Hello,

I have recently purchased a new flamenco guitar and I am in the process of figuring out which strings work best on it. As you know there is a dizzying array to choose from. I am trying to narrow it down here. One thing that would make everything much easier is to eliminate sets with black trebles. I have never understood black trebles. For years I have been using La Bella 820 red trebles which I love, but every time I give black trebles a chance I find they sound dull and not bright at all which is odd because aren't these supposed to be more flamenco sounding trebles? At the same time, have you folks ever ever seen a big name flamenco guitarist using anything other than clear trebles? The only one who comes to mind is Manitas de Plata and he is really really not the person I want to be emulating!

I am going to try:

Hannabach 827
Luthier 30s
Savarez 520 R (red card)

For a start anyway...

Hola Tocaor
I usually use Luthier blue for my Requena and D'Addario normal tension silver clear for Gerundino and Reyes.
I never liked black strings for the same reason as you also I never liked red strings and usually I do not like the third G to be wound or anything else different.
I have tried Hannabach and I could not get used to them.
When I started I always used Savarez and at one time Augustine Imperial blue was OK too.
I like D'Addario because they alow the sound of the guitar to be heard without imposing a different type of tone and they feel good.
Saludos
Tomás

Hola,

thanks for this. I have been obsessing too much about this perhaps. But it seems to me that black strings just sound well, darker on my old guitar. With this one who knows? I read somewhere that most pro flamenco players use Luthier or D'addario or strings that are not marketed as being for flamenco. I am suspicious of black trebles now! But I have no choice now because new guitar means I should try at least a few types of strings to see what sounds best on this one. I have never liked D'addario on my old guitar, but hey that does not mean they won't be great on this one. I have to say this guitar is concert quality whereas the other was not, it was a Raimundo 145. I am going to give the D'addarios a chance because so many people seem to love them. I will go with Pro Arte EJ45. For Luthier I cannot wait to try the 30s, the blue like you use. I have heard they are great for this guitar by the man who sold it to me. The experiment will be fun I think of trying many strings in 4 months or whatever and seeing which are the best for this guitar!

Like everyone else, I have tried no end of different strings over the years. I have to say that – unlike many players – I hate D'Addario strings. I recently tried one I had never even heard of before – Galli Genius Nylon, and I like them a lot. They have an unusual sound, really unlike any string I have ever played. Hard to describe – maybe something like "glassy." They're also pretty long lasting, and in fact sounded even better after several weeks of steady play. Strings By Mail sells them.

The past few years I have been buying D'Addario EJ45 Normal Tension sets in ten-packs and using them on all my guitars, because have I liked the way they sound and because of their long useful life. However, my new Tsiorba blanca came with Luthier SET-40 bass and La Bella 2001 Hard Tension trebles. When they wore out I replaced them with a set of EJ45's, but liked the Luthier/La Bella combination better, so now I am thinking about trying that combination on my other guitars.

I haven't used black or red trebles since the 1960's, not because I remember them sounding bad, but because I haven't thought colored nylon would sound different and I have assumed that color is primarily a marketing gimmick. Maybe color dye adds a tiny bit of weight or changes nylon characteristics some other way, but from a purely theoretical perspective it is difficult to believe colored nylon actually sounds noticeably different. It would be interesting to conduct a blind listening test to learn whether there is truly a perceptible difference. (Ideally a double-blind test with both the player and listener blindfolded to be sure the player didn't play colored strings differently.)

-Bob

Hey Bob,

indeed I have also wondered about colored nylons. A double blind test does sound ideal to me. Ultimately, I can't help but notice that not one flamenco guitarist of note that I have seen uses anything other than clear nylon. Still, I remember the La Bella 820 red trebles sounding pretty great on my old guitar.

In other news, I checked out those Galli strings and I notice they come in Titanium and Carbon trebles as well. Does anyone have experience of carbon or titanium trebles? Uh-oh, whole new can o' worms!

I have tried both carbon and titanium trebles. The sound was phony in my opinion. Very metallic and had a strange ring that was really defined in overtones. I think one could get the same sound with a guitar made from aluminum with mellow strings on it.

So many factors to consider that experimentation is the only way. I use D' Addario J45 medium tension basses and La Bella 820 Black trebles medium. Longest lasting combination for tone and wear.

The J45 basses start out a bit crisp and metallic. but mellow to perfection for my taste in a couple of days. They also hold their tune better than any others I have used. I have tried almost everything strings by mail sells for classical and flamenco over the last few years.

I haven't found any D' Addario trebles I like. Either dull or the titanium is too metallic.

There is difference between La Bella blacks 820 and the 2001 blacks. Also a difference in the 820 red and black. The 820 black sing better than any treble I have used when vibrato is applied.

I am planning to try the bass 5 meter coils sold by the harpsichord maker when I get a some extra cash.

My favorite trebles for looks are the wine rose trebles by Hannahbach, but they didn't hold their tone long and I didn't like the feel.

The addition of a color to the string formula does add another chemical to the mix and it makes sense to me this is going to change the sound, etc. La Bella uses a little different formula for the 820B's and the 2001B's.

I have seen a few videos where master players use trebles of color, however not as common as the clear.

I cannot remember the brand that made the yellow tint trebles. Haven't seen any in years.

If I was wealthy I would use the La Bella Argento silver plate basses. Purest tone of any bass I have tried. Wear was better than other La Bellas, but not economical for a home player.

Hey Sam,

thanks for this advice. I think I will avoid carbon and Titanium for now. I can't deny that for sure there is a huge difference between the 2001 and 820 blacks. Is it just me or are the 2001s the epitome of how strings marketed as being "Flamenco" often do not sound flamenco at all. I don't know anyone who plays flamenco who likes these or uses them. Perhaps it was just a bad fit for my guitar. The 820 black trebles are the best that I have tried, but I still feel that clear nylon is brighter to my ears. The black trebles especially have a very fast decay. I suppose in a sense this sounds more flamenco?

Those argento prices are pretty crazy! Maybe worth trying once though for fun!

Anyone try out the Savarez Red Card 520R? I should mention that my guitar has top notch Spanish cypress sides and back and a cedar top which I know is more unusual. Still, this thing blows my old spruce top out of the water in terms of volume, sweetness and even brightness to a certain extent. The old guitar sounded very boxy compared to this.

I used Savarez Red card 520 bases almost exclusively back in the 70's. I used the 820 red trebles with them back then. When I started playing again about 7 years ago, I tried the Savarez but they only lasted me a few days.

Your cedar top isn't all that unusual. Ramirez is known for using cedar tops. A cedar top usually finds its tone quickly, where as a spruce may take much longer. Who is the maker of your new guitar? Is it a lacquer or french polish?

I used the Savarez 520 Red Card for years when I was performing. They are incredibly bright strings, especially when new. But the basses wear out by the time you get through one good Bulerias. I finally gave up on them.