I like the Aquila sound for strumming because it's more like humming. Strumming on the flourocarbon sounds hard/harsh but sounds clear for finger picking. Oh dear, we need both then?? ;D

Worth Browns are my favourite. Love them and they are great for arthritic hands.

I use fluorocarbon strings in all my ukuleles. I usually go with a Low G. I like the sound and feel of the fluorocarbon. The big benefit is that once a new set of strings is “stretched and set” (which takes a few weeks) they rarely go out of tune. I live in Florida where you have to deal with going in and out of humidity and air conditioning. It’s nice that the ukulele stays in tune despite the conditions, or at most needs a little tweak of the tuning peg to be in tune.

I am new to string instruments and recently bought a Kala ukulele. It came with Aquila new nylgut strings. I liked the sound of them, but the tension was so high. It hurt my figures if I tried to practice for any large amount of time. Admittedly being new, my fingers aren’t conditioned yet and would have likely improved with time. But I recently switched over to D'Adarrrio fluorocarbon to make it a little more comfortable while practicing. Absolutely love them. I can practice so much longer now without being in pain. I’d recommend D'Adarrrio for anyone just starting to play a string instrument.

I'm used to the sound of the Aquila strings since they're so popular, but I like the brightness from the fluorocarbon strings.

I prefer the flourocarbon strings. They sound great and are much easier on the fingers.

Good sound test of New Nylgut and Flurocarbon. The surface of the string of the New Nylgut can be heard as an apparent brush friction sound when playing all styles. The Flurocarbon does not have that effect at all bringing out the more pure tones of the strings. I am totally in favour of Flurocarbon having tried D'Addrio, CF Martin and Living Water. Each of these manufacturers has slightly different string thickness's. All are significantly thinner than the New Nylgut and with less tension required to tune. Chords easier to play. The stability of the strings has impressed me. I have left some Ukuleles 3 months and found them still in tune after that time. Like all new strings they can take up to a week to settle down. Living Waters supplies low "G" strings for Concert, Tenor up. D'Addrio for Tenor. Tenor String thickness's A, E, C G; New Nylgut 0.66mm, 0.80mm, 0,96mm, 0.69mm; D'AddrioEJ99TLG 0.52mm, 0.66mm, 0.74mm, 0.57mm LG 1.05mm; C F Martin CFMM620 0.56mm, 0.72mm, 0.86mm, 0.64mm; Living Water 0.57mm, 0.66mm, 0.74mm, 0.62mm, LG 0.91mm. There you are all Flurocarbons are very good. I have gone for Living Water sets on my goto performance Ukuleles because of their Low G packages but have the other two brands on other Ukuleles I have.

Thanks for this comparison. I think the nylgut sound is heavier/thicker when you’re fingerstyle but for strumming they do have that lovely mellow island tone. The fluorocarbon strings are brighter and really clear for fingerstyle but don’t give that mellow island sound when you’re strumming, tho of course if you like the brighter strum (more guitar like) they’ll be ideal 😀.

Fluorocarbon has less treble. Then again my ears are 63 years old. With that, I am now thinking of picking up my own Uke and will definitely go with the easier feeling fluorocarbon. Thanks.

It's very obvious how much better the sustain is on the fluorocarbon strings around 8:20 when the A string is plucked. Right after when the new nylgut strings are played you can hear just how quickly a lot of the sound dissipates on the A string 8:27 - most of the sound being when it's initially picked. Hope this makes it easier for some, they're both great sounding!

Fluorocarbon all the way for me! I much prefer their feel and tension. Their sound is also more balanced and not have that unpleasant boomy sound. I tend to use Martin m600s as they’re readily available in stores.

In my ears the nylgut strings do have some hollow plopping sound plus some "doioioing" to them which I really don't like. I love the clear and straight sound of the fluorocarbon.

D'Adarrrio and Aquila are the two best ukulele strings you can get. I would say Martin also but Martin uses Aquila to make their ukulele strings. Kamaka and Jake Shimabukuro use D'Adarrrio. I'm slightly more partial to D'Adarrrio. But I like Aquila strings as well. So I use D'Adarrrio on my ukes over $1k and Aquila for the ones $999 and under.

I tried both, too. FluorCarbon sounds a little bit nicer (good for Recording). But the Nylgut has more attac...better for playing outdoors without amplifyer!

My husband and I find that the fluorocarbon strings are easier on our aging fingers! We have used both Worth Brown and Clear and like both. We have also used Pepe Romero fluorocarbons with wound low G and enjoy those too.

I find fluorocarbons easier to play... especially on bar chords. Fluoros came standard on my Enya Nova U, which is the uke I learned to play on. I like to overall sound quality better on fluoros but I agree that the nylgut have a better pronounced mid. I’ll take the fluroros :)

Aquila sounds brighter and sharper to me and therefore more of the traditional ukulele sound. The Fluorocarbons sound smoother and rounder to me and more of a guitar. I prefer the fluorocarbons.

