whether she gets the bug! And a set of Aquila "new nylgut" strings on that uke will transform it...

Paul's Custom Uke

Here begins a tale of one man's case of UAS - Ukulele Aquisition Syndrome, or to give it its Latin name, needus ukuleleus. UAS is very, very common among the ukulele-playing community. A collection of five to ten ukuleles in various sizes and woods is not at all uncommon......Paul is a mate on the wonderful Ukulele Underground Forum. He begins his tale thus:

"If there is such a thing as the UAS (ukulele aquisition syndrome) bug, the little blighter bit me twice! I started of with a lovely little Lanikai soprano and fell head over heels in love with the ukulele! Chords were a little easier than the guitar, which I played for 25 years leading up to this, the sweet honey tones simply had me captivated. Then, my better half announced that she had ordered me an 'Oscar Schmidt' concert for valentines! Oh how I love her...Ah...The first thing I did was change the strings to a set of low G Aquila Nylguts. The sound was just beautiful and very different to my Lanikai. Then I heard people talking about solid wood ukuleles and how amazing they sounded and there my next mission began. A few weeks ago I bought myself an Ohana Tenor, all solid mahogany with a cutaway and she is a stunner! So warm and mellow, with sustain for weeks! I also recently commissioned a luthier to build me something rather special. Here are the first pictures; the actual woods which will make up my custom treasure!

Western red cedar - top

Macassar ebony - sides and bottom






Watch this space! Paul"

Reports from Paul to follow from time to time, as the build progresses!

My third ukulele hero - Johnny - Johnny Foodstamp

"Get that wound string off there right now, Missy!"

It all started when I discovered that the lovely set of Aquila new nylgut strings that I'd put on my "new" vintage - no - antique - 1920's Slingerland banjolele were looking sick. Or at least, the wound C string was - and because of "issues" with the little baby that I was still trying to fix, I'd actually hardly played it. Notches all the way up it, tiny bits of wire sticking out and almost broken through in one place. Not for the first time, shock horror! I don't really know why, but the strings that Aquila supply especially for the banjo-uke have a wound third string - nylgut, with fine wire wound around it. But there was something definitely amiss, apparently with the frets. Slipping friction tuner - I'd fixed that. Action much too high at the nut - well, I was working on it. All with advice and instruction from heroes and friends on the wonderful Ukulele Underground Forum. But now the frets.

Well, they looked fine to me - but perhaps they were a little bit rough - and a bit tarnished. "Help! What to do?" goes out the plaintive call to the UU forum once again. And once again, I'm furnished with all the information I need. Well, I'm all geared up with wire wool, Brasso, masking tape for the fingerboard.... when the advice comes over, "Get that wound string off there right now, missy! Go with some fluorocarbon strings....they sound great on a banjo-uke!" Now this advice comes from one of my ukulele heroes, Johnny Foodstamp, who hails from Nashville, Tennessee, and plays a real badass banjo-ukulele Formby-style with added attitude, for audiences all over the state, and beyond. And he has one like mine... an antique Slingerland.

Next, he sends the advice "It sounds like they need more then a cleaning. My frets are sort of sharp on my old Slingy too. Any luthier should be able to fix that and usually uke repair is pretty cheap because they are so small."

So - I have managed to find a luthier in my area, a lovely man who has taken her in and agreed to do the necessary. By the end of next week, I should have her back, spruced up and ready for some serious strumming, tripling and split-stroking... well, some serious practice, anyway.

And as for the recommended fluorocarbon strings, they are on order and I'm going to try them out.

I wonder whether I'll ever be able to play like this - click here for Johnny Foodstamp playing some real mean banjo-ukulele on a Slingerland like mine.