Aquila Thunder Cat Reds...

General discussion of all things left hand bass.
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fivebass52
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Aquila Thunder Cat Reds...

Post by fivebass52 »

So I decided to put theAquila Thunder Cat Reds I recently bought on my Kala U-Bass to see what I thought, Here's my review....
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As I was putting them on, I noticed they felt harder than the whites - more dense - and this translated into a "tighter" sound. Plus, they actually stay more in tune as you play up the neck. For me, the Whites tended to start losing pitch by the 8th-9th fret, and by the 12th, it was at least a 1/4 tone out! The Reds have virtually eliminated this problem, so I'm very happy about that!

As I said, the tone is tighter on the Reds, whereas the Whites are softer, more rubbery, and have a definite mellower, upright tone... I'll have to play the Reds more, and break them in a bit, as they're still stretching, but I like their intonation properties, as they're much better than stock Kala strings, or the Aquila Whites.

I played through my GK150, with EQ settings straight-up, and noticed I had the Voicing Filter button pushed in... after pushing it to the Out setting, I was able to get a much warmer sound. I like 'em! :)

One last thing; the Red strings aren't as sticky as the Whites, but they still are a bit tacky. After trying various finger-and-fret lubes (never got into using baby powder), I've settled on using Gold Bond Ultimatum hand lotion in the small 1oz travel size. It isn't sticky, doesn't load the strings up with gunk, and doesn't dry out on your finger tips. I use it with all of my basses with no ill effects. I just put a little dab on my finger tips - left and right hand - and rub it in; it works great, especially in humid situations. I buy these at Walgreens, in their Samples section....

Hope this all helps...
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R&B Stretch Bass, Walter Woods 1000w Green-Light Stereo Amp, AccuGroove El Whappo and TR112, assorted axes, amps, cabs...
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J-meister
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Re: Aquila Thunder Cat Reds...

Post by J-meister »

Nice upgrade! :)

I play with those Thunder Reds as well, on his inhouse made bass, the Shortbass One.
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andrew
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Re: Aquila Thunder Cat Reds...

Post by andrew »

Thanks for the review!
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penguin
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Re: Aquila Thunder Cat Reds...

Post by penguin »

I definitely want to try these on my Gold Tone Microbass. I need to check and see if they are available in the right scale length.
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pjmuck
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Re: Aquila Thunder Cat Reds...

Post by pjmuck »

Great review and I pretty much agree with your observations. I prefer the higher tension and less sticky feel as well. I have these on my Hadean U Bass right now. I also picked up a set of D'Addario Nyltecs that I want to do a comparison.

http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDetai ... lele__Bass
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