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sean 65: the la bella 820 is a throw back to the old days before the availability of technology to make great nylon strings. the 2001 series pretty much replaced the "old fashion" flamenco and classical strings. as to tension descriptions, you really have to take the adjective with a grain of salt. case in point: hannebach 815 super low tension strings are higher in tension that medium tension la bella (and a host of others). then there is the scale used to measure tension. labella uses a 655 whereas d'addario uses a 648 and hannebach uses a 660--or at least that is the conjecture since hannebach does not give out the scale length whereas labella and d'addario do. i will search around my excel files to find chart of several brands and the reported quantitative data (numbers) for those strings.
by the way, stringsbymail is far superior to strings and beyond in that one can buy bass only and treble only sets--a real bonus for those who like to mix and match as well as those who only need to replace bass strings. i personally go through 5 bass sets to 1 treble set.
here is the info. the hannabach data was converted from Newtons to pounds. the info is from the respective companies. sorry for the formatting problem. the strings start high E on the far left to low e on the right and to the right of that is the total poundage.
I've just fitted some Pro Art High tension last week so I'll try the La Bella next month.
I'm just toying around with different strings at the moment as all nylon strings are new to me. Over the next few months I'm sure some favorites will start to develop.
I like the Pro Art high tensions that I have fitted at the moment.
So those Conde Hermanos strings are made in the US, meaning they're probably made by D'addario. When it comes right down to it, there's only so much one can do with nylon.
Luthier is good. Labella is great for flamenco very percussive...the old 820 reds or blacks. The new ones 2001 suck. Conde hermanos strings are good too....seems to be or feel like a set of choice luthiers.
I agree with Ricardo, LaBella 820 can be a very nice string and they are not a step back in technology. I also agree that the 2001 series is a serious step back in sound. The 820b trebles have a very nice feel in the right hand especially in picado
Just two things, They dont fit all guitars, actually not a lot of guitars, and the trebles sound very dull the first 2 weeks or so (most nylon trebles the same). If your guitar like the trebles, leave them on. They last forever and sound better and better. My swing around guitar has 820b trebles which are 2 years old or more.
personally I play mostly with Luthier 30 or 20, sometimes la bella, depending on my mood. I like Conde strings but not their price.
I have made a very bad experience with Savarez bass strings. First day they sounded warm, but after 4 they were completely dead, as if i had played them for 1 month or more. I had to take them off after 4 days. Since one or two weeks i am playing Augustine basses and they still sound better than the fresh Savarez. Maybe it was just this set, but i don't know.
Would be cool to have a set where all the strings have identical tension.
La bella strings normally don't fit primera instruments, if you have a fabric made guitar thats fine then you can use Labella!
Luthier strings: set 20 is too thin, set 30 and 35 sound good but only couple days, then they are pretty much dead.
Conde hermanos has fabrication faults in their 5th strings and are too expensive, they tried to trick guitarists as they did with their guitars with less success this time !
Savarez are pretty ok, just have to find the set matching your instrument. Try the new sets like HT new christals normal tension.
D'Addario Pro-Arté: excellent sound, extreemly durable, nicely priced, they dont cost a lot and are high quality strings.
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Flamenco no tiene mas que un escuela, transmitir o no transmitir !
La bella strings normally don't fit primera instruments, if you have a fabric made guitar thats fine then you can use Labella!
Luthier strings: set 20 is too thin, set 30 and 35 sound good but only couple days, then they are pretty much dead.
Conde hermanos has fabrication faults in their 5th strings and are too expensive, they tried to trick guitarists as they did with their guitars with less success this time !
Savarez are pretty ok, just have to find the set matching your instrument. Try the new sets like HT new christals normal tension.
D'Addario Pro-Arté: excellent sound, extreemly durable, nicely priced, they dont cost a lot and are high quality strings.
La Bella can really be the best on some primera instruments. It depends on the guitar, and the sound you are after. If the set up is too soft, then the labellas don't work as well.
I have had good experience with Luthier and Conde Hermanos strings, and felt they were similar. As if Conde Hermanos strings were a choice mix set of luthiers. In fact Conde used to string their instruments with luthiers, and the luthier shop in NYC usa was the first exclusive dealer of new conde's in USA. So I just feel going for Conde "strings" is redundant when I can get luthier's easier or cheaper.
