This is just superb, I have been researching "how do you play a# on the ukulele?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Ever heard of - Fenaylern Nonpareil Formula - (just google it ) ? It is a great one off product for discovering how to play the ukulele like a pro minus the hard work. Ive heard some pretty good things about it and my colleague got great success with it.
I agree, I was thinking the same thing after I’ve only strung my ukulele once. Think you for the time and money you put into this video. It is much appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to do this! It’s nice to finally have a high quality reference of all these strings on a nice soprano instrument. You earned some serious bonus points today.
I know this is a few years old, but I have to comment. This is a fantastic comparison video with using the same song and instrument with each set of strings. I know it took a good amount of effort to change the strings, tune them, and let them stretch and settle between each demonstration.
I have 6 ukuleles my first one I ever got was a Luna tattoo concert I decided I should change the strings since I've had it for a little over 2 years. I chose the Red series aquila strings. They look great and sound amazing. You can definitely hear a huge difference in sound and quality. Thank you for this video it's what helped me choose these strings. I'm definitely gonna refer back to this when I change my other ukuleles strings.
You tried all the strings on the same instrument? That must have taken quite some time! Awesome video. My favs are the D'addario Titanium. They sound so clean! o_o
So awesome of you to take the time to do this! I will not change strings until they break... The picking examples, there were many that sounded alike. But I kinda liked the D'addario strings in the strumming portion, they seemed a bit clearer to my ears when playing those fast portions on the A string. But geez, the way you play, you could use cable wire and sound incredible... :-)
You have to show appreciation for the effort that is gone into making this video and for the fine way in which George plays. I think I would have preferred to have his views on each one, or at least pick out the more bold etc. This demo can be affected by the quality of the amplifier in the listener's PC, laptop etc and the speakers used, so apart from amplitude (loudness) comparisons, any comparison of tonal value is effected by the playback medium and not necessarily representative. Nice idea though.
Best string comparison video I've seen George. All nicely recorded on the same ukulele and having the time links in the description is really useful too. Can't see what there is not to like. I just want to know how long it took to restring your uke 11 times and get the strings to settle enough to do this! ;-) I hope Shanghai is treating you well!
Aggree all you said but I think he has gone forever? What a decent guy! Thanks so much! But I still don't know if my Red Aquila is better than some fishing lines? Help save Me!
I was thinking it'd be good if this could be broken up into picking & strumming comparisons then I clicked the description and he gave the time stamps separately for these - fantastic; I didn't expect that. Although I do love this video and appreciate the effort he went to, string comparisons aren't so straightforward unfortunately. What you think sounds the best on his solid mahogany soprano may not be the best for your laminate ukulele for example. String differences are explained in other videos. He could have improved the video by adding points about ease of playability/string tension - he would immediately know this.
Thanks for doing this. I think you proved two things, If you are a great player and you have a great sounding ukulele, you can play any string set on it and it will still sound fantastic to 99% of the listeners like myself. Fantastic, thanks again.
Thanks for changing out all of those strings. It's hard to choose because that fine Kiwaya uke and your fabulous playing makes them all sound so good . . . even the Rockets.
Alex Roddy He has a clear video of him playing this song on his channel somewhere. What I mean is, if you're good enough to play it, you probably dont need a tutorial. I'm not trying to call you bad, thats just my philosophy and I understand that it takes time to make tutorials especially for this song, so I would rather he not be bothered. Sorry for being rude :')
Thank you for comparing these! I certainly didn't have the patience or the $$ to do this, so it is appreciated. I will stick with my Aquila Super Nylgut, the sound is a bit softer which I love. :]
I really appreciate Your reliable work with this video. I made blind tests with a little help from my brother. And now, thanks to You, I clearly know what strings to choose. : )
I highly recommend the Aquila Nylgut Uke strings......Hands down the best strings EVER!.....Excellent tone,virtually NO break-in,long lasting,and they hold their tuning like no other strings I've ever used before.
This is an excellent comparison because the only variable is the string sets. As a luthier however, I have found that my favorite choice is not always my choice on a different ukulele eg. Martin, Kala, Kamaka, Kumalae….
