Guitar players are very picky -- excuse the pun -- about their strings. Those of you who play nylon stringed classical or flaminco guitars might be interested in checking out Aquila's offerings, which feature for the trebles something called "nylgut." This is a kind of nylon composite that is supposed to have the tonal qualities of gut, but the longevity of nylon.Recently, I bought a couple sets of these, on for my guitars, cedar-topped classicals, and they certainly do make a difference. The longevity remains to be seen, but the tone is far superior and the volume noticeably increased over the standard D'Addario strings I have been using. They make a good guitar sound better, and they make a lesser guitar sound much better.
They come in several varieties. The basic model, Alabastro, includes the nylgut trebles and silver-plated basses. There are more expensive ones that have completely silver wound basses. (You can also get real gut and silk strings from the same maker, but those cost a fortune.)
None of them are cheap. I use the basic Alabastros in normal tension. (Classical players don't buy strings by gauge like steel string players, but by tension -- normal, hard, tension extra-hard, etc.)
If you live in Europe, you can get them direct from the maker here:
Aquila
David Kilpatrick, in the U.K., also sells them, and he's a good guy who will make you a deal if you buy multiple sets.
And in the U.S., you can find them here: Aquila USA.
These places also sell lute and uke strings.
I have often thought I should have gone with a classical style guitar when I bought mine. Still, while it is not as high end as yours, I love my Washburn and the way it sounds. Amusingly enough I favor D'Addario strings on mine. I tried Martin strings on a friend's recommendation and hated them. We sure can be picky about them strings alright. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have had the experience of hearing a guitar strung with gut and wound silver once, it definitely changes the sound of things.
I had the good fortune to study for a short time with an amazing gent in Phoenix who plays a rig strung that way on some of the tracks he recorded on his tribute album to Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John stories. Joe is absolutely one of the best and the album is totally worth checking out: http://www.whitetreeaz.com/cd/whofears.htm In fact all of Joe's albums are worth checking out and seeing him live is a treat not to be missed.
I once heard someone describe a place that musicians sometimes get to in their lives when they no longer play music but ARE music. Joe isn't just in that place, Joe is hiding in the bushes in that place making obscene Banjo noises at all the pretentious bastards who have managed to find their way there and passing the jug with a bunch of good ol boys from the hills who've been play'n music since their granddaddies handed them their first noise makers. :)
God I miss Joe. That's what I get for moving back up here to the Northwest.