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A new set of strings is the fastest, cheapest way to make a ukulele sound better. Most instruments, even good ones, ship with dull factory strings that were chosen to be cheap rather than to sound their best. Swapping them for a quality set can brighten a flat-sounding uke and steady its tuning for a few euros.
The ukulele string world is unusual in that one company sits at the centre of it. Aquila's Nylgut was designed to recreate the tone of traditional gut strings without the cost or fragility, and it became the default string on a huge share of ukuleles sold today. That is why this guide is built around Aquila's range: the different lines are genuinely different strings, and choosing between them is the decision most players face first.
Beyond Aquila sits a second world of fluorocarbon strings, favoured by players who want a clearer, more focused tone. We cover those alternatives in the buying guide near the end. Everything below is written for soprano, concert, and tenor players in standard high-G or low-G tuning, and every set here is inexpensive and easy to find.
Quick comparison
| String set | Best for | Material | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquila New Nylgut | Best all-round for beginners | Nylgut | Warm, traditional |
| Aquila Super Nylgut | Best tuning stability | Nylgut (refined) | Smoother, more stable |
| Aquila Red Series | Best for low-G and fuller lows | Copper-loaded Nylgut | Deeper, richer bass |
| Aquila Sugar | Best bright projection | Sugar-based polymer | Clear, loud, fluorocarbon-like |
| Aquila Lava Series | Best Nylgut with a distinctive look | Nylgut | Warm, low surface noise |
| Aquila Bionylon | Best eco-friendly option | Bio-based polymer | Balanced, mellow |
| Aquila Kids | Best for children's first ukuleles | New Nylgut | Colour-coded, easy tuning |
Nylgut, fluorocarbon, and low-G: what the choices mean
Almost every ukulele string sold today is one of two materials. Nylgut, Aquila's own formulation, is a synthetic designed to imitate gut: warm, mellow, and full, with a soft feel under the fingers. Fluorocarbon is a denser plastic that is thinner for the same pitch and produces a brighter, more focused, louder tone with a crisper attack. Neither is better; they are two different voices, and most players form a preference only after hearing both.
The second choice is tuning. Standard ukulele tuning is "high-G," where the fourth string is pitched above the third, giving the bright, jangly re-entrant sound most people associate with the instrument. "Low-G" swaps that string for a thicker one pitched an octave lower, adding range and a more guitar-like low end. Many sets are sold in both versions, and a few strings, like Aquila's Red Series, are designed specifically to make a low-G string sound full rather than thin.
The third thing to know is that ukulele strings are cheap and quick to change, so experimenting costs very little. A fresh set also needs a day or two of stretching and retuning before it settles, which is normal and not a fault of the strings. Once a set has held its pitch for a few days, that is the tone you have.
1. Aquila New Nylgut — best all-round for beginners
Nylgut, available for soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone, high-G and low-G options, made in Italy
New Nylgut is the string that most ukuleles already come fitted with, and for good reason. It is the warm, balanced, traditional ukulele sound in a set that costs very little and suits almost every instrument. If you have never changed your strings, this is what to buy, because it gives you the reference point everything else is measured against.
The tone is round and mellow with a gentle attack, flattering cheaper ukuleles that can sound thin or plasticky on their factory strings. The feel is soft and forgiving, which suits new players still building finger strength. The one quirk to expect is a stretching-in period: a fresh Nylgut set drifts sharp and flat for the first day or two before it settles, so tune often at the start and it will soon hold.
Best for: the first set any new player buys, and anyone who wants the classic, warm ukulele tone without overthinking it.
2. Aquila Super Nylgut — best tuning stability
Refined Nylgut with a smoother surface, soprano to baritone, high-G and low-G options, made in Italy
Super Nylgut is Aquila's answer to the two most common complaints about the original: the long stretching-in period and the slightly rough surface. It uses a more compact, polished formulation that settles to pitch faster and stays there more reliably, which matters if you dislike constant retuning or play in changing temperatures.
The smoother surface also means less finger squeak when you slide between chords, a small thing that shows up clearly on a recording. The tone stays in the warm Nylgut family but reads a touch cleaner and more even than the original. For a beginner who found their first Nylgut set frustrating to keep in tune, this is the natural step up without changing the fundamental sound.
Best for: players who want the Nylgut tone but faster tuning stability, a smoother feel, and less string squeak.
3. Aquila Red Series — best for low-G and fuller lows
Copper-loaded Nylgut for thinner, denser low strings, soprano to tenor, high-G and low-G sets, made in Italy
The Red Series solves a specific problem: on most ukuleles the thickest strings sound weaker and duller than the rest. Aquila loads these strings with copper powder to make them denser, so a low string can be thinner for the same pitch, which improves clarity and volume where it is usually lacking.
The payoff is most obvious in low-G tuning, where a standard low string can sound flabby and disconnected from the others. A Red Series low-G string is tighter and more articulate, giving the extra low range without the mud. The trade-off is durability: the copper-loaded reds are known to wear faster than plain Nylgut and can break sooner under heavy playing, so treat them as a tone upgrade rather than a longevity one.
Best for: players setting up a low-G ukulele, or anyone whose lower strings sound weak next to the high ones.
4. Aquila Sugar — best bright projection
Sugar-derived polymer, soprano to tenor, high-G and low-G options, made in Italy
Sugar strings are Aquila's move toward the brighter, louder world usually owned by fluorocarbon, made from a polymer derived from sugar-cane processing. They are more transparent and projecting than Nylgut, with a crisp attack and more volume, while keeping a little more warmth than a pure fluorocarbon string.
