Even after playing uke off and on, and guitar for many years, I had NO idea that the strings matter. (I play as an amateur, never had lessons, so what do I know?) I learned from some other uke players that STRINGS MATTER. And even if you are a beginner, putting good strings on your instrument is a good idea. If you improve the overall sound of your ukulele, you will play better. Poor sound is discouraging to beginners. If you can get a pleasing intonation right out the gate, you will naturally practice more and be happier as you listen to yourself. This is one reason young musicians fail; the parents don’t want to invest much in a good instrument for a kid who may drop the whole thing in three months (understandable) but a bad instrument can utterly defeat a new player. There has to be a compromise. So here is one for uke players; start with a Dolphin and and add Aquila strings and for a short price, you can actually get something playable and that sounds relatively decent.

I bought a Makala Dolphin, which is an inexpensive, but actually very good soprano ukulele, good for beginners and as a “battle uke” it is fantastic, (goes camping, throw in car, you know what I mean.) The strings that come on this uke are simply awful and do not show off what this little uke can actually do. If you have one, or buy one, replace the strings with these Aquilas. I know, it sounds like putting a silk dress on a bull dog, but it is not. Immediately, the little soprano will have the richest, loud sound you can imagine.

The strings also have a very wonderful “squooshy” feel under the fingers. They aren’t soft by any means nor is the tension at pitch slack, but the nylgut (their name for their nylon) is a good approximation of gut strings and has a slightly grabby texture that is very pleasing.

We have noted among players, that some combinations of luthier’s wood used in ukuleles does not blend well with these strings. The sound can be loud and “barky”. One such is mahogany. If you happen to try these on a solid mahogany ukulele and you are not impressed, try some other strings (I have D’Addario J17’s on my mahogany uke.)

If you have a laminate wood uke, or laminate-solid top, the Aquilas may well take your instrument to a much better sound. If you are starting off on a Dolphin or have a child learning uke on a Dolphin or other inexpensive instrument, change to these strings and you will hear a much better sound.

Bright tone. If you have a dead sounding ukulele, as is sometimes heard in laminate ukes, or you want added volume, the Aquila strings are second to none. There are other wonderful strings (Fremont flouros, Worths, etc.), but Aquilas remain the pinnacle of affordability and enhanced sound. If you own a less expensive ukulele (under 0) and it came with “no-name” factory strings, or strings known to be of lesser caliber than the Aquilas (strings such as Martin, GHS, etc.), please just try a set of Aquilas, and you will hear a major difference. There are internet videos showing the painstaking process of making these Nylgut strings in an old factory, owned by a middle aged couple, in Italy.

Winners.

I only have a low-cost Mahala ukulele so I wasn’t expecting much of an improvement when I replaced the stock Nylon strings, (after watching several Youtube videos showing me how to do it). I was wrong. These strings sound much better – the sound is much brighter and "cleaner" than the nylon strings my ukulele was supplied with when new. The Aquila strings took about 30 minutes of continuous playing and stretching until they settled and now they stay tuned for long periods. My ukulele now sounds wonderful for such a cheap instrument and is limited only by my clumsy fingers. I would definitely recommend these strings to any uke player looking to replace their stock nylon strings with something better.