Mike's Oud Forums

Aquila Lute & New Nylgut short review

Jason - 9-9-2021 at 01:28 PM

I'm using these strings on a 60cm oud tuned down a bit from standard. I selected the gauges based on equivalent wound Pyramid lute strings and the conversion chart offered by Aquila for the new nylgut strings.

I plan on tweaking this a bit for the next set I order. I feel the tension on the nylgut courses is a bit high and the tension of the F & A courses is a bit low. It's playable as is but I always expect to experiment a bit when putting together a new set.

Overall I like the strings. The wound strings are very similar to the old plain copper Aquila oud sets from years ago, which I always liked. The new nylgut courses are interesting, they seem a little warmer with less sustain than typical rectified nylon. I'm interested to see how they sound after a few months. I think they'll work well for Arabic styles. I also think they look cool! :))

Thanks to Mustafa at oudstrings.com for the guidance on this set!

Gauges I ordered:

C: 240D
F: 170D
A: 132D
D: 104D
G: 0.82 new nylgut
c: 0.73 new nylgut
(Note, I'm tuned down from standard pitch)



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