INTRODUCTION The development of a new synthetic material that can imitate the acoustical characteristics of gut but without the typical defects such as high cost, short string life, and severe instability to changes of climate, has always been a fundamental goal of Aquila's research. Nylgut is the result. Nylgut's formula is protected by U.S. and International patents.

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FIELD OF APPLICATION Nylgut has a specific density and acoustical qualities nearly identical to that of gut, and is the first truly successful synthetic version of the natural product.

Other strong points of Nylgut are its elevated resistance to wear under tension-greater than that of gut-but even more important is its extraordinary immunity to changes of climate, considerably better than that of Nylon and thereby ensuring a superior stability of tuning under normal conditions.

IMPORTANT INSTALLATION INFORMATION:

Nylgut is a completely different material than Nylon and needs a bit of extra care during installation because of its soft surface and different molecular structure.

First check that the string channels in the nut are rounded and have no sharp edges, especially the lower edges facing the fingerboard. Because the string approaches from a slightly downward angle, if that edge is sharp the string can hang up on it, create a burr and break. It needs to be just slightly radiused, and this procedure can be done with very fine sand paper and an old string, or a small round file. Some makers ignore this because Nylon strings are very hard and can withstand a poor set up. Sometimes bridge saddle edges on the tying side are sharp as well and should be radiused slightly with fine sandpaper.

It is good to help the strings over the nut by lifting them slightly right at the nut as you tune up. Plain Nylgut trebles stretch like crazy so you should also cinch the strings up tight on the barrels before winding. Be sure not to overlap wound strings on the tuning barrels. The preferred method is to put a set on an instrument in the evening, bring them just up to pitch, let them sit overnight, and finish tuning in the morning. This allows the molecules some time to adjust to being stretched. Give them a week or so to stretch in fully (less for ukulele strings) before passing any judgment on tone as it takes a while for them to develop their best sound.

Got a question about this product? Contact Us