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Many years ago they were the only ones I could find selling only bass sets. I used em for a while, but only basses and I changed em so fast and often I never did a good comparison. They were OK at the time on my Ramirez classical, which was what I started out with flamenco on.
I just put a set of “Spanish Silver Set 200s” on last night and tuned up for a couple minutes of playing this morning. Pretty sure I got these based on a recommendation here on the Foro a while back. Strings By Mail sez they’re “preferred by flamenco players”. Looking at the descriptions of the other sets Aranjuez offers suggest that they’re better suited to classical.
First impressions:
Black trebles, silver basses. The basses are pretty short, so if you like to milk a lot of mileage out of your stings by sliding them down, you’re gonna be a little frustrated with these.
Seems like they settled in pretty quickly and evenly.
They’re listed as “low gauge” and they do have a pretty soft and easy feel to them, which I happen to like. Not as much buzzing as other lower tension strings though. These seem to be midway between low and medium.
Bearing in mind that I’m coming off the absolute worst set of strings I’ve ever subjected my guitar to (La Bella 2001. Boooooo!), these sound and feel pretty good. Nice woody, raspy tone. Sounds flamenco to me…..
Can’t attest to their long-term viability yet, but so far they pass the test…..
I have Aranjuez 200s basses on my guitar currently. I'm accustomed to Savarez reds and CAs, and D'A Pro Arte, so I'm adjusting to how supple they are. I'll be watching this thread with interest to find some other alternatives as well.
Bearing in mind that I’m coming off the absolute worst set of strings I’ve ever subjected my guitar to (La Bella 2001. Boooooo!),
I agree with that fully, also tried that crap once, no more Labella for me.
Last year once I tried base set of Aranjuez concert 400 silver, in my opinion they were medium tension. The tone was ok, the D string borke after 1 week! So far in comparing strings, D'Addario Pro-Arté (NT, EJ45 in my case) are the most durable strings.
I might try them with Titanium trebles which are perfect for flamenco playing.
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Flamenco no tiene mas que un escuela, transmitir o no transmitir !
I tried a few different types of Aranjuez strings on both flamenco and classical guitars, and found that they sounded good, but the basses broke very quickly. I haven't had that problem with any oher brand.
Also, some of them that are listed on Strings By Mail as high tension are actually low. (If I remember right, every set - medium or high - was lower tension than the corresponding ones in other brands).
I might try them with Titanium trebles which are perfect for flamenco playing
I too, thought so; however I found [D'Addario] Titanium trebles lacking in the lyrical sweetness which I believe is more pronounced in the traditional nylon, at least with both in D’Addario and Luthier 20 Supreme.
We often see reasons to blame strings for the shortcomings of our instruments or playing technique. We lay some hope on the tempting descriptions accompanying the assorted pouches. Tension, silver content, computer controlled quality, history.
Ultimately, changing the position of the guitar or the angle at which nails pluck or even shifting the thumb more carefully behind the neck, have affected my tone and sound quality more than any strings have.
Do you use the black trebles from the Elite Flamenco set? I once mixed them with luthier's basses, but felt them stiff under my fingers. I admit that I did not give them much of an opportunity to prove themselves.
After my hand surgery I changed the way I play to a lightest touch and the least amount of pressure, in obsessive horror of suffering yet another injury. I settled for the Luthier supreme n. 20 and they sound and feel fantastic, particularly after a week of mounting them.
Do you use the black trebles from the Elite Flamenco set? I once mixed them with luthier's basses, but felt them stiff under my fingers. I admit that I did not give them much of an opportunity to prove themselves.
i use the red elites. they take awhile to reach their potential, but once they do they sure are nice. they sound as pretty as they look.
i'll have to try luthier trebles next. i liked the basses under my left hand but they "gave in" too much under the right hand.
Well, Labella IMO are not smooth strings to play on. used them once the flamenco set 820 and thats it, never more.
It's true, my only experience of Aranjuez was also that they sound ok but the D strings breaks too fast.
Luthier is ok, but set 20 strings are too thinn! 30 & 35 are nicer to play on, normal size I feel, not too thinn.
I have also tried titanium trebles made by Luthier, they are fine, sometimes better than T2 made by D'Addario.
Try Galli titanium, not bad at all. however, in the long run no strings can beat D'Addario Pro-Arté , in my case EJ45 normal tension. my professional friends in Spain mostly use them and Savarez Corum.
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Flamenco no tiene mas que un escuela, transmitir o no transmitir !
ahhh noooo. Bought a heap of different strings to experiment, including 3 packets of Aranjuez Silver Sets. I put on the trebles and my guitar went from sounding good to dead at the bottom of a lake.
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“I’m retired now so the practice is down to just 4 hours” - Julian Bream
Luthier is ok, but set 20 strings are too thinn! 30 & 35 are nicer to play on, normal size I feel, not too thinn.
Im trying the Luthier 20's (popular supreme) right now. Just put them on tonite. They feel good to me. A bit thinner, but they have good bite, with a hint of sweetness. Much sweeter than D'addario.
The La Bella black trebles will not tune up on my guitar unfortunately, as i really like the bright spanky tone.
Luthier is ok, but set 20 strings are too thinn! 30 & 35 are nicer to play on, normal size I feel, not too thinn.
Luthier 20 is thin indeed and you dont have the total control of your strings. I use 20's right now but i think i'm going to change to Luthier 30 or D' Addario Composites Basses and Luthier 30 trebles.
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