Which strings on a classical guitar

Choosing the Right Strings for Classical Guitar

Choosing Strings for the Classical Guitar

The agony of choice

The selection of strings for one’s classical guitar, that is, the choice of strings, plays a crucial role in the sound and playability of the instrument. Knowing which type of strings suits one best comes with time. One develops a “fine touch” for the material and sound.

Unlike the steel-string acoustic guitar, classical concert guitars are exclusively strung with nylon or carbon strings.

Originally, concert guitar strings were made from gut, particularly from sheep, or from silk or rope. However, these natural materials were very sensitive to humidity and temperature changes, making them very unstable in tuning.

In the early 20th century, nylon emerged as a new material. It is much more stable against moisture and temperature fluctuations, more durable, easier to handle, and, importantly, it offers good sound properties.

The classical concert guitar is strung with three high treble strings and three bass strings.

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Treble Strings (e b g) from Nylon

Nylon has long been the standard for the three high strings, and nowadays, only a few manufacturers still produce strings from organic material. Nylon strings can also be dyed black, which is often seen with flamenco guitarists. Generally, nylon strings sound rather round and warm.

Treble Strings (e b g) from Carbon

For some time now, treble strings made of “Carbon” have also been available. They have roughly the same diameter but sound somewhat brighter and more metallic than nylon strings. Their great strength is certainly their performance and durability.

Some guitarists use a mix of nylon and carbon strings in their set, usually to replace the proportionally thicker diameter G nylon string with a carbon string. This provides a more uniform increase in string diameters and serves to improve playability.

Bass Strings (d A E) Wrapped Nylon

The nylon fiber core of the bass strings on classical guitars is wrapped with a thin silver-plated copper wire. Since the wrapped bass strings often produce sliding noises, some manufacturers offer polished and smoothed bass strings. These are often used in recordings but are significantly more expensive.

Various String Tensions (tension)

Apart from personal preferences for certain manufacturers, the choice of string tension is crucial for selecting the guitar’s strings.

The strings of the classical guitar are offered in various tensions, resulting from the hardness of the material. Classical guitar strings are available in:

Light Tension,
Normal Tension or Medium Tension,
Hard Tension, and
Extra Hard Tension.

For those who are unsure, I would recommend Normal Tension nylon strings.

Practical Tip:

For those who are unsure, I would recommend Normal Tension nylon strings. Strings with higher tensions sound somewhat louder and more powerful but are harder to press, meaning that playability is easier with lower tension. Finding a middle ground helps to get a feel for the string tension. Ultimately, extensive testing and experimenting can be done. There’s (almost) no way to go wrong— However, steel strings should never be used on a classical guitar, as they create very high tensions and pulling forces for which the neck of the classical guitar is not designed.

How Often Should Strings Be Changed?

This naturally depends on how much the strings are played. For playing time of half an hour daily, changing the strings approximately every 4 months is sufficient. Professionals, who play guitar for 3 hours a day, should change their strings more frequently.

The guitar strings wear out due to the mechanical impact of the frets. The frets create small notches on the strings, which negatively affect the vibration behavior of the strings. Also, small skin particles that get caught in the copper wire play a role. In addition, corrosion by humidity and sweat affects the guitar strings.

New strings have a great sound and are pleasant to play, so I recommend changing the strings rather “too early than too late” if you are unsure.

If a single string is damaged or breaks, the rule is: change all the other strings as well! A single new string would sound different from the others and create an inconsistent sound.

Ultimately, the choice of guitar strings is mostly a matter of taste and depends on personal preferences and expectations.

norman

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