Choosing the Perfect Nylon Strings for Your Classical Guitar

How does one answer the question: “What is the best string for my guitar?” Or better yet, how does one explain the paradox of a well-designed, high-quality string on a really great guitar sounding absolutely lousy? Let’s face it, string technology has come a long way over the past fifty years and just about any major string brand is going to be of such high quality that no one can attribute poor performance to the intrinsic material and manufacturing qualities of the string. With that in mind, let’s take a different approach to explaining this. I recently had the opportunity to pose a few questions to well-known luthier and string designer/maker Juan Orozco of Aranjuez Strings. Perhaps, through this dialogue we might be able to come to some understanding as to why some strings work and others don’t.

What is the essence of well designed strings?

Well designed strings are the ones that enhance the sound that the guitar produces itself.

So are you suggesting that the quality and potential of the the guitar are really what determines how well a string performs?

Quality guitar strings help bring out the the best in a guitar if they are the strings that fit the instrument. They compliment each other. For example, if you have a flamenco guitar (with a thin top), the best guitar string that will match the guitar is a low gauge string, since the top resonates easier. Otherwise, if you place low gauge strings on a guitar with a thick top, the guitar is not going to project its sound to the fullest since it needs higher gauge strings to help the top vibrate more efficiently.

So how does one determine the best string for their guitar? There’s more to it than just trial and error, isn’t there?

Fifty percent of the sound of the guitar depends on the strings. So, when making strings for guitars, I have to consider that not every string can fit every guitar. Here, the decision is on the guitarist. This is why I have different choices for guitarists. Guitarists have an ideal sound that they want to get in their performances. For example, some want a warm sound so I might recommend my 600 Series. Others are looking for brilliant sound, then I might recommend the 500 series because of the brass windings as opposed to copper. Obviously, there are many choices and possibilities. When I manufacture, I want to create strings that can fit these different demands, but it is up to the guitarist to choose the correct strings considering the projection characteristics of the guitar they own. And the only way to do that is truly understand what gauge string is best suited for your guitar’s top and then try different strings and pursue or aim for that ideal sound.

How does tension impact the performance of a top, either positively or negatively?

I see this like this: a thin guitar top that deflects easily, demands a low gauge string for it to respond correctly. For example, early flamenco guitars were constructed with thin tops (Marcelo Barbero, Domingo Estesso, etc.). Strings from my 200 series are best suited for guitars like this. Put heavy gauge strings on one of these guitars and it is not going to respond properly, and you run the risk of the top collapsing. Guitars that have a thick top like those made by José Ramírez from 1962 and on, Fleta, Khono, etc. require more energy for them to resonate, would do best with heavier gauge strings, like those from my 400 or 600 Series. So as a rule, guitars with thin tops need a lighter gauge string and guitars with thick tops need heavier gauge strings to make the guitar perform its best.

What attributes of a string design determine what that set of strings can bring to that guitar in terms of tonal color/sonority?

I offer the guitarist different choices of guitar strings in terms of manufacture/design (tension, gauge, material, etc.) which will produce different sounds on the guitar. But, as I said before, the tonal color/sonority final decision is in the musician’s hands because it is in their technique that they can bring out ideal sound that they want to obtain from the guitar. In short, I supply the tools by offering a wide selection of strings, it’s up to the player to create the sound that they want using those tools.

Can you give me a couple of concrete examples of what combinations of options produce a different sound/result?

This is pretty hard to explain. We have customers that don’t get a full set of strings. Instead, they get the trebles from one set and the basses from another because that combination works perfect for their guitars (this is one reason why we have the bonus packs) but they recommend them to someone else and the combination doesn’t work at all. So, the options we offer are many, as well as the results. This is why we encourage the guitarists to not stay with one simple set or combination of basses and trebles, but to try different combinations and experiment. This is really the best way to achieve the sound they want to hear from their instrument. What I DO recommend as I mentioned earlier is that lighter gauge strings work best on thin guitar tops and heavier gauge strings work best on thicker guitar tops. In both cases the guitars will respond better. But, again, it is on the guitarist to experiment with gauge and other string design attributes to bring out the sound potential of their instrument.

Summary

I think we can glean from this conversation, several important points:

• There are many possible good working combinations of strings available.
• Know your instrument. Players need to truly understand the response characteristics of their instruments to determine what strings might work best for them. In short, their might be some "educated guessing" involved in zeroing in on the appropriate string for your guitar.
• Start out by determining the correct tension needed to bring out the optimum response in your top as the first step in achieving the sound you desire.
• Finding the perfect string is a function of your knowing your instrument, selecting the proper tension/gauge, and honing your technique to bring out the best in the strings, your guitar, and you.

Interviewer:
Chuck Marfione
Luthier/Co-owner of All Strings Nylon