Members hkey777 Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 Hey guys,I'm a beginner at guitar, and I need to get new strings for both my classical and acoustic. I really need advice on what kind of strings I should get. Can any of you guys suggest me some strings? I really don't know what brand I should get, nor do i know what gauge would be best for my needs. Like I said before, I'm a real beginner, and I need to get strings for both a classical and acoustic.
Members Freeman Keller Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 Do you know what they had on it? If not, what size guitar is the steel string (dreadnought, small body) and/or what brand & model. Most people are happy with light gauge steel strings and opinions vary over which is the best allow (I like phosphor bronze, PB). Most name brands - Martin, D'Addario, John Pearse, etc will serve you very well. By the end of the month I am planning to post some sound clips of how different strings (materials and coatings ) sound - until then pick up a package of some nice light gauge PB's. I know less about classical strings - when I built mine I used something that started with as S (Saverage or something?) in a hard composition. We have some classical players who can chime in.
Members hkey777 Posted February 16, 2007 Author Members Posted February 16, 2007 the steel string is a mini jumbo ibanez pc5 the classical is a montaya cb-700
Members Dave W. Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 Strings are a real hot subject with a lot of personal views. If you do a search of this forum using "strings" as the keyword, you will find endless posts and debates. Reading through those will give you far more info than I can type, which would be just my opinions. There are no "best" strings, but many types. It is an education in itself.
Members Freeman Keller Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 the steel string is a mini jumbo ibanez pc5the classical is a montaya cb-700 OK, a jumbo will be happy with lights (and so will your fingers). Right now I would stay away from the coated strings (like Elixers), but after I post the test results you can make up your mind. So, again, any good PB. On the classical, I remembered the name recommended to me was Savarez high tension
Members Dave W. Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 Savarez makes an excellent line of strings, but the choices can be a bit confusing. If you want to keep it simple, here is a link to the D'Addario classical string page: http://www.daddario.com/DADProducts.aspx?ID=4&CLASS=ADSA My Alvarez MC-90 came with EJ46, which is a hard tension, kind of middle of the road. I would stay away from extra hard tension. I like the EJ46 and will stick with them a while until I get the itch to try something n else.
Members nylon rock Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 For classical, I recommend La Bella 900 Golden Superiors. Try these, please. They are cables! They are not for wimpy, wimpy, wimpy fingerpickers who don't know what they are doing, but rather they are for fingerpickers who want their guitar to ring out. (I use a pick, by the way.) I never knew what this was about until a month ago when my new Lowden nylon string came with wimpy, wimpy, wimpy strings. I hated the guitar. I thought it completely sucked. So in desperation I put on the La Bellas which are the only strings I have ever used for 35 years. Period. What a difference!!!!!! The guitar awoke and decided it no longer was a tree. The strings are in the process of bending the guitar to its intended limit of resistance. At that point it has no choice but to sing because the tension of the strings leaves it no choice as to how it would like to reside. It fights off the tension and in so doing rings like a bell. These strings are polished so as to minimize string squeak. They have golden nylon treble strings. If you like you can order the same set with black nylon treble strings. When you use these strings, there is nothing see-through about their intent. The fact that they are not clear is a comfort when you finish playing something that was more expressive than you ever thought you were capable of conjuring up. What a pleasure they are. Find out for yourself. When I came back to playing guitar after a ten year respite and put these on, they stayed on for two years and still sounded great! They're a trip!!!
Members Dave W. Posted February 16, 2007 Members Posted February 16, 2007 For classical, I recommend La Bella 900 Golden Superiors. Try these, please. They are cables! QUOTE] Nylon, Will have to give these a try, thanks.
Members Phlat Phive Posted February 17, 2007 Members Posted February 17, 2007 I'd recommend La Bella over D'Addario classical strings as well. They have a bit more character, imo.