True. I have a recently acquired 60’s Martin I am head over heels in love with, and plan to rotate some strings through to find my favorite sound. I love Kiwayas, and they are said to be built similar to vintage Martins (at least one of their line of models is), so I’m hoping this will have some relevance. Listening to this with headphones though, I don’t hear as much difference as I suspect I would in person. Even though the recording seems excellent. I admit my bias towards fluoros, and I have seen so many say Martin M600s are one of the best choice on vintage Martins. I also used to put Aquilas on everything but now find them too muddy and jarring. I find fluors generally to have a cleaner note separation that I like. However, due to my age, my hearing tests as gone above 10k hz. So it may sound completely different to someone else, especially a young someone. I just ordered a second 60’s Martin. I will remove strings and tuners, clean and wax the body, disassemble and lube the tuners, then put it all back together. I have intended to start with M600s, but now am thinking about the Martin M605s, unfortunately not included here. I also think the excellent playing makes it harder to attend to the different strings differing qualities.
Those Rocket strings were just so noticeably terrible. They sound like a highly compressed MP3 sounds. Very mechanical, and almost as if something is missing. You know they are ukulele strings but they just don't sound right. The titanium strings really popped and were to my ears almost too bright. The rest were similar with slig variations on how much detail I could pick out, but generally speaking they all produced a very listenable tone. That may have something to do with the ukulele and the player as well. Great Job!
Rocket strings sounded horrible, there was a marked difference when went from the Aquila New Nylgut to the Aquila Super Nylgut they had a more mellow sound, I suppose in the end it's what sound you want to get out of your Uke just not the Rocket sound.
So, out of all the strings you tried, what was your favorite? Also, I would love to see a tutorial on the strums you are using for the tune you are playing in this video!
I'm so glad I found this vid and Thank you, it must have taken you ages. I just looking to buy new strings and I was considering titanium ones but I think the red series sounded best. Thanks again
I like to joke that there is an old saying that fishing gear is made to catch fishermen rather than fish and that ukulele strings are just fishing gear made to catch ukulele players. I have used fishing line for years. The one real disadvantage of fishing line is that if you get a brand that is invisible to fish, if the person you are giving the uke to is descended from mermaids they might not be able to see them.
Thank you for the comparison! I tried Worth Brown because of all the good reviews but didn't like it on my tenor. I am happy with Aquila super nylgut for now.
Amazing playing ! #SeriousGoals. Thanks so much for all the effort you put in, changing all of tho se strings. Easy to see why you are such an amazing uke player - patience!
Old but gold video here brother! Helped me to choose the Fremont Blackline Mediums as my preferred sound. Edit: strings just came in today and my God what a difference
... when you play like that, man... ALL those strings sound great! ;-D And that uke is really pretty! I'm gonna check out your video's for tutorials on that strum, yay!
I liked all the sounds, but I prefer #1 Martin, #2 daddario, #3 Aquila super Nylgut. I actually ordered them as soon as I watched your video! Thank you for helping:-) I have a concert uke, I’m excited to hear the sound!!!
The time stamps are so helpful. I like the reds more than I thought I would. Sugars and Reds seem up my alley. I get why you used the martins though, also sound good 👍.
HOLY SH*T!! You have MAD ukulele skills my friend! Hope i get to your level some day! I just started playing 2 weeks ago, but ive been dedicating a few hours every day to practice. How long have you been practicing for? Geez its so difficult to tell which strings i like the most.
AQUILA is an italian (like the strings) word which means Eagle. Pronunciation is: A (like californiA), QUI (like QUIntet), LA (like aLArm). The accent is on the first A. P.S. Wonderful playing!!!
So, what was your favourite out of all these? In the Aquila Red Series, was the G string a low G string or high? What set would you recommend for low-G tuning? Thanks, Sam
In my opinion, Fremont Blackline takes the cake. Aquila super nylgut is a close second, though. The worst sounding (aside from those cheap ones) were the aquila bionylon.
Hi, I'm a beginner on the ukalele and I was wondering if it's better to start off with steel or nylan strings. Mine originally came with plastic, and I'm replacing both the strings and tuners. Anyways back to my original question, for a beginner are steel or nylan strings better?