Daddario are good strings, reliable and in tune and easy to find. Saddly, they don't sound very flamenco, they are kind of flat and colorless. For me they "do the job", but are better for classical music. I will use them in emergency when I have run out of my favorite strings. Labellas have more of the flamenco character I am after...even on non factory primera guitars.
In general I say experiment with different strings until you find what ever brings the most from YOUR guitar, because your guitar is not the same as mine.
The guitars I have tried which have worked with LaBella 820B have been all prices. From an Alhambra 3f over some of my own guitars to a Faustino Conde which sounded awesome with the LaBella. With other trebles it sounded thin and "plinky" but with the LaBellas it had crunch and punch.
But it doesnt mean that all Faustino Condes, all my guitars or all Alhambra 3F works with LaBella 820.... It is a weird string but its always worth trying. But give it time. The trebles are extremely dull and plastic sounding when brand new.
I agree with most of what's been said. D'addario basses are too classical sounding for me. LaBella basses are percussive and crisp. But I have always gotten thin, weak sound out of the labella trebles so my "set" is LaBella basses, D'addario trebles. Works great on almost every guitar.
when you say Savarez, which one do you refer to. they have so many different strings. The red card is famous for sounding fantastic during one day Some others last a lot longer, like the corum basses.
I´m not a new basses junkie and I use my strings for some 4 weeks of playing 1,5 - 2 hours a day. Actually I like the sound when the strings are a bit older. then your hear the guitar more and the strings less and the sound gets less metalic and more woody. But this also depends on the guitar. some guitars need new basses all the time. (I dont like this kind of guitars)
I normally change string brands sometimes. I like to hear what the different brands do to my guitars.
ORIGINAL: Anders Eliasson Actually I like the sound when the strings are a bit older.
Depending on the brand of the basses, me too. Some bass sets get more dirty than others and that destroys the tone imo. I tried Savarez Traditional 520B and as i said the first day they sounded warm (=unflamenco) and i threw them away after 4 days. Sorry, no more Savarez for me ;)
I have bought 8 different bass sets and the one i liked most of them is Augustine (the cheapest ones) and Daddario composite (the brown ones), but they are expensive. Normal Daddario basses sound a bit unclear, hidden tone, a bit like the Chicuelo Encuentro. Augustine sound extremely clear, i noticed it the first second.
Just to add, it can be good to mix sets I agree with that too. I have had good success mixing La bella trebles and luthier basses on some guitars. And as I said, I sometimes have to use DAddario, just the basses usually, and the mix is "ok" and does a fine job to get through a gig.
I want to add, some strings as mentioned like Savarez are great for a few gigs then die quick. I like strings that have some extra length (like La Bella and Daddario for example) because you can re use the slack and get an extra gig out of em. Savarez are usually pretty short so you can't even use em more then 2x. Another reason I like la bellas cuz they are long. Luthier last pretty long for me unlike many others, but are a little short (not as short as Savarez though). I have a pro friend who gets free Luthiers from the maker in NYC (endorsement thing), and he requests them to be cut longer for this reason.
I've only been playing for a handful of years, but I have been loving Aranjuez Spanish Silver basses on my Valeriano Bernal. The trebles, not so much, but the basses are nice and bright and last about a month of playing an hour a day. I am currently using Savarez red card trebles, but am gonna order a bunch of different trebles to try over time.
I've fitted the 820B's and at the moment I'm in two minds.
On one hand they feel pretty good and the trebles have a fair amount of spank when played hard but make my guitar sound brittle.
On the other hand, I think they're quite an honest string and don't mask the cheap boxy sound of my guitar quite as well as the Pro Arte High tension strings did.
I think for a more advanced player with powerful technique and a nice guitar they'd sound a lot better.
I may leave the trebles on and try some other bass strings next month.
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Wow...2 years! Come to think of it, I guess there's not much to corrode or damage. It's just a nylon string. 
Another reason I like la bellas cuz they are long. Luthier last pretty long for me unlike many others, but are a little short (not as short as Savarez though). I have a pro friend who gets free Luthiers from the maker in NYC (endorsement thing), and he requests them to be cut longer for this reason. 
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