claptonite Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Sorry if I've missed this point in this or other threads, but on the subject of Bass Ukulele Strings - has anyone tried the Aquila Thunderblacks - 140U? My Countryman bass uke came with the standard Thunderguts and I'm not a fan of the look and I think it's time for a change. Any views or alternatives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jposega Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 I used Thunderguts on my Ubass for years, then dropped a set of Thunder Reds on it. Much better harmonicity of the E string and overall a much nicer feel. I've not seen any reviews for the Thunderblack strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claptonite Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Well I've bought set now anyway, so I'll post a review in a while (good or bad). I tried a set of Thunder Reds on a bass uke I built from a 1/2 size classic guitar and they didn't suit it at all so went back to standard Thunderguts for that. I've also tried the Pyramid copper wound of silk/nylon and found them much too prone to finger noise on an acoustic bass uke. Might suit a solid bass uke better I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 I'll be interested to hear how you get on with those. I went for the black Parahoe strings on my Countryman ukuelele bass. They eventually settled down but kept on stretching for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claptonite Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 Well, they arrived today and took all of 10 minutes to fit straight out of the packet. Several first impressions: the black look is so much better than the off-white/cream look of standard Thunderguts. They don't need pre-stretching when you wind them onto the machine heads. Just load 'em up like normal strings - I had to shorten the E string otherwise you get two many winds and it looks all wrong plus it lifted clear off the nut. Took a couple inches off and that fixed it. The other strings were fine, full length. They are nice and smooth - at least as good as the Pahoehoe strings, I think, maybe even better. The tone so far seems really good. They've only been on a few hours (and it is the hottest day of the year so far) so it's too early to judge how they'll settle in. Unlike the standards, the E & A strings do actually seem to slide over the nut when you wind them up. Current on Amazon.co.uk at £22.40 inc. delivery, so a bargain price. My impression so far is that Aquila have a winner here. I'll report later after things settle and I've gigged with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 On 19 April 2018 at 19:23, claptonite said: Current on Amazon.co.uk at £22.40 inc. delivery, so a bargain price. My impression so far is that Aquila have a winner here. I'll report later after things settle and I've gigged with them. Thanks for the heads-up on that. I've bought myself a set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claptonite Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 Two days in and they're more or less staying in tune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branshen Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Thanks OP for your review. I was hoping to get abit more info on these strings compared to the thunder reds. Which of these strings, thunderblack vs thunder reds, have less friction and slide better? Are the thunderblacks fat like the pahoehoes or narrow like thunder reds? Which have more tension? I've tried the thunderguts and pahoehoes so can compare to these strings. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claptonite Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 I had a set of Thunder Reds a couple of years ago on a previous (home-made) U-bass and didn't much care for them. I seem to think they were quite high tension and had a pretty hard sound but I have no comparison with the Thunder Blacks I am now using. I think they are quite similar to the Pahoehoes in reality. A (rich) friend of mine has a Kala U-bass with the original factory fit strings on and they slide a little bit better than the TB's I think. I seem to remember the TR's being not quite so sticky as the original Thunderguts. On the gauge..I'm not sure...can't say I've noticed much variation with all these U-bass strings other than the Pyramids which are quite different. They are all pretty "fat"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles1 Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 First, decide on the purpose, why do you need this? Just to spend the money? Try it in a music store, if they seem good to you, then of course buy. The exact opinion of these strings can only be done by you. From my own experience I can say that I did not notice the difference for myself. My standard strings were torn on my favorite Luna Guitars there will be a description if anyone is not up to date with this model. I replaced them with others that I was advised, in the end they turned out to be terrible, I had to buy standard ones again and then everything became good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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