Sugar Slaps Strings by Aquila

I have been using these strings for over a year now. While they appear primarily marketed towards Rockabilly players and slappers, they are by no means limited to that. I have been using them successfully in live performances in a variety of song styles, anything from 50s to 90s rock and blues, to punk and metal from the 80s to early 2000s. I play everything in drop D tuning and the Sugar Slaps stay in tune very well. The first week or two they needed constant retuning before they finally settled in, it was almost at the point I thought something was wrong with them. After that initial break-in, I hardly need to tune them anymore. They do respond relatively quickly to changes in temperature, for instance after transportation in a cold vehicle, they do need to adjust to the room temperature again, maybe play them for a bit before tuning. I particularly like the low tension and thick gauge of these strings and how easy they are to play, although if you are used to thinner, higher tension metal strings these Sugar Slaps are going to feel awkward at first. They are definitely not meant for arco, although you could still pull it off on the D and G strings if you want to. In terms of volume, they are definitely not as loud as metal strings, but they are not too soft either. Pretty decent volume but nothing overwhelming. I play amplified through a piezo and so in terms of performance in a group or on stage, no problem at all. These strings sound perfect for all the oldies rock songs. For the heavier stuff the Sugar Slaps work out really great as well. I can use them clean and unaltered (no effects), or with a fuzz or octaver pedal and they sound totally bad-ass. Sustain is much shorter than metal strings, but considering these are synthetic strings, it is actually quite long. The overall sound is warm and gut-like. While I rarely slap, it is super easy to do so and they provide nice and percussive sounds. In faster songs it can be a bit challenging to avoid the accidental slap sounds if the song doesn’t require it, but it can be managed.

I ordered a set of Aquila Sugar Slaps and installed them on my 1951 Kay bass. I liked them so much, that I ordered a second set either as a backup, or maybe to put on my mid 50s Framus cutaway bass. I have tried out about every kind of faux gut strings out there, including every kind of weedwacker string variation that I could find, and was never really happy with them. I mixed and matched strings from different sets to try to build a Holy Grail slap set that still sounds good when plucked, with limited results. I even bought an expensive set of metal-wrapped faux gut strings from Gollihur, but none of them came anywhere close to sounding or playing as good as the sugar slaps. I am absolutely delighted by the pizzicatto tone and the ease with which they play when slapped. And, at just over $100 per set! Wow! They are the best I have ever played for rockabilly slap style while retaining excellent fundamental tone.

Love these strings. Perfect for rockabilly. They are easy on the fingers and they slap very well. Pizz style playing produces a nice warm tone (including the E string, which is not flubby at all). They don't feel cheap like weedwackers, and they are not stiff like the Innovation Rockabilly Blacks that I have tried out previously. These really are the next best thing to gut, with none of the maintenance. Would buy again!

I purchased the G and D a few months ago just to see if there was any possible way that, after trying every gut substitute know to man, these might be the real deal. Bottom line.... they are.

Finally got my bass back from my luthier. I wanted the whole Sugar Slaps set on my bass. Unfortunately, I could only used the D & G and ended up using E & A Spiro Mittel. I like the D & G Sugar Slaps but E & A aren't usable on my bass. I'm pleased with the strings. Great for slapping and pizzicato. You can't bow these strings but I'll buy the D & G again. Thank you.