Aquila Nylgut Soprano Ukulele strings (key of C) AQ-4U

I've always maintained that quality of strings is more important than the price you pay for an instrument. It's the strings that produce the sound; the rest of the instrument is just there to facilitate it. And boy do these babies prove that! They've made the truly awful Martin Smith ukulele I bought for my daughter sound like an instrument instead of a toy. There's a more subtle difference on a better instrument but it's still worth the upgrade.I've never played on gut strings, so I can't comment on the claims relating to that. The tone is simultaneously mellow and bright, which is quite an achievement. The brightness is aided by a strong attack, while a slow decay brings out the deeper tones. They stay true along the length; of course, as with all strings, they speak more quietly and decay faster the further you are along the fretboard. But even at 16th fret there's plenty of attack if you're willing to pluck a bit harder.If, like me, you are more used to playing steel stringed instruments, it's worth noting that the Nylgut strings are very stretchy. It's worth pre-stretching as soon as you fit them, because once you do they hold their tuning very well.I cannot find fault with these strings, and they're really cheap. Unless you've invested in a higher-end uke that already comes with a decent set, fitting some Nylguts to improve the sound seems like a no-brainer.

I bought a cheap ukulele from a local music shop that was closing down, for £15. I play drums and bass but wanted a more portable, acoustic instrument for summer campfires & beach parties etc.The strings that it came with were cheap and very easily went out of tune - I realise you have to retune frequently with new strings, but even so - three or four days later after daily tuning, the strings would still be a tone out. I wondered about new strings but thought it wouldn't be worth it on such a cheap, non-serious instrument. I was pleasantly surprised when I found these for £6 - after reading many good reviews on Amazon I just bought them.They arrived promptly, and are in colour coded plastic wallets which was handy.Out with the old, in with the new - the quality was a noticeable step-up from the originals, even before I'd put them on. Easier to 'install' than the originals, as I practiced restringing with them beforehand.I tuned it around every hour or so after restringing, for a few hours. Left overnight, they were quite out by morning, but once tuned again, they stayed in tune fairly well. The next day, they only needed minor adjustments to put them in tune again - so a fantastic improvement over the originalsAnyway, in summary, they sound better, feel better to play, look better (quite a solid white as opposed to the quite see-through nylon originals), stay in tune better, and I can be confident that when I pick up my uke after days without playing it, that it will be pretty much in tune. Highly recommended!! :)

I have a Stagg US60s soprano ukulele which I bought, 2nd hand, a couple of years back. It has a solid spruce top - which is thinner and more refined than the current version of the same model (from direct comparison) - with mahogany back and sides and is comparatively resonant and sweet sounding, and certainly far more lively than the cheap all-laminate ukes we have at the school I work in. My uke came with black nylon strings, of unknown make.The thicker, white Aquila Nylgut strings took quite a while to settle in and hold their tuning but the difference in tone was immediately clear; warmer, louder and more rounded sounding and possibly even more comfortable to play. Unfortunately, the new strings also changed the intonation so that the A string, which had sounded a spot-on octave (to my ears, anyway) at the 12th fret with the old nylon strings, now played as much as a quarter tone sharp. I persisted for a couple of weeks, enjoying the sound of the new strings, until I got fed up with everything above the 5th to 7th fret sounding out of tune with the open strings. I have now taken off the Nylguts and put my old strings back on while I investigate other options; my uke sounds noticeably tinnier, quieter and 'closed' by comparison with the sound with Aquilas fitted but at least it is in tune with itself.It might be that I got a rogue set of Nylguts but I had read other reviewers claiming that their ukes' intonation was improved by fitting them, which does suggest that they tend to pitch differently from nylon strings. Or maybe my ukulele just has poor intonation and I was lucky that the strings it came with somehow compensated for it...?In conclusion: These Aquila Nylgut strings should bring out the very best sounds from your ukulele but they could also affect the intonation (tuning), for better or worse. However, if you are a beginner, strumming chords using only the first few frets, the problems I encountered probably won't matter anyway; I am an experienced guitarist who is so delighted to find an instrument which offers a whole octave within the span of my left hand that I tend to twiddle about with the high notes.Happy playing!

If you have a cheap ukulele then I heartily recommend investing in a set of these strings. While they won't turn a £20 uke into a £200 uke, they do make a difference to the sound which seems richer and more immediate to my (admittedly inexpert) ear. They also make the uke noticeably more pleasant to play compared with the cheap plastic strings that you get as standard, which is a real benefit to the beginner. They are a doddle to fit (just find a guide or video online if you're unsure) and soon begin to settle after a few tunings. The strings are plenty long enough to allow the tails at the bridge to be anchored under the next string's knot to give a nice tidy finish.