Aquila Rubino (nylgut+metal dust) Vs Aquila experimental) Granato (Sugar+metal dust)
 

Aquila Rubino (nylgut+metal dust) Vs Aquila experimental Granato (Sugar+metal dust)

If you haven't been following the other threads then I can quickly say that I have been experimenting with these strings recently. Mimmo recently sent me a new version of the Granato strings (from March 2019 onwards). I have highly praised both sets and Mimmo for his creativity.

Update:

I have just spent a week at my in-laws and sent a good amount of time playing my mother-in-law's cedar-top classical with Knobloch CX carbon trebles. This guitar contrasts strongly with my spruce-top flamenco. I really enjoyed the change to a softer sound.

I had been playing the Granato (new version) for a few weeks and was impressed by the clarity these strings gave.

However, upon return, it was such a contrast from playing the classical with carbons strings that I thought I would put a new set of Aquila Rubino strings on my flamenco guitar (trebles only), and I can say that I have gone back to preferring these impressive strings.

I only had trebles available, but I will buy more Rubino basses as I think I also prefer these to the Granato basses which are designed with a shorter sustain.

Some of the points for why I really like Rubino strings:

• The tone: they have a good fundamental, but are not dull. They are focused, but not too bright.
• They are very stable, which is great for changing to alternative tunings often.
• They retain tension better than Granato strings when tuning down a tone. For me, the Granato 1st string did not have enough tension when I tuned it down to D.
• They bend very well, better than any other string I've tried. What I mean is that you have to bend the string relatively little to get a good change in pitch. You have to bend other polymer based strings more to get to the same change in pitch.

Interesting. If I am buying Aquila Rubino strings, should I look for a certain manufacturing date?

When I tried to buy Aquila Granato at StringsByMail I got an earlier version that did not have the metal dust.

Thanks!

TK

I should imagine that all stocks should now have the new Rubino strings. The date should be anything from June 2017. Do ask though, as some people may stock older versions.

Got a set of the high tension Sugars to try. I was disappointed with the older Rubino trebles as two broke during installation. Are the Sugars less prone to thi and any special tips/concerns when installing? Thanks

I'm looking into buying these. I've heard you have to be careful stringing up the 1st string. Make sure there is nothing sharp. Mimmo in Aquila is working on making this better.

Thank you Sir!

No luck. Brought up to pitch gradually and let it settle tuned 1 step down. As I was retuning the bass strings the 1st string popped. So I've tried both Rubino formulas with no luck. Going back to Knobloch Actives--no problems there.

Yeah, Mimmo has only just been working on this 1st string problem and has sent out a new, harder version.

Meanwhile, I had two Rubino sets in which the 3rd string's intonation was completely off.

I put on a MT Knobloch CX actives instead that were fine. Then suddenly as I had my arm resting on the fretboard, the 1st string snapped and whipped my arm badly.

I've had bad luck recently with strings.

Ordered medium-high tension CX actives to see what happens.

I will try sugar strings as people talk of a nice tone, but I will wait until Mimmo has solved all the problems.

Which tension of CX actives do you use?

I’ve used the medium high and high tension CX's and slightly prefer the high. BTW, I sometimes use a pick. Regarding the Sugars—I also noticed the squeak that’s been mentioned—particularly with my right hand.

I used to have lower action but recently bought a new saddle and moved it up to 2.9mm on the high E and 3.5 on the low E.

Before I wouldn't have used the medium tension CXs, but now with this new action I quite liked them. They even performed well when tuned down in Open D, G, and DADGAD.

The High E in the High Tension set is just too much tension for me.

I've got Rubinos on my classical at the moment, and I may stick with them exclusively. I love the way they sound and feel.

A chap on the delcamp forum tried some nylgut strings on a lightly built flamenco (I think it was a camps 1a blanca), and raised the action to 4/3 classical standard and it came out a very interesting and affordable take on a Torres guitar. I really enjoyed listening to it.

I have to say another fascinating take on "nylon"-strung guitars is that the variation between types of strings seems to be a lot more dramatic than in steel-string guitars or electric guitars, which depend more on gauge rather than components (I guess coated and flatwounds do have their specific sounds but I still find a bigger difference in the great variety of classical guitar strings).

What's next on your list to try, Sirwhale?

I'm following the discussions about Aquila's new sugar (pure sugar polymer) strings on del camp. They sound really promising but it appears Mimmo is listening to the feedback and trying to improve them. So for now, I'm waiting. Maybe after the summer I'll buy some sugar strings direct from Aquila and give a review here.

There is also the new Alchemia strings that are half sugar half nylgut. I'd like to give those a try too.

To add to the confusion :) I have been testing an experimental sugar Rubino treble set for the last few weeks. I have no idea what is different in them compared to the Granato trebles, but here's what I have been finding compared to the standard Rubinos:

- these strings are more elastic than the standard nylgut version, and thus stabilise less quickly. With the standard Rubinos I could use the played-in G as a day-to-day tuning reference instead of a tuning fork; I don't think that will ever be possible with the Sugar version.
- the G is extremely nice. It has a little bit more clarity and possibly more sustain, and sounds more open higher up. Vibrato and bends are a little bit easier, as far as one can really compare that without a 2nd guitar that's set up exactly the same and has the standard string sets on it.
- the E is thin and really elastic, and has a sound quality that reminds me of a metal violin E. Somewhat thin in sound. I think it's actually a tad too thin for my nut and saddle slots which leads to a bit of a twang that doesn't help. But when I do get a full sounding tone out of it it sounds gorgeous so I don't dislike the string. I'd add "on the contrary" if it wasn't for the fact that I do get the infamous Sugar Squeak on this string, and for me it doesn't go away with time. In fact, it *appears* after a day or 2 of playing, when the string gets more stable.
- the B falls between these two, probably closer to the G. No squeaks here.

The experimental version is (even) more fragile than the standard Rubinos (Aquila sent me 3 additional E1 strings for the testing!). I have had no issues with breakage of the B & G, and even the E didn't break at the nut. It did however break somehere around the 7th fret after 2 weeks, while I was practicing a passage where I try to do a semi-tone bend on that fret.

My guess would be that the E1 should be a tad thicker (= less loaded); then Aquila would have a very promising set of strings that should be great for crossover guitars (or even on lighter build acoustics).

Those experimental strings are the exact same as what I tried. Mimmo told me at first that they were experimental rubinos, but then later said that they were the new Granato strings.

I have the same ideas as you, the high E is too thin and too bright. The G is very nice. The strings were too elastic for me and the high E gave me buzz as it vibrated more widely. The high E didn't break on me, but when I took them off I took the set to my school and put them on a cheap guitar there (hoping to get more out of it) and after a few days the high E snapped on that guitar.

I think Mimmo is working with lots of ideas and soon sugar will be a reliable and decent polymer for strings, possibly mixed with other polymers in varying quantities.