Classical guitar strings

A

andydeedpoll

i do love smilies...
Hi,

I'm laying down some tracks using my classical guitar, for some finger picking stuff. I'm liking it, but I think I need some new strings before I record any final tracks - It's a fairly nice guitar, and I'd like as dark and rich a tone as possible (It's quite a heavy finger picking tune, with only vocals and a few string lines to go on too, so a lot of depth needs to come from the guitar.) Has anyone got any thoughts on what strings might help this? Any particular material?

Thanks for any help :)

Andrew.
 
I just play normal D'Addarios. I like them except the G-string. For some reason the D'Addarios G always seems to be a little less pretty than the other strings. I don't know how to describe it-clunky, without sustain, dull, etc. I know a Canadian guy who uses D'Addarios with a Savarez G. You might want to experiment with Savarez, Augustine, or Hannabach.

The most important thing is that you have new strings. And by new I don't mean a Month old, I mean brand spanking-half hour old, barely old enough to stay in tune-new. Some of the best classical guitarists change their strings every day. I change mine at least every week. Kazuhito Yamashita is rumored to change his at intermission.
 
I use these guys....work great for me:

477424_Xjpg.jpg
 
32-20-Blues said:
I use these guys....work great for me:

477424_Xjpg.jpg
Click to expand...

By far, I sell more of these than anything else (well, actually the EJ46s, which are the hard tension version).

If you want to spend the money, go with the Savarez Alliance - they are great strings, and most of my customers who are serious classical players are going with the Alliance Super High Tension set.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I don't know about "dark", but I get the most vibrant and rich sound from my guitar using Hannabach carbon fibre trebles (1st, 2nd, 3rd).
 
The more important question is not necessarily what brand of string, but what tension of string. The higher the tension, the brighter the tone. The looser the tension, the darker or warmer the sound. Depending on the scale length and action of your instrument, a normal tension set of strings might be what you're after. Nail length and shape are also going to play a major role, but I don't need to tell you that...

Since you're in the UK (?), it might be fairly easy for you to get a set of Savarez Corums or Savarez Alliance (made in France). These are great sounding strings that feel wonderful under the hands and are available in both normal and hard tension. If your guitar has a long string length (more than 650mm) use normal, if not try the high tension to help prevent fret buzz.Give them at least a few days of heavy playing before you try to lay anything down, though, regardless of what brand you end up using.

Both D'Addario and Savarez make semi-polished basses which are great for cutting down on string noise if you really feel like you need the bounce of a new set of strings for your session. You might also consider just changing the basses and leaving your trebles. Nylons take forever to break in, and unless they're really shot, you might be surprised at the impact of sympathetic vibration between basses and trebles. I end up changing basses about once every 6 weeks, while a good set of trebles might last 6-8 months.

Hope this helps. Happy tracking.:)

R
 
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