Emily Thomas (and everyone) - Steel strings do not belong on a ukulele and will make it collapse! Steel requires too much tension, such as for a guitar. Nylon, fluorocarbon, plastic, anything non-steel only, for a ukulele! (Except that plastic is crap)
Just guessing but I would expect you could make the strings out of an old tennis racket sound pretty good. Thanks for the show and info. I couldn’t hear a difference on the iPad speakers.
My preference from those you tried would be the Aquila Super Nylgut on the ukulele. However, I mainly play Ukulele-Banjo (George Formby style) and after nearly 50 years I've tried more sets than I care to remember. My personal favourite is the Aquila Gut. However, there are two problems. Firstly, the cost. They are expensive. Secondly (and I'm sure you know this), they wear out very quickly. If anyone has any suggestions for an alternative make of string, I will be grateful.
Very interesting. I've been doing very similar string tests across these and other brands with the same uke in the same acoustic space and notice big differences
STARTING SEPTEMBER 2018 - TUTORIALS ON PATREON!
www.patreon.com/georgeuke
李艾薇
You can not put metal strings on an ukulele. Too much tension.
This is just superb, I have been researching "how do you play a# on the ukulele?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Ever heard of - Fenaylern Nonpareil Formula - (just google it ) ? It is a great one off product for discovering how to play the ukulele like a pro minus the hard work. Ive heard some pretty good things about it and my colleague got great success with it.
This must have taken forever, thank you for doing this.
I agree, I was thinking the same thing after I’ve only strung my ukulele once. Think you for the time and money you put into this video. It is much appreciated.
Aquila New Nylgut - 2:56
Aquila Super Nylgut - 3:37
Aquila Lava - 4:17
Aquila Bionylon - 4:57
Freemont Blackline - 5:38
Worth Brown - 6:20
D'addario Titanium - 7:02
Martin Clear Fluorocarbon - 7:45
Aurora Silkgut (Blue) - 8:26
Rocket UKSTRSET Nylon - 9:07
Aquila Red Series - 9:49
(I hope this is all correct)
haigh152
Somebody Else yes it was actually cuz you can't click straight to the time on mobile
haigh152 ty
haigh152 thanks for making this. It helped a lot 👍
it was in the description anyway
when you think you're good at uke but then you watch this video rip
hahaha, so true.
When u think that ur gonna get lots of likes but turned out only having 83 rip
TeamKotaku 83 is not even that bad smh
Akiko Gomez I never said it was bad it’s just annoying to see these kind of comments all the time
@@teamkotaku6103 you must be fun at parties
Thank you for taking the time to do this! It’s nice to finally have a high quality reference of all these strings on a nice soprano instrument. You earned some serious bonus points today.
Thanks
George Elmes hey I have a question
well, actually everything sounds good when you play the uke like that
the rhythm for some reason reminds me of something sponge bob would play
el tema se llama 12 street rag. Sale en Bob Esponja. :)
Amy Cruz same
The song (12 street rag) is actually used as background music in spongebob.
😂😃😁😂😀😅😃
Facts, yo I was thinking the same exact thing
I know this is a few years old, but I have to comment. This is a fantastic comparison video with using the same song and instrument with each set of strings. I know it took a good amount of effort to change the strings, tune them, and let them stretch and settle between each demonstration.
I have 6 ukuleles my first one I ever got was a Luna tattoo concert I decided I should change the strings since I've had it for a little over 2 years. I chose the Red series aquila strings. They look great and sound amazing. You can definitely hear a huge difference in sound and quality. Thank you for this video it's what helped me choose these strings. I'm definitely gonna refer back to this when I change my other ukuleles strings.
To be honest, with such amazing skills, even fishing strings sounds good. But in my ear, Red Aquila is the best...
That's what I thought too, but after getting the Reds in real life, I like the other Aquila strings a million times better.
Maybe even dental floss could sound good...
@@ldlink3935 😂😂😂
Aw man wish I could play like this so bad!!! I would take my uke everywhere!
I'm more confused than before.