Members learn'r Posted February 17, 2007 Members Posted February 17, 2007 Classical string ..... I am very interested to have some more info. new one sitting here now and the classical guitar is all new stuff to me. I could not find the La Bella 900 Golden Superiors by using Google or going to stringsandbeyond.com
Members Dave W. Posted February 17, 2007 Members Posted February 17, 2007 Classical string ..... I am very interested to have some more info. new one sitting here now and the classical guitar is all new stuff to me. I could not find the La Bella 900 Golden Superiors by using Google or going to stringsandbeyond.com http://juststrings.com/labellaclassicalguitar.html at the bottom of the page. These guys have everything and are great to deal with.
Members Sparkytfl Posted February 17, 2007 Members Posted February 17, 2007 I played normal tension classical strings for years, recently tried hard tension. There's almost no noticable extra effort needed for the fretting hand, and the fingerpicking is much easier. Normal tension was so stretchy/floppy that they'd kind of stick to my fingertips instead of being plucked. Hard tension just works.
Members Phlat Phive Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 I played normal tension classical strings for years, recently tried hard tension. There's almost no noticable extra effort needed for the fretting hand, and the fingerpicking is much easier. Normal tension was so stretchy/floppy that they'd kind of stick to my fingertips instead of being plucked. Hard tension just works. I second that. Hard tension is the proverbial ticket. I use Hannabach strings, they're my favourite. It's a German brand, I'm not sure if they're available in the US, but if they are they're definitely worth checking out.
Members Stackabones Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 I'd recommend La Bella over D'Addario classical strings as well. They have a bit more character, imo. Sold! Good enough for Phlat, good enough for me!
Members Stackabones Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 I second that. Hard tension is the proverbial ticket. I use Hannabach strings, they're my favourite. It's a German brand, I'm not sure if they're available in the US, but if they are they're definitely worth checking out. What happened to La Bella? Dang it. We can get Hannabach, Phlat! I'm looking at them right now over at juststrings.com! Whaddya using?
Members riffmeister Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 my $0.02 on CG strings: a word about Hannabach.........their normal tension strings feel more like high tension in other brands. I tried high tension Hannabachs a couple of years ago and didn't care for them. of course, your mileage may vary...... my favorite strings are (all high tension) Savarez Corum basses with either Savarez Alliance or Cristal or a mixture of the two for the trebles, depending on the guitar. The Savaraez Alliance G string is my hands down favorite on all of my guitars, the choice between Alliance and Cristal B & E strings depends on the guitar.
Members Phlat Phive Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 What happened to La Bella? Dang it. We can get Hannabach, Phlat! I'm looking at them right now over at juststrings.com! Whaddya using? I'm using Hannabach hard tension flamenco. My guitar teacher keeps recommending me to use Hannabach extra hard tension, but I haven't been able to find those anywhere (I can't order online, don't have a credit card). D'addario Imho. I'm not familiar with Savarez. Keep in mind that my recommendation is also based on me using flamenco technique, which is very aggressive and really needs strings that can stand up to some punishment. That said though, it's also the particular colour of the sound that I like about them.
Members LaurentB Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 I'm using Hannabach hard tension flamenco. (...) Keep in mind that my recommendation is also based on me using flamenco technique, which is very aggressive and really needs strings that can stand up to some punishment. That said though, it's also the particular colour of the sound that I like about them. I play a classical Hopf with a mellow sound (cedar top I think), and I like Hannabach hard tension also very well. Great sound and last long!
Members Phlat Phive Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 I play a classical Hopf with a mellow sound (cedar top I think), and I like Hannabach hard tension also very well. Great sound and last long! Yeah, that too. I was using Royal Classics for a while, I liked the sound of those as well but I usually couldn't go a week without breaking one. Glad to see another Nederlander here.
Members Dave W. Posted February 18, 2007 Members Posted February 18, 2007 I reccommended the D'Addario's because as far as I can tell, his Montaya is a $100 starter guitar. It is probably all laminate. I think the D'Addario's will be easy to find, and sound fine on his guitar.
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