Aquila for strumming, D'addario for fingerpicking

Senior hands love fluorocarbon. Especially Worth Browns.

Thanks for the compare! As far as I know the thicker the string the cleaner the sound but also the less overtones it produces.

Aquila on some instruments but my standbys are D’Addario Titaniums. The Aquila’s are on my solid spruce top and on my solid rosewood. I’m seeing a lot more manufacturers spec fluorocarbons these days.

I've always used fishing line as strings. They play and sound great!

I found the difference in sound to be very subtle. The fluorocarbon do sound a little brighter as you say. I think the white strings on my dinky little ukulele are likely cheap as all heck. I also want to shout out to Cody Mischel who left a comment below and said how he liked the fluorocarbon strings for comfort while playing. Thank you very much for the videos. Best wishes.

Well I just picked up my first ukulele. And its got the nylogut type strings and it made me look for something different. This is a good explanation of the difference between the two types of string and I will be getting Fluorocarbon strings. Mainly as I am not keen on the thickness and tension. I'm sure I will be exploring other strings in time and having fun on the ukulele when I'm not playing my guitars.

The first thing I do when buying an ukulele is replace the Aquila strings with either Worth or Martins floracarbon.

I thought the Aquila was considered the gold standard these days and I've been happy with them, but I liked the sound of the fluorocarbons in this demo and will try some the next time I re-string. Thanks for this review!

Tried the flourocarbons and quickly went back to the Nylguts. The Nylguts have a better feel to me.

I'm not partial to either sound but after experiencing a few different strings I have come to the conclusions that I truly dislike the feel of the Nyglut. The finger indent discomfort is real real with those strings.

I used to think the makers knew what was best for their ukulele, but now I’m not so sure. I like the sound of the fluorocarbon.

It "ALL" depends on the particular uke and the saddle material. If the specific uke is not bright enough go for carbon, but if its too bright go with nylon (or nylgut). If you want it more brighter use a bone saddle, but if you want to tone down the brightness use a plastic or ebony saddle.

Hard to say. Aquila has a beefy sound and the FC sounds lighter and faster - if that makes sense. I am used to the Aquila but would consider FC. I do both strumming and fingerpicking as a beginner and I am older so protecting my fingers is important too. I also prefer a darker tone and not too bright...which is why I don’t play soprano, I hate how high it is. It’s all personal choice but I’ve heard of a number of people who mix strings to get the sound they want.

I prefer fluorocarbon strings, but I use Oasis brand strings and love them for their sound and ease of playing. I also like Martin strings, but D'addario string have always sounded a little thin to me no matter the material. I love their guitar strings, though. Thank you for the cool demo!

I go for the fluorocarbon strings. I use D'addario Titaniums quite a bit. Love their tone. They ring beautifully, and I especially love them for fingerpicking.

Maybe I do it all wrong, but I like to play a baritone ukulele tuned to GCEA with a low G. With that setup I like the fluorocarbon better, not as plastic sounding.

I prefer The F.C. strings. I feel they have better intonation and ring clearer. They seem a bit tougher on the fingers, the Nylgut feel like I'm playing rubber bands. I also purchased Seagar Blue series F.C. fishing line reels (in 4 different sizes) I did this because I wore out Martin F.C. strings soo quickly. But the Seagar fishing line has been on one of my ukes for almost a year now, still in tune, still no buzzing, I play everyday. To each their own flavor. Hope this helps someone.

--- I too prefer the fluorocarbons with low g. I have 1 traditional-shape soprano with high G nylgut, she's my little "Pineapple" because she has the best voice for Hawaiian tunes and because the nylgut is so much thicker, I play this ukulele at least 2x week to keep calloses fresh. Fluorcarbons with low g play warm and cozy & I have them on my electric Lohanu concert, my Enya blue soprano & my recently acquired Enya Nuvo soprano. Each has a significantly different voice, yet voices are warm & mellow. Thanks for demo. Happy trails, Ms. CharLee -- Oregon State Parks Horse Camp Host where we regularly jam around the campfire...

I just put new Nyluts on a solid Koa uke. It came with fluorocarbons that sounded nice but tuning and fretting intonation kept creeping sharp on me. I thought it was an issue with the uke’s construction, so I tried new strings. Other than waiting for the Aquilas to settle in, I instantly found fretted notes no longer went sharp, but also noted that “plasticky” sound. I have heard it said many times in different forums that fluorocarbons sound better in solid woods and Nylguts work better in laminated ukes. I have 3 sets of D’addario FC’s on the way and will start fitting them on my solid ukes one at a time and see how it goes. Personally so far I like the sound and feel of FC’s better, and hope my new sets of FC’s hold their intonality better than the set my Koa uke’s set did. So far I like the Aquila’s holding their tuning butthey do sound plasticky and not as richer as the FC’s.