Grazie
lol same
You tried all the strings on the same instrument? That must have taken quite some time! Awesome video. My favs are the D'addario Titanium. They sound so clean! o_o
That's the one's i just bought 😂
@@ate7865 how are they compared to nylons?
How on earth are you able to strum like that?? I absolutely loved it!
So awesome of you to take the time to do this! I will not change strings until they break... The picking examples, there were many that sounded alike. But I kinda liked the D'addario strings in the strumming portion, they seemed a bit clearer to my ears when playing those fast portions on the A string. But geez, the way you play, you could use cable wire and sound incredible... :-)
I love the red series. Thank you for doing this for us!!
You have to show appreciation for the effort that is gone into making this video and for the fine way in which George plays. I think I would have preferred to have his views on each one, or at least pick out the more bold etc.
This demo can be affected by the quality of the amplifier in the listener's PC, laptop etc and the speakers used, so apart from amplitude (loudness) comparisons, any comparison of tonal value is effected by the playback medium and not necessarily representative. Nice idea though.
Best string comparison video I've seen George. All nicely recorded on the same ukulele and having the time links in the description is really useful too. Can't see what there is not to like. I just want to know how long it took to restring your uke 11 times and get the strings to settle enough to do this! ;-)
I hope Shanghai is treating you well!
Aggree all you said but I think he has gone forever? What a decent guy! Thanks so much! But I still don't know if my Red Aquila is better than some fishing lines? Help save Me!
John Caudrey m
True dedication, hats off!
I was thinking it'd be good if this could be broken up into picking & strumming comparisons then I clicked the description and he gave the time stamps separately for these - fantastic; I didn't expect that. Although I do love this video and appreciate the effort he went to, string comparisons aren't so straightforward unfortunately. What you think sounds the best on his solid mahogany soprano may not be the best for your laminate ukulele for example. String differences are explained in other videos.
He could have improved the video by adding points about ease of playability/string tension - he would immediately know this.
Thanks for doing this. I think you proved two things, If you are a great player and you have a great sounding ukulele, you can play any string set on it and it will still sound fantastic to 99% of the listeners like myself. Fantastic, thanks again.
The effort it must have taken to restring and break in that many sets is really appreciated. Thanks.
Great super duper effort to produce this video. THANKS A LOT!!!
Gosh! You worked hard changing all those strings, I have often wondered about the differences so thank you very much. 🎶
Thanks for changing out all of those strings. It's hard to choose because that fine Kiwaya uke and your fabulous playing makes them all sound so good . . . even the Rockets.
Watching you strumming is pure joy.
Your playing style is so satisfying to watch. Lol
Red and lava were my favorites tbh
If you made a tutorial video for this it'd be freaking dope 👍
Alex Roddy He has a clear video of him playing this song on his channel somewhere. What I mean is, if you're good enough to play it, you probably dont need a tutorial. I'm not trying to call you bad, thats just my philosophy and I understand that it takes time to make tutorials especially for this song, so I would rather he not be bothered. Sorry for being rude :')
Love your take on 12th Street! Thanks
Thanks for doing this. An excellent video comparison! I appreciate the time and energy you put into this.
I’m good at ukulele but your 100x better than me and way more flexible keep up the amazing work George!
Thank you so much for this! I was very confused on what strings to get until I came across this video. So much fun watching you play the uke as well!
That was as entertaining as it was confusing. But you did it and I am so grateful.
Thank you for comparing these! I certainly didn't have the patience or the $$ to do this, so it is appreciated. I will stick with my Aquila Super Nylgut, the sound is a bit softer which I love. :]
Awesome George! Thanks for the time and patience it must have taken you! Well worth it!
I really appreciate Your reliable work with this video. I made blind tests with a little help from my brother. And now, thanks to You, I clearly know what strings to choose. : )
I highly recommend the Aquila Nylgut Uke strings......Hands down the best strings EVER!.....Excellent tone,virtually NO break-in,long lasting,and they hold their tuning like no other strings I've ever used before.
Randy Starkey thank you for the feedback, was contemplating whether to by them or not :)
Randy Starkey Aquila Nylgut>every other Uke string brands
I thought this until I moved to reds :)
Reds blow them away. Sorry. Reds are next level good.
