Aquila Red Series AQ-88 Tenor Ukulele Strings - Low G - 1 Set of 4

I am an old guitar man. Recently (15 months ago) I got a Uke and quickly became the lead break soloist at my Uke Club. Wanting to use my guitar break patterns to maximum effect I choose to “wear my G string low”...so to speak. I have a Kala Cedar/acacia tenor Uke with electrics. It came with Aquila Nylgut with the wound low G. For me that wound G was out of character with the other strings. Very dominant, “different” and “there”.Research led me to the unwound Red...bought as a single string (72U). Put it on...loved it. Sounded like it belonged. 2 days later it broke. Bought 2 more. Next one...loved it...lasted 2 weeks. Found a video on how to install WITHOUT DRAGGING IT THROUGH THE NUT NOTCH...AT ALL. Bingo! Number 3 has lasted almost a year now. Bought 3 more for spares. Still don’t know if they just have a high failure rate and you just have to try till you get to a good one, or whether the magic installation video did the trick. Number 4 will tell...at some point.Now I am noticing that, when I get to soloing riffs high up the neck, the stiff thick Nylgut strings rather lack sustain. Thinking that a full set of reds may do the trick...being thinner and more free to vibrate, and apparently sounding brighter and with more sustain. So here’s the weird thing that is baffling to me...and so many other reviewers. The set of tenor Reds (88U) come with a WOUND LOW G! Why Aquila...WHY? The whole schpeel about the copper and the density and the thinner string that gets a lower frequency seems to come off the rails here! So I have to order an 88U set, throw away the wound low G and continue to buy unwound low Gs separately? Duh! And then there are the many many reviews that say that the other strings are probably going to be “breaky” also. I’m going to try it...shooting for heaven...hoping not to get hell.UPDATE: Got the set of Reds, Low G as discussed. Threw away the wound low G as discussed and put the new Red C,E, and A on with the existing unwound Red G. Stretched them while installing. Did not drag them through the nut slots. Actually these a so stretchable that I was able to reach concert pitch BEFORE the final drop into the nut slot. Actually I got one TOO HIGH, and had to back it off once seated in the nut! Got away with it. Now with all Reds on I am in heaven. As hoped, everything is crisp, clean and clear. Longer sustain everywhere...including high up the neck. Way easier to bend for lead work...AND NO BREAKAGE! Had them on about 10 Days now. Upping the rating to 5 stars. Still think it’s stupid that there is no unwound low G set.FINAL UPDATE. 2 YEARS IN.Still playing and loving Reds. Still having to buy AQ-88 sets (with the wound low G), still tossing the wound low G’s onto the growing pile that I don’t know what to do with, and still buying AQ-72U unwound low G singles to complete my sets. BY THE WAY...THE STUPIDITY/POOR COMMUNICATION AND CONFUSING PACKAGING BY AQUILA CONTINUES. AS AN EXPERIMENT I ORDERED TWO SETS OF LOW G AQUILA REDS. ONE WAS LABELLED 88U AND THE PICTURE SHOWS AN UNWOUND LOW G STRING. THE OTHER SET WAS LABELED AQ-88. THEY WERE SEPARATE ITEMS ON AMAZON. THEY ARRIVES...IDENTICAL...WOUND LOW G ON BOTH SETS...2 MORE STRINGS TO THROW AWAY! Once on and settled they just last and last, sounding great. I have changed them about twice a year...mostly out of guilt and not because they sound worse. Because they are on so long I give them an occasional run-down with an alcohol pad to remove finger funk. They hold their tuning really well needing only slight adjustment for radical temperature changes, or even occasional capo use! I think less than so than other strings...like my wife’s Aquila Nylgut Concerts for instance. During the last two changeouts I have broken one string total, and have broken one other during playing a bendy solo with a nylon pick. One more piece of advice...I have taken to using nut lubricant at bridge and nut string contact points. No breakages since starting that. May be helping. I am using and am happy with “Tune-it” by MusicNomad. There are others. Even a little graphite from a rub with an HB pencil at the string slots would be better than nothing. Final analysis: Heaven! Glad I took the trouble to get to know and make friends with Aquila Reds. The sound and ease of playing make it worth the extra care and slightly higher installation breakage rate. Still 5 stars.

The review form asked me to rate the Flavor of these strings. They taste terrible! I gave em one star! However, they the best possible low G strings for your Tenor Uke :) Tune carefully though because these are easy to break. The sound is Lovely !

Just received my strings I ordered 2 sets and not bad except I wished strings AE&C was the same color as the the G string, AE&C strings are more of a reddish brown as you can see in the photos, but other than that nice tone. Word of advise, I've notice people are complaining because their strings break, don't tune the strings in the slots take them out and tune it, the reason why the strings will break is because the bottom of the slots the strings will rub on the inside edges causing them to snap. I had no issues whatsoever tuning the strings that way. I plan on purchasing more as my spare strings, I normally use D'addario Tenor Low G due to the G string is not wound but these strings sound pretty good on my Lanikai Quilted Red Tenor, these sound a bit louder than the D'addario's, so I will continue to use these instead and I don't mind the sound the wound string makes when sliding up and down the fretboard. I own Guitars as well so I'm use to the sound. The only reason 4 stars because these are called red series but the only one that looks red is the G wound string.

The sound is very mellow and they are not too high tension. They are easy to play, however, the first string breaks easily. Nevertheless, I love the sound and will keep using them.

I like the low G tone and the look and feel of these Uke strings .. first time trying them … will definitely use them in my future .. I put them on my Córdoba tenor ukulele..

We normally purchase the Lavas for their great sound however wanted to give the reds a try.first all the strings are red unlike the Lavas which as a white low G.projection is improved significantly.Strings seem to squeak more and have a more tactile feel.The low G on the Reds is very nice, the wound string is bright red has good feel and great tone.the remaining strings are pitchy, harsh and while louder always seem out of tune even though they are not.I think we may experiment with a low G red and C,E,A Lavas.We did not experience any breakage issues.

The AQ 88's are a love hate relationship. I love the deep tone and richness of these strings, BUT they don't last. I keep purchasing them with the hope that they will last more than a few weeks, but no deal. The latest set had the "A" string snap, then the wound "G" string started buzzing from fret were, and then it snapped also. The buzzing "G" string is a constant on all of the sets I've installed. Various other strings have snapped as well. So, I installed a set of AQ 107 Super Nylgut Low 'G" strings. The tone isn't bad, so hopefully they will hold up for more than a few weeks.

The media could not be loaded.  Absolutely beautiful group of strings for my ukulele. I've tried many brands and types of strange strings, but these are the best.

Se vi piace il suono squillante dell ukulele che fa tanto paese esotico non comprate queste Red. Hanno trasformato il mio ukulele nella chitarra di Bruce Springsteen.

La primera cuerda se me rompió 3 veces mientras la colocaba.Solo pude tocar 1 vez, seguía rompiéndose hasta que no quedó más cuerda que poner.

Just right for my tenor Uke

I recently purchased a set, restrung my uke and within 48hrs 2 of those strings broke. Next I reordered another set, same seller, etc. and again 2 strings broke less than 48 hours this time. I know this is not typical for Aquila but something is wrong here

They make my cheap ukelele sound like an expensive one and my expensive one sound better . The feel is great also.Recommend them to anyone, specially guitar players .