Definitely prefer the fluorocarbon for sound and feel when playing.

I am glad I listened. I just bought Titanium, Nylgut and Carbon to do my own comparison. In this I like the brightness of the Flourocarbon a bit more. I am curious how I will find playing them. I have Nylgut now on my ukes and broke the wound G string and have never changed them so thought it was time to do that. Now I will have a different type of string on each of my ukeleles.

I am more inclined toward the flourocarbon strings because I think they are crisper and brighter plus I like the brown strings (no teaching videos happening here so I don't have to concern myself with that). Thanks for the comparison and your thoughts!

I liked both, probably put the fluorocarbon on my soprano

To me the fluorocarbon strings have a more pure tone and ring out with a nicer sound which is more evident when fingerstyle is played. I wonder how they compare to something like a nylon type string

Aquila just has a richer fuller and more well defined tone for chords and individual notes!

Nylgut sounds duller to me and less sustain. I like the sound of the Fluorocarbon. I would do the same test you just did, but also swap strings on the instruments to see if the construction and the densities of the woods made any difference. However, I've had some Fluorocarbon strings on my new uke and. the A string is starting to fray.

The D'addario's seem to have a little more life and not as stiff even a bit more resonance to it. I like both of them.

I like the fluorocarbons a bit more brighter sound , the other sounded a bit mushy to me.

Thank you for the demo! Both sound good in their own way, it was a bit hard to compare because in the 1st part you included each strings on different parts of the song.

I have not tried Fluorocarbon strings. Been using New Nylgut with low G. Actually I thought Fluorocarbon sounds a little better but not a lot of difference. I use slide on mine so the tension is better when using Nylgut.

"AH-kwee-la" It's Italian, not Spanish. That said, different strings sound different on different instruments - so just try some out and see what you like. I even mix them sometimes. (I make ukes, so have opportunities to try them with different woods.) "Better" is of course what you like best on your uke.

D'Addarío seems to be my preference after listening to this....THANKS. I need to buy new strings.

The Nylgut have a warmer tone and sound more like the traditional ukulele sound, while the D'Adario remind me of a banjo sound.

Just beginning. Learning heaps from you. Thanks 💞🌸

D'Addario

Nylgut sound reminded me of every plastic uke I've played.

I had to put on my headphones to clearly hear the difference. They both sound good, however, the Aquilas are warmer and fuller and they pick up the resonance and overtones. The Fluorocarbon is a bit "thin" and weaker sounding in comparison. I like the ease of playing with the Fluorocarbon though. I would have to settle for the Aquilas.

I think every different uke will find certain strings fit better and enhance the sound. Some seem to sound considerably better with one style of string or another. While Uke Logic is now my go-to string for fluorocarbon, the Nylgut suits other ukes better. Some experimentation is often in order.

With my eyes closed, the difference was slight. But I did prefer the fluorocarbon if I had to pick one over the other.

My favorite strings are Nylgut! I love the crisp, clean sound that comes from them. And my favorite brand of Nylgut is Aquila. They're readily available at most music stores around Northern Oregon.

I found this helpful! Thx!

I like the Nylgut better. To me they sounded richer and fuller. The Fluorocarbon sound higher and not as full. I do like the idea they are easier to fret because they are thinner. I would go with the Nylgut. I like the full rich sound.

Fluro sounded better, plastic had cheap sound. Great videos.

Borg sound great to me. There is a difference but it is so little that I think for me the choice comes down to the thickness of the strings and how easy they are to push down and sound OK. After many ukuleles and playing a lot, I still don't really have a favorite. I tried the Worth strings and I don't see what the appeal is. They are simply too thin, too expensive and like I said-too thin- IMHO!. Thin strings cause buzzing on ukuleles set up with close distance @ the 12th fret. At least that has been my experience. I have also found that sometimes thicker strings stop buzzing troubles without any changes to the nit or bridge! YMMV!!!! Of course??

I’d love to see a comparison of their intonation high up the neck. Using a tuner.

There are four uke players listening here 3 of us think the Flourocarbon is hands down superior the tone is full and bright and it a nice crisp ring and vabrato. Same 3 of us feel the Nylgut seemed a bit muddy and plastic to stop with a dud quickly. We would give the 4th decenter his opinion but we sent him our for beer. But the more important question.....What was the song you were playing I know it but cant place the lyrics or name. I have three other musicians here with not memory recall, So weve resulted to guessing and taking bets. Please help solve the mystery! Thanks!