For a player who finds Nylgut too soft or mellow, Sugar is the easiest way to add clarity and cut without leaving Aquila's range. They suit players who strum hard, perform without amplification, or want notes to ring out more distinctly for fingerpicking. If your ukulele already sounds bright and thin, though, these can push it too far, so they pair best with a warmer-sounding instrument.
Best for: players who want more volume and brightness, and anyone whose ukulele sounds too dark on Nylgut.
5. Aquila Lava Series — best Nylgut with a distinctive look
Nylgut in a dark grey finish, soprano to tenor, high-G and low-G options, made in Italy
The Lava Series is New Nylgut in a smokey dark-grey finish, and the difference is more than cosmetic. The surface treatment reduces the finger squeak and left-hand noise that lighter Nylgut can produce, while keeping the same warm, familiar tone underneath.
For most players this is a lateral move from standard Nylgut rather than an upgrade in sound, chosen for the quieter feel and the look against a lighter fretboard. If you record yourself and are bothered by slide noise, or you simply want the classic Nylgut voice with a cleaner surface, the Lava set delivers exactly that. Players who want a brighter or louder tone should look at Sugar instead.
Best for: Nylgut fans who want lower finger noise and a distinctive dark string, especially for recording.
6. Aquila Bionylon — best eco-friendly option
Bio-based polymer partly derived from plant sources, soprano to tenor, made in Italy
Bionylon is Aquila's environmentally minded set, made from a polymer that is partly derived from renewable plant sources rather than entirely from petrochemicals. The point is lower environmental impact without asking the player to accept a worse string, and on that measure it succeeds.
The tone sits between Nylgut and a brighter synthetic: balanced and mellow, a little more focused than New Nylgut but not as cutting as Sugar. It is a sensible everyday set for a player who wants a dependable, warm-to-neutral sound and likes that it was made with a smaller footprint. Sound-wise there is no penalty for the greener choice, which is what makes it worth including.
Best for: players who want a dependable everyday string and prefer a more sustainable material.
7. Aquila Kids — best for children's first ukuleles
New Nylgut colour-coded educational set for soprano and concert, made in Italy
The Kids set is New Nylgut with one clever addition: each string is a different colour, matched to teaching materials so a child can be told to "play the red string" before they have learned any note names. For a young beginner or a classroom, that removes a real barrier to getting started.
Underneath the colours these are the same warm, forgiving Nylgut strings as the standard set, so there is no compromise in tone or feel. Adults teaching themselves sometimes buy them too, using the colour coding as a memory aid in the first weeks. On a small, inexpensive soprano bought for a child, this is the set that makes early lessons less confusing.
Best for: children learning their first chords, classrooms, and teachers who want a visual aid built into the strings.
The fluorocarbon alternatives worth knowing
Once you know whether you like a warm or a bright sound, the other half of the ukulele string world is worth exploring: fluorocarbon. These strings are denser and thinner than Nylgut, with a clearer, more focused, louder tone and a crisp attack that fingerpickers in particular tend to love. Three names come up constantly. Worth Clear and Worth Brown are the enthusiast favourites, sold in long sets you can cut to make two, and prized for their sustain. Martin's fluorocarbon sets offer a refined, even tone from a trusted name. D'Addario's Pro-Arté Carbon strings are a widely stocked, well-priced way to hear what fluorocarbon does. If Sugar has pushed you toward brightness and you want to go further, any of these is the logical next experiment.
How to choose your set
Start with Aquila New Nylgut. It is what most ukuleles already use, it costs very little, and it gives you the warm reference tone to judge everything else by. If you fight to keep it in tune, move to Super Nylgut for faster stability and a smoother feel.
From there, let your ears steer. If the sound is too soft or quiet, Sugar adds brightness and volume. If your low strings sound weak, or you are setting up low-G, the Red Series fixes that. If you record and hate finger squeak, the Lava Series is quieter. If sustainability matters, Bionylon costs you nothing in tone. And if you want the brightest, most focused sound of all, that is when you cross over to the fluorocarbon sets above.
Whichever strings you settle on, the strings only make the sound. Knowing which chords and keys you are actually playing, and why some shapes sound resolved and others tense, is what turns strumming into music, and that is what our book is built to teach.
View Ukulele Theory Simplified →
Frequently asked
How often should I change ukulele strings? Less often than guitar strings, because ukulele strings are synthetic and do not corrode the way metal does. Change them when the tone goes dull, when tuning becomes unstable, or roughly every six to twelve months of regular playing. A string that has been on for years will sound lifeless even if it looks fine.
What is the difference between Nylgut and fluorocarbon? Nylgut is warmer, softer, and more traditional; fluorocarbon is brighter, louder, thinner, and more focused. Neither is better. Beginners often start on Nylgut because most ukuleles come with it, then try fluorocarbon later to hear the contrast.
What is low-G tuning and do I need special strings? Low-G replaces the high fourth string with one pitched an octave lower, adding range and a fuller low end. You need a set sold as low-G, or a single low-G string, because a standard high-G string will not reach that pitch. Aquila's Red Series is popular for low-G because it keeps the low string clear rather than flabby.
Do new ukulele strings need to be stretched in? Yes. A fresh set, especially Nylgut, drifts sharp and flat for the first day or two as it settles. Tune it often at the start, and optionally stretch each string gently by hand, and it will hold pitch within a couple of days.
Are the same strings used for soprano, concert, and tenor? Sets are sized for each body, so buy the set that matches your ukulele. Most of the Aquila lines above are sold in soprano, concert, and tenor versions, and some in baritone. Using the wrong size can leave strings too loose or too tight to reach standard tuning.
