Nylon strings recommendation please!

viz

For my classical guitar. What sounds nice and natural and doesn't need weeks of stretching.

richardhomer

I use D'Addario Pro Artes on my Taylor NS32ce.

I'd be lying if I said they don't require a fair amount of stretching - but they stabilise pretty quickly and stay in tune well afterwards.

They last well too.

thermionic

I know nothing about nylon strings, but the D'Addario Pro Artes (high tension) were recommended on here by several people. I put some on an old Flamenco guitar and I was impressed. Stretching needed was barely more than needed for steel strings.

randomhandclaps

richardhomer said:

I use D'Addario Pro Artes on my Taylor NS32ce.

Yep, same here.  They are all I've used for a good while.

marcus449

I used D'addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Normal for my Ibanez. 

Sounded great and lasted. 

Not weeks of stretching needed but do take a bit to settle down.

viz

Excellent thanks chaps, have ordered the mediums.

ICBM

All nylon strings take more stretching than steels, but the D'Addarios seem to need the least of all the big brands I've used.

Make sure you put the least possible amount of string on the machinehead roller - pull it really tight before tying it and winding on, as well as pulling the bridge end really tight first. That will minimise the stretching.

viz

Ok nice one. Problem is, they will slip out of the hole at the machine head end without a few winds - would you countenance placing the windings over the trailing edge of the string to pinch it tight to the tuning post?

earwighoney

I'm not a big fan of D'addario Nylon strings, they last a long time but their normal tension strings are a higher tension than some other brands. 

La Bella 427's are great as are Luthier 20's.  

richardhomer

earwighoney;945434" said:

I'm not a big fan of D'addario Nylon strings, they last a long time but their normal tension strings are a higher tension than some other brands. 

La Bella 427's are great as are Luthier 20's.  

If you play a heavily strung steel string acoustic - I use Marquis Mediums which start with a 13 - the extra tension on the D'Addario nylons is welcome, insofar as it makes the transition between the two guitars easier.

I use the 'Extra Hard Tension' set.

viz

I'm transitioning from 008s. Perhaps I should have gone with EWH's suggestion! Too late - anyway I'm sure I'll get used to them. It's only for one gig.

earwighoney

richardhomer said:

earwighoney;945434" said:

I'm not a big fan of D'addario Nylon strings, they last a long time but their normal tension strings are a higher tension than some other brands. 

La Bella 427's are great as are Luthier 20's.  

If you play a heavily strung steel string acoustic - I use Marquis Mediums which start with a 13 - the extra tension on the D'Addario nylons is welcome, insofar as it makes the transition between the two guitars easier.

I use the 'Extra Hard Tension' set.

I use John Pearse Mediums for acoustic guitars.  

Strings are a very personal thing.  

ICBM

viz said:

Ok nice one. Problem is, they will slip out of the hole at the machine head end without a few winds - would you countenance placing the windings over the trailing edge of the string to pinch it tight to the tuning post?

You need to tie them on at that end too. Line the roller up with the hole pointing parallel to the neck, poke the string through from the *far* side and pull it tight, then take the loose end over and then back under (in the direction away from the nut) the bit that should now be between the roller and the nut, so it's tied to the top of the roller. Now wind on - it won't slip, and yet still isn't difficult to remove.

Easier to do than to describe once you've done it the first time! It should look like this… as you can see there's only a turn and a half on the roller even when it's up to pitch.

http://i.imgur.com/dd9uEzZ.jpg

viz

Yep that's what I meant - perfect thanks matey.

mellowsun

I like the Pro Arte's with the composite third. Savarez Alliance Corum Reds have a better tone but they take weeks to settle down, they stretch like crazy. When first on, they sound amazing, but this seems to deteriorate a bit as they get stretched.