This is an excellent comparison because the only variable is the string sets. As a luthier however, I have found that my favorite choice is not always my choice on a different ukulele eg. Martin, Kala, Kamaka, Kumalae….
True. I have a recently acquired 60’s Martin I am head over heels in love with, and plan to rotate some strings through to find my favorite sound.
I love Kiwayas, and they are said to be built similar to vintage Martins (at least one of their line of models is), so I’m hoping this will have some relevance.
Listening to this with headphones though, I don’t hear as much difference as I suspect I would in person. Even though the recording seems excellent.
I admit my bias towards fluoros, and I have seen so many say Martin M600s are one of the best choice on vintage Martins.
I also used to put Aquilas on everything but now find them too muddy and jarring. I find fluors generally to have a cleaner note separation that I like. However, due to my age, my hearing tests as gone above 10k hz. So it may sound completely different to someone else, especially a young someone.
I just ordered a second 60’s Martin. I will remove strings and tuners, clean and wax the body, disassemble and lube the tuners, then put it all back together. I have intended to start with M600s, but now am thinking about the Martin M605s, unfortunately not included here.
I also think the excellent playing makes it harder to attend to the different strings differing qualities.
Those Rocket strings were just so noticeably terrible. They sound like a highly compressed MP3 sounds. Very mechanical, and almost as if something is missing. You know they are ukulele strings but they just don't sound right. The titanium strings really popped and were to my ears almost too bright. The rest were similar with slig variations on how much detail I could pick out, but generally speaking they all produced a very listenable tone. That may have something to do with the ukulele and the player as well. Great Job!
I agree with so many others! That was amazing and must have take a whole day! Thanks Muchly.
I wanted black strings and the Lava sounds pretty good!
Amazing playing and I can only dream of ever having such beautiful finger independence! Thank you
Rocket strings sounded horrible, there was a marked difference when went from the Aquila New Nylgut to the Aquila Super Nylgut they had a more mellow sound, I suppose in the end it's what sound you want to get out of your Uke just not the Rocket sound.
My favorite were Lava, Red and D’addario
What a refreshing change having someone who can actually play the uke properly. Excellent!
Dude; you SLAY on the Uke!! Thanks for this comparison video!
Great comparison! Thank you so much for the obvious amount of time it must have taken to do this.
Great work for the community - thank you!
I envy your fingers. They are so long and flexible. Wish my fingers could dance like yours :D
Maria Bonafita I really like the way you described it. "The way your fingers dance", it sounds so simple but makes so much sense
Like it very much your answere
Practice my friend😔, practice
Right Maria!! I have short double jointed fingers 😖 the struggle is real!
So, out of all the strings you tried, what was your favorite? Also, I would love to see a tutorial on the strums you are using for the tune you are playing in this video!
I'm so glad I found this vid and Thank you, it must have taken you ages. I just looking to buy new strings and I was considering titanium ones but I think the red series sounded best.
Thanks again
The best video with comparison ukulele string ever! Thank you for that! I will show it to my students for sure ;-)
I like to joke that there is an old saying that fishing gear is made to catch fishermen rather than fish and that ukulele strings are just fishing gear made to catch ukulele players. I have used fishing line for years. The one real disadvantage of fishing line is that if you get a brand that is invisible to fish, if the person you are giving the uke to is descended from mermaids they might not be able to see them.
Unreal playing. Amazing!
"Aquila Red Series - picking: 09:40"
Edit description to: 09:49
Thank you for the comparison! I tried Worth Brown because of all the good reviews but didn't like it on my tenor. I am happy with Aquila super nylgut for now.
Amazing playing ! #SeriousGoals. Thanks so much for all the effort you put in, changing all of tho
se strings. Easy to see why you are such an amazing uke player - patience!
Tutorial please!!
Old but gold video here brother! Helped me to choose the Fremont Blackline Mediums as my preferred sound.
Edit: strings just came in today and my God what a difference
oh my goodness you have to do a tutorial on the pattern!
Was there any difference in playability?
Awesome video, thanks for doing this uke string comparison! You rock!
You deserve a thumbs up and love! It’s amazing!! So much effort!
... when you play like that, man... ALL those strings sound great! ;-D
And that uke is really pretty!
