Nylon String advice

[Cooperro]

Simple advice - I'm getting my new Taylor GAce-N-FLTD for Christmas. It comes with D'Addario EJ44 extra hard tension strings. I see there are also EJ44c extra hard tension composite strings, apparently with a wound G, that brings out the trebles a bit more, and eases the transition from the bass strings to the treble. Anyone have any pros-cons or experience? Or, should I just stick with what they came with?

[randalljazz]

no simple answer. buy strings one set at a time, work your way through the various brands and tension levels (make notes if you need).

what is the "best" for you will depend on your technique, your fingers (and nails or lack thereof), your sound ideal (which will evolve over time).

many, many good to excellent brands on the market. the cheapest junk string is probably better than tarrega or any of the early masters had access to. you will find all sorts of advice here and on classical guitar sites.

enjoy your quest for perfection.

[kris]

Nylon strings...I like D'Addario EJ48.

[fumblefingers]

i prefer Savarez 500AJ



500 Series - Corum Alliance, Corum Cristal, Corum PR

[ronjazz]

There are so many, it's difficult, but the D'Addarios are consistent and last quite a while. Lots of top players are happy with them, including John Williams, one of the very best on nylon. Paco de Lucia favors Luthier strings, set 20, I like the Luthier set 35 for jazz; flamenco-classical crossover. I use a L Bella wound .060 for my 7th string on all of my nylon 7s, that's a good string.

[Dave70]

I'd use the strings it came with for a while and then try others... I have tried a set with wound third, but didn't like the feel on my nails.

[JimBobWay]

Too many choices. Having tried dozens though, I use Augustine Reds on my acoustic & acoustic/electrics and they are consistently stable, and sound great. I travel with a Yamaha silent classical and I use that to experiment. I have had everything from Savarez 520's to Ernie Ball Earthwounds to the infamous LaBella black nylon strings on it. Doesn't seem to matter, since I play it through a Pandora, and those funky LaBella's last forever.

[bohemian46]

D'Addario Pro Arte consistent and modestly priced.. predictable and good tone and playability

[kris]

D'Addario Pro Arte consistent and modestly priced.. predictable and good tone and playability

+1

[krusty]

The quest for many is the transition between wound and unwound strings, and the evenness of sound at the transition. I have tried many, many brands of strings and have found some that were unsatisfactory, many that were OK, and several that were magnificent. There is unlikely to be one single model of string that will be the only one that will work with your guitar. Just keep trying some and make sure you give them sufficient time to 'settle' and give you their full potential before rejecting one. Some people go as far as to use strings from several different sets to put together their 'perfect' set. Their hearing must be much better than mine, and they must have far more free time than I do.

That being said, I really like both the D'Addario composites as well as the new titaniums. I have also had excellent results using fluorocarbon fishing line for the treble strings along with the composite-core basses from D'Addario, but the fishing line route is probably one you should avoid for now, as it requires quite a bit of searching online to find the generally-accepted models and weights from the one particular brand that seems to be accepted as best. Try the Delcamp forums for research into this topic.

[Frinkcom]

There are so many, it's difficult, but the D'Addarios are consistent and last quite a while. Lots of top players are happy with them, including John Williams, one of the very best on nylon. Paco de Lucia favors Luthier strings, set 20, I like the Luthier set 35 for jazz; flamenco-classical crossover. I use a L Bella wound .060 for my 7th string on all of my nylon 7s, that's a good string.

Do you have a 7-string classical? Brazilian model? Custom-made or where did you get it?i

[ronjazz]

I have 3 nylon strung 7-strings: an inexpensive Giannini from Brazil with a K & K 4-element transducer installed, a Bartolex cutaway custom with RMC pickup system installed, and an Aparicio flamenco converted to 7 with an RMC system installed. I am thinking of selling the Giannini and maybe the Bartolex to fund a custom-built 7. The Giannini, while not a great-sounding instrument acoustically, does sound beautiful plugged in, and is very easy to play; the Bartolex is a pretty nice instrument, cutaway, great for jazz and Brazilian music, a little on the dark side tone-wise for me (I prefer the flamenco sound), and has a little weirdness to it as I actually had my luthier widen the fingerboard by adding a strip of ebony, so there's a slight "shelf" on the bass side. Doesn't bother me in the least, but might bother others. In any event, if you're looking for a nylon 7, look at Gianninis, there are some good ones out there for less than $2K, and if I decide to sell mine, it would go for about $650.

[Jazzchief1]

+1

+2

[Dave70]

D'Addario Pro Arte consistent and modestly priced.. predictable and good tone and playability

+3

[rpguitar]

Another factor that enters the picture is scale length. The guitar you're mentioning is listed on Taylor's website as having a 25.5" scale length. Typically classical guitar specs cite millimeters, but Taylor is catering to a non-traditional audience (steel string players who want a nylon guitar). When I do the conversion it comes out to 647.7mm. That's a hair shorter than the typical 650mm classical guitar scale.

I have found with my nylon guitars that certain strings work better in terms of intonation for different scale lengths. Luthier brand seems to be good with the longer scale guitars (660mm and above). I use D'Addario Pro Arte on my 655mm flamenco and my 650mm 1971 Giannini Craviola. The composites bring out a little more brightness, and the coffee colored G string feels less flabby than a typical clear nylon one.

End of the day, just experiment - it's the only way to find out. There's nothing magical about the strings any guitar manufacturer equips their guitars with from the factory.

[peterk1]

I just bought a similar Taylor and I'm finding that the default strings are not providing much punch on the high b & e strings. I'm going to try a brand new pack or two of the D'Addarios since I think the guitar was hanging on the wall for quite a while before deciding, but I have a feeling I will be looking for a bit more balance between the high 3 and low 3, and some better volume out of the high strings.

Savarez gets mentionned a lot with Taylors on the acoustic guitar boards.

[Jazzchief1]

The Thomastic Classic S's are pretty amazing if price is not an issue. ($29.00 at Strings and Things), but you might need a little nut modification because of string diameter. They are the brightest strings I've tried and they seem to stay in tune better than most also.

[kris]

Anybody use GHS La Classique #2390?
I heard that these strings work great with piezzo pickups.