NGD: "Best" nylon strings?

robinbowes · February 2019

I've just taken delivery of a Yamaha NTX900FM, which I'm really loving. It sounds superb - their ART System 61 pickup system seems pretty good.

At some stage, I'm going to want to change the strings, but I have no experience at all with nylon strings.

Can I get some advice, eg. what sort of thing to look for, any recommendations, etc?

Cheers,

R.

heavyrocker · February 2019

D’Addario EJ45 are one of the most popular sets. Very consistent quality, neutral tone and reasonable price. I’d probably start with them and see how you get on.

robinbowes · February 2019

heavyrocker said:

D’Addario EJ45 are one of the most popular sets. Very consistent quality, neutral tone and reasonable price. I’d probably start with them and see how you get on.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

I should probably add that I'll be using it amplified mostly, playing TexMex/Country/Latin-style music mostly, eg. Mavericks, Steve Earle, etc.

Cheers,

R.

sev112 · February 2019

I’ve been using d’addario pro arte (black) flamenco strings for the past year or so for a change, and I think they sound great

Whistler · February 2019

robinbowes said:
I should probably add that I'll be using it amplified mostly, playing TexMex/Country/Latin-style music mostly, eg. Mavericks, Steve Earle, etc.

In which case you might find hard tension classical strings suit you better if normal tension classical strings feel too sloppy. Look at D'Addario's Pro-Arte range, eg. EJ46 (which I use) or EJ50 (as sev112 uses).

robinbowes · February 2019

Whistler said:

robinbowes said:
I should probably add that I'll be using it amplified mostly, playing TexMex/Country/Latin-style music mostly, eg. Mavericks, Steve Earle, etc.

In which case you might find hard tension classical strings suit you better if normal tension classical strings feel too sloppy. Look at D'Addario's Pro-Arte range, eg. EJ46 (which I use) or EJ50 (as sev112 uses).

Thanks - I was wondering about that. I do find the current strings a little sloppy.

Thanks,

R.

DrHankWangfordSnr · March 2019

For a change - I put a set of John Pearse folk strings on my Nylon guitar. EAD strings are silver wound over nylon, while the trebles GBE) are nylon wound over 'rope' (their word, it looks like really thin wire). what you get is the relaxed tension of a nylon strung guitar with the sound of a normal steel strung guitar.

Not cheap though £20 odd a set. But interesting to try for a while.

Andy79 · March 2019

DrHankWangfordSnr said:

For a change - I put a set of John Pearse folk strings on my Nylon guitar. EAD strings are silver wound over nylon, while the trebles GBE) are nylon wound over 'rope' (their word, it looks like really thin wire). what you get is the relaxed tension of a nylon strung guitar with the sound of a normal steel strung guitar.

Not cheap though £20 odd a set. But interesting to try for a while.

I have some early lightly braced guitars that could possibly benefit from these. Great tip I’ll give them a try

octatonic · March 2019

Pro Arte's are ok but Savarez are a better brand IMHO, especially if you want volume.

Toms_Dad · March 2019

Shortly after I started taking classical guitar lessons some months ago I got into a discussion with my teacher about strings. He's a Concert guitarist of some repute in NW England.
I had just installed expensive Daddario carbons on my guitar and was getting a bit obsessed with it. His approach is just to use standard Daddario strings at £8 a set and change them regularly (a week or 2 before a concert certainly). I guess his view was that new strings generally sound better, but the difference to tone given by the premium types is less important.
Since then I have done the same and used standard Pro Arte strings (albeit I prefer hard tension).
I would think if you are amplifying it would make even less difference as you have all the flexibility of EQ on top.

Warblington · April 2019

I'd be inclined to experiment until you find something that you think is best.I used to use D'Addario until I tried Luthier strings.They just seemed to suit my guitar.The sound seems cleaner, tighter and balanced.I'm sure some of it was in my imagination but they did for me.

earwighoney · April 2019

Warblington said:

I'd be inclined to experiment until you find something that you think is best.I used to use D'Addario until I tried Luthier strings.They just seemed to suit my guitar.The sound seems cleaner, tighter and balanced.I'm sure some of it was in my imagination but they did for me.

Which sets have you used? I really like the 20 & 30 sets.

I've used D'addario nylon strings on and off and they are decent but I prefer Luthier strings and also a few La Bella sets. The 427 set might have my favourite trebles.

Warblington · April 2019

earwighoney said:

Warblington said:

I'd be inclined to experiment until you find something that you think is best.I used to use D'Addario until I tried Luthier strings.They just seemed to suit my guitar.The sound seems cleaner, tighter and balanced.I'm sure some of it was in my imagination but they did for me.

Which sets have you used? I really like the 20 & 30 sets.

I've used D'addario nylon strings on and off and they are decent but I prefer Luthier strings and also a few La Bella sets. The 427 set might have my favourite trebles.

Hi, I used the medium tension strings the 20's. It was my teacher who suggested them to me .

GTC · April 2019

I was a D'Addario Pro-Arte advocate for my Cordoba C10 classical - but last year came across the Savarez 520R High Tension (Red) String Set which are now my go to nylon strings. On the way I tried the Savarez 520 P1's which are a bit strange in tone and feel because all the trebles are wound. Tonally this gives very bright trebles with a rapid decay which would be great for some styles - but not mine.

earwighoney · April 2019

Warblington said:

earwighoney said:

Warblington said:

I'd be inclined to experiment until you find something that you think is best.I used to use D'Addario until I tried Luthier strings.They just seemed to suit my guitar.The sound seems cleaner, tighter and balanced.I'm sure some of it was in my imagination but they did for me.

Which sets have you used? I really like the 20 & 30 sets.

I've used D'addario nylon strings on and off and they are decent but I prefer Luthier strings and also a few La Bella sets. The 427 set might have my favourite trebles.

Hi, I used the medium tension strings the 20's. It was my teacher who suggested them to me .

The Luthier 20's are low tension, the 30's are slightly less tension than the EJ45 which is a mid tension set. I'm a flamenco player and I like the 30's on short scale guitars (650mm) and 20's on longer scale (655mm)

Greatape · April 2019

I liked Savarez' Alliance strings on my Taylor. Am trying the D'addario carbons presently. Maybe a little brighter.

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NGD: "Best" nylon strings?

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