Aquila Rubino

[Bax Burgess]

I've tried the Rubinos on ten guitars, the majority of those sets used on two or more guitars - none broke. I agree that the nut slots are prime suspects.

[Stringmaster]

Broke near the bridge. One smacked me in the hand lol.

[Quickstep192]

Originally Posted by Bax Burgess

Quickstep, what is your guitar?

My guitar is a crossover made by a luthier named David Freeman. I can’t say enough nice things about David. He’s a fine fraftsman and a true artist.

The guitar has Cocobolo back and sides and a Spanish cedar top. David does a really cool thing. He makes and armrest by bending the top into the side. He compensated for the loss of air volume by making the bass side a little deeper than the treble.

As you can see in the picture, the guitar is eccentric, literally and figuratively)

[Bax Burgess]

Now, if my hands can squeeze through the fiber optic cable, I've got to try it.

[Bax Burgess]

I just skinned two of the Rubino trebles through a poorly cut nut. The slots (on the fingerboard side) had sharp edges that had only nicked previous trebles: Savarez Alliance and Cristal, Galli nylon and carbon, and Aquila Alabastro. A needle file rounded the edges. That was a quick $10 loss.

[sirwhale]

I've had the Rubino strings on for 3 months now. They still sound fantastic. The basses are wearing a bit now in the usual places, so they may need changing soon, but the trebles are really settled and I see no reason to change them yet.

I play in standard, open G, and open D, tunings, so these strings don't just get played, but they are also constantly detuned and retuned, and they are still doing great.

[Bax Burgess]

When I switch them from one guitar to another, tying/untying the trebles onto the block or a Diamond bead, I'm impressed with their durability, because to the touch they seem to be made of flexible clay. I've heard them to be less than very good on two guitars that are characteristically bass dominant: a Rainsong NP12A (micarta saddle) that expressed a powerfully lush presence, and a K. Yairi GL600 (bone saddle) that produced overwhelming bass. Leaving out those two unusual guitars, the Rubinos excel with everything I've put them on, from a Cervantes Crossover 1 S/R (corian saddle) to an Ibanez Salvador 7 (micarta saddle) to an Asturias C150S (bone saddle).