I like aquila and the Kamaka strings both are really good.

I thought I like the NylGut but when you switch between the 2 here and there, I can't distinguish them anymore. So, I like whichever is cheaper.

I like the fluorocarbon

Bought a used concert uke. Practiced on the strings that came with uke for apprx. 10 months and loved the sound and enjoyed practicing and jamming with a uke group. Due to age of uke, had the strings changed out to Nylgut low G, now hard for me to play and can't get over the thickness and dull sound. Will change out strings again and might try the flourocarbon, so as not to lose the joy of playing. Unless there is another string that is better, also don't like the Nylgut for picking. K

I prefer to play with Nylgut i’ve tried fluorocarbon because I like the reviews I’ve seen but I do you not like the feel and I don’t think it sounds good with strumming when I play. I do have a soprano I keep fluoridecarbon strings on for work. I’m an activities assistant at a nursing home and the residents faces just light up when I let them play a C chord or an Am chord or some thing like that and the softer strings are easier on their hands.

I prefer the fluorocarbon strings better 🎶

I don't hear enough difference in the video to matter, perhaps I would hear it better live than recorded.. I would like to know if the 2 ukulele sounded different when they both had Aquila strings. I have Aquila on 5 ukulele, some are New Nylgut, and some are Lava. I am finding I prefer the Lava. I use multiple tunings, and the too soft strings are not as versatile for lowered tunings.

I like both.

fluorocarbon for me

I think the nylgut sounds better

excellent comparison

I like the Aquila for strumming and the daddario for picking but that's just my preference, would be curious to see how they sound different up on some of the higher frets

I love the feel of the SUPER nylgut strings by Aquila but neither has a good low-g option and I just love the low-g sound. Worth has two great low-g options, brown and clear. I started with the brown for the looks but a buddy told me to try the clear and they are amazing. They stay in tune almost right out of the gate and have a clear bright sound. The Worth clear low-g strings are great. ❤️😉

My hands are kinda weak so I like the flurocarbon more personally.

Thanks for the video, nice comparison. Out of curiosity, could you remind me how long the strings were allowed to settle "in tune" before the video was recorded?

àqooeelah that's the right pronunciation the strees on the first syllable and the sound OO of nOOn in the middle, I am Italian but I prefere fluorocarbon strings

Cat gut is short for cattle gut

You should test Aquila Super Nylgut vs D'Addario Fluorocarbon strings. Super Nylgut is an improvement of new Nylgut. Bye

Very helpful. I'm still torn. I did find the Nylgut to be crisper and brighter compared to the fluorocarbon. Maybe its just my audio.

Daddario seems to be a little more resonant and darker

My solid mahogany top has Aquila strings, my solid sitka spruce top has fluorocarbon strings. Now I don't know if tone and volume difference is from construction or different strings. Think I'll match em up and see...

I have just purchased my first ad it is a Enya NUVA. Will the D'addario Titaniums wear down the frets?

My memoire span is very short. You should add a graft at/in the drop down section showing good and bad points of both. I have both but on different brand ukes, I can’t compare.’

Well timed.. the ‘E’ string on my KoAloha tenor mango is shedding.

The fluorocarbons seem to ring more, a little brighter with a little more sustain.

I’m going for the d’daddario because it’s easy on the fingers and punchier.

I prefer the flourocarbon to the nylgut just my preference

Love the nylgut on my classical but the daddario sound way better on the ukelele

Flourocarbon more crisp less plunky chunky ?

I prefer the Florocatbon

I have used only the nylgut aquila strings.. I have been searching got a tad warmer sound for my tenor though - no luck so far. Which apparently the fishing strings will not prolly bring. Have u tried the red ones from aquila, u could possibly like em? They have a tad brighter sound and as they are red possibly helps with the teaching part as well..? I would like to have strings that are little bit tighter, as in don’t stretch as much, for my soprano. As I have a temdency to pull the 1st string off the fretboard, especially when doing 4 finger chords, like Dm7 or so..🤣 any proposals? Thanks for the vid, saves me the trouble of trying out the florathingie!

I like the sound of the flurocarbon strings but I HATE the feel of flurocarbon. It feels too loose and floppy.

Hi. Yesterday I change G and C Aquila Nylgut cords with D'Addario Clear Nylon (EJ65C) and they are losing tuning after 20-30 chords. I understand that are much flexible but it is normal to behave so quickly ? The E and A Aquila cords installed are losing tunning after 2-3 or more days of practice. Do you recommend to change all the strings from the D'Addario set ? Can I reuse in the future the original Aquilas ? Thank you.

I like em a bit chunkier

The Aquila sounds more full and I know it’s because they are a little thicker.

Far better D´adario.... but it seems no one of you comment section has ever tried WORTH strings?