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Aquila

Sugar Slaps Strings by Aquila

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  • Aquila Sugar Slaps Set of 4
Our Low Price: $109.00

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Description

The Sugar Slaps are designed to emulate gut strings (for slappers, particularly) in a durable, affordable synthetic option. The early feedback on these strings is that they do it very well - players report that the strings feel very much like gut strings under the hands, and have many of the favorable aspects of the tone without the hassles of oiling gut strings (or the high cost of them!)

The unique sound and feel of these strings was made possible thanks to a combination of innovative materials including a vegetable-derived plastic -Sugar- loaded with thin copper powder for the E and A strings. The D and G are made of a special elastomer. The result is a full-bodied, percussive sounding strings with just the right sustain and quick rebound on the fingerboard.

They are especially well-suited for the Rockabilly style and also for pizzicato, particular for "old-timey" styles like bluegrass, Americana, Roots music, and "old" jazz styles. They are not particularly useful for arco/bowing, as the bow tends to "skate" on the surface, and they don't respond too well tonally when you do manage to get a grip with the bow.

They have a lighter-than-average tension, and while they have the sound of gut, they do have a better overall intonation, especially on the lower strings, where unwound guts can get a little wonky, pitch-wise.

Some players are even saying that they come the closest to gut strings of any synthetic strings they've tried!

Aquila strings are made in Italy.

Note about changes to the E-string: Historically, the "E" string has been made in two versions; the original sets were made with all four strings being unwound. However, for a brief time, the E string was made with a thinner core, which was wound with nylon wire, due to some complications with the extrusion machine for the largest diameter strings. That wound version of the string still sounds and plays great - there's just a little "texture" under the fingers. It's very stable and tonally matches the rest of the set.

However, this is just a historical note for your interest, as Aquila has resumed producing the E string in a solid, unwound design. That's the sets we now have available - all four strings are unwound, solid strings.

Includes our exclusive Gollihur Music tipsheet to get the most out of your purchase

 

String Gauges/Tensions

 Synthetic G-1  2.34 mm / .092" 23.1 kg / 50.94 lb
 Synthetic D-2  2.91 mm / .115" 20.1 kg / 44.32 lb
 Synthetic A-3  2.84 mm / .112" * 16.2 kg / 35.72 lb
 Synthetic E-4  3.75 mm / .148" 17.7 kg / 39.03 lb

* Yes - the A string is slightly thinner than the D string! This is because a special blended in copper powder is added in to the E and A strings, adding to their mass and requiring less physical size. So the D and A seem almost the same size but have the correct tensions at pitch.

 

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6 Reviews

  • 5

    Aquila Sugar Slaps

    Posted by Don Hergert on Jul 22nd 2022

    I've been enjoying these strings since I installed them about 2 weeks ago. Within about 4 days they were staying in tune very reliably and while they're still breaking in, their volume, clarity and tone are excellent. I would consider these medium-low tension compared to the very low tension strings I was previously using, they are smooth to the touch and very easy on the hands, and to my ears, they produce very gut-like tone. Great both acoustically or amped. I'd recommend then highly for slap and pizz with rockabilly, roots, old jazz and swing genre.

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