classical guitar strings

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Kasey

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I just bought a set of D'addario classical guitar strings, my friend who sold them to me at my local music shop told me they were the highest quality strings available. I've always used elixirs, but he didnt have any. I took them home, put them on my guitar, and so far i absolutely hate them. They sound waaay too bright, and sort of twangy. I absolutely hate classical guitars that sound like youre hearing the string instead of the wood of the guitar. Maybe I'm just an oddball, i don't know. What worries me even more is that on the label of these strings they say that you need to play them for 3 to 6 hours to 'break in' the strings, so that they will sound their brightest... meaning theyre going to get brighter... if they do get brighter i'm ripping them off and throwing them away. Do most people like these sort of strings??? i personally like a really mellow sound to my classical, and these just arent doing it. I'm never buying these again.
 
Good enough for me

I use D'addario strings on my electric and nylon guitars. I actually by them becuase they're fairly cheap where I go, but I've never had much of a complaint with the sound. In my history, the nylon strings have never brightened noticeable over time, to my ear anyway. However, that could be for a number of factors. Leave them on for awhile and see what happens. What type exactly though, EJ45's? Normal tension?

Really though, I've always been of the mind that strings are a relatively unimportant part of your sound. Having new strings is important, but the guitar and the way you play it is far more important. Keep with the strings for ahile.
 
Well, first of all, they will NOT get brighter.

The coating on Elixirs sucks all the brightness out of strings, which I think sucks, but you seem to like.

The BEST strings for classicals are (IMNSHO) are Savarez, but they cost 2-3 times as much as most other classical strings, so if you are not playing a high end hand built classical, it is not really worth the cost.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
D'addario classical string are possibly the worst strings ever. They wear out quick and are lifeless. I give them a 10 on the "bleh" scale.

I would reccomend buying strings from a maker who does only classical strings. Not one of the mass producers of regular guitar strnigs like daddario ghs, ernie ball, etc. They never can seem to get it right. Specialized classical string companies do only one thing and they do it well. Aranjuez is my favorite brand. They sound excellent.
 
The brightness quality has more to do with the guitar itself, especially the soundboard wood (spruce being brighter than cedar.) However, I've done lots of experimenting with different strings and found some seem to magnify the effect. And, some strings sound completely differnent on another guitar. But, in general I've found Savarez to be pretty bright, Augustine Blues to be dark, and D'addario J45s to be kind of in the middle. So if dark is what you want, try the Augustines. A nice all-purpose brand is Labella 2001. They have sounded good on all my guitars and aren't much more money than the D'addarios.
 
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hawk said:
The brightness quality has more to do with the guitar itself...
Click to expand...



No, his problem is he is used to strings which have a thick Teflon coating, and NO guitar is going to be bright with any kind of Elixirs on it. He is saying that the same guitar is too bright with different strings. While I would almost certainly disagree, let’s not confuse the issue with going into guitar stuff.

And by the by, D'Addario, GHS, et all make fine classical strings for most players. Only serious classical players have problems with them. I mean, when I had a classical, I used Savarez, but that was because I get them for wholesale. None the less, I sell more D'Addario than anything, and they are fine strings.


Light

“Cowards can never be moral.”
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
No, his problem is he is used to strings which have a thick Teflon coating, and NO guitar is going to be bright with any kind of Elixirs on it. He is saying that the same guitar is too bright with different strings. While I would almost certainly disagree, let’s not confuse the issue with going into guitar stuff.

And by the by, D'Addario, GHS, et all make fine classical strings for most players. Only serious classical players have problems with them. I mean, when I had a classical, I used Savarez, but that was because I get them for wholesale. None the less, I sell more D'Addario than anything, and they are fine strings.


Light

“Cowards can never be moral.”
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...


Well, I've never tried Elixirs myself so can't speak for them, but I stand by my statement that most of the tone, bright, dark, or otherwise, comes from the guitar. Different strings can help but on a cheap guitar there's not a ton of difference. It's the old can't polish a turd, thing. I guess if he likes the tone with the Elixirs, just stay with them.

On the d'Addarios I agree with you. They're fine and even pros use them. I personally think they're mediocre but again, it depends a lot on the guitar they're on.
 
Complex issue... so many variables with guitar construction, string material (other than actual nylon) and tension. I've got three concert quality classicals... one sounds best with low tension strings (Augustine black label), one sounds best with medium tension Savarez Alliance Red card strings, and the other sounds best with a split set (low tension traditional nylon highs, high tension lows). I've got a number of other guitars where string type doesn't matter much at all.

Tim
 
I suppose this is just an instance in which i prefer a crappy sound. (hey, kurt cobain got his signature sound from using cheap, terrible guitars, and look how he ended up... oh wait... no, dont)
 
hawk said:
Well, I've never tried Elixirs myself so can't speak for them, but I stand by my statement that most of the tone, bright, dark, or otherwise, comes from the guitar.
Click to expand...



Elixirs have a thick coating of teflon. It kills all highs on any guitar. We are not talking about a normal string here, but a coated string. They make a major difference.

And by the by, for all thouse of you who like Elixirs, you are usually using D'Addario or GHS strings. Elixir buys other peoples strings, and then coats them.

Myself, I hate Elixirs. They just suck.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
.... We are not talking about a normal string here, but a coated string. They make a major difference.
Click to expand...

Ah, I didn't realize they were some kind of non-standard string. I'll be sure to stay away from them ;)
 
Light said:
Elixirs have a thick coating of teflon. It kills all highs on any guitar. We are not talking about a normal string here, but a coated string. They make a major difference.

And by the by, for all thouse of you who like Elixirs, you are usually using D'Addario or GHS strings. Elixir buys other peoples strings, and then coats them.

Myself, I hate Elixirs. They just suck.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

Do you have any proof Elixer buys thier strings from other string makers?

Moot point anyway, there aren't any coated strings available for nylon stringed guitars.
 
An excellent site that has real info on classical gtr string characteristics is
http://www.stringsbymail.com/stmanudisp.asp?tCat=1
It's not the usual merchandising copy quoted from a manufacturer’s catalogue that you usually see.

I ordered a batch of strings from them a while ago and did a weekend-long back-to-back string test, trying to dial in the recording tone of a particular guitar I have. Many of the strings I tried were ones I hadn't used before and I found the site descriptions to be pretty accurate.

Tim
 
Timothy Lawler said:
An excellent site that has real info on classical gtr string characteristics is
http://www.stringsbymail.com/stmanudisp.asp?tCat=1
It's not the usual merchandising copy quoted from a manufacturer’s catalogue that you usually see.

I ordered a batch of strings from them a while ago and did a weekend-long back-to-back string test, trying to dial in the recording tone of a particular guitar I have. Many of the strings I tried were ones I hadn't used before and I found the site descriptions to be pretty accurate.

Tim
Click to expand...

Looks like a good site with good prices.

I settled in on these strings some time ago:
http://www.stringthis.com/41s010.html

Always fresh and don't come apart in extreme heat.
 
philboyd studge said:
Do you have any proof Elixer buys thier strings from other string makers?

Moot point anyway, there aren't any coated strings available for nylon stringed guitars.
Click to expand...


Yeah, they told me so.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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