I'm gonna check out your video's for tutorials on that strum, yay!
Beautiful ukulele! Really nice video! Love your playing.
You made a real big job! thanks!
you're play is so wonderfull
I liked all the sounds, but I prefer #1 Martin, #2 daddario, #3 Aquila super Nylgut. I actually ordered them as soon as I watched your video! Thank you for helping:-) I have a concert uke, I’m excited to hear the sound!!!
Hi, how's the titanium? Is it good?
This was so helpful and so kind of you! So appreciated!
The time stamps are so helpful. I like the reds more than I thought I would. Sugars and Reds seem up my alley. I get why you used the martins though, also sound good 👍.
Sir, that was just beautiful music
HOLY SH*T!! You have MAD ukulele skills my friend! Hope i get to your level some day! I just started playing 2 weeks ago, but ive been dedicating a few hours every day to practice. How long have you been practicing for?
Geez its so difficult to tell which strings i like the most.
AQUILA is an italian (like the strings) word which means Eagle. Pronunciation is: A (like californiA), QUI (like QUIntet), LA (like aLArm). The accent is on the first A. P.S. Wonderful playing!!!
Thanks for a really useful comparison.
Thank you so much. You are so captivating. I enjoyed!
Thank you for sharing this awesome video. This is very helpful. 🙂
Fantastic review, and superb playing skill, thanks very much.
Excellent. Ideas. Thanks! Definitely the Lava strings for me and I'm just about to change mine so made the decision easy.
This helped me so much! thanks George!
Respect to this guy who took his to change and test all the strings
Great comparison. I would (as well) love to know your technique for strumming in this piece. Or what to even look up to learn.
excellent video comparison! thanks!
Not all heroes wear capes. Thanks for this!
I just want to learn this song at this point... So good.
Love the video and the seiko skx you’re wearing :)
i think from this video Aurora Silkgut have the best tone, clicking between all the time codes, Aurora Silkgut sick out the most for me.
So, what was your favourite out of all these? In the Aquila Red Series, was the G string a low G string or high? What set would you recommend for low-G tuning? Thanks, Sam
15 ppl from the Rocket company dislike this vid. They cant handle this guy's mad skillz and the trouble he went to. I appreciate him though.
In my opinion, Fremont Blackline takes the cake. Aquila super nylgut is a close second, though. The worst sounding (aside from those cheap ones) were the aquila bionylon.
You need to come out new tutorial soon....for this
Hi, I'm a beginner on the ukalele and I was wondering if it's better to start off with steel or nylan strings. Mine originally came with plastic, and I'm replacing both the strings and tuners. Anyways back to my original question, for a beginner are steel or nylan strings better?
Emily Thomas (and everyone) - Steel strings do not belong on a ukulele and will make it collapse! Steel requires too much tension, such as for a guitar. Nylon, fluorocarbon, plastic, anything non-steel only, for a ukulele! (Except that plastic is crap)
Just guessing but I would expect you could make the strings out of an old tennis racket sound pretty good. Thanks for the show and info. I couldn’t hear a difference on the iPad speakers.
Awesome! Just purchased a pack of the Fremont blacklines!
Just installed it onto my uke, and it's great! The diameter of the strings are thinner and slicker than the aquilas.
Incredible strumming skills!!! As others said, the most sound come out off the hands..😀
Must needed video. Thank you brother for this .🙏🏻👍👍
Jebus...Thank you for doing this!
It is exactly what I have been looking for.
grazie dell'illustrazione!
Geez, your right hand is amazing!
My preference from those you tried would be the Aquila Super Nylgut on the ukulele. However, I mainly play Ukulele-Banjo (George Formby style) and after nearly 50 years I've tried more sets than I care to remember. My personal favourite is the Aquila Gut. However, there are two problems. Firstly, the cost. They are expensive. Secondly (and I'm sure you know this), they wear out very quickly. If anyone has any suggestions for an alternative make of string, I will be grateful.
thanks you so much for this video! really it help me a lot
What was the song he played called just curious?
Very interesting. I've been doing very similar string tests across these and other brands with the same uke in the same acoustic space and notice big differences