High tension strings and legatos (Full Version)

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trivium91 -> High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 11 2022 15:48:23)

Hi Guys,

I started with flamenco about 8-9 months ago, I originally started with Savarez CJ500 high tension. My question is pertaining to tension though as I found I really needed the larger strings as my nails were catching with tremolos and what not. Now that I have a good base of skills and have a much better nail regimen which involves filing my nails so they look slanted, im wondering if I shouldn't switch back to normal tension for the sole reason that Vicente amigo uses normal among many other players. Since Vicente is my flamenco idol, im wondering WHY he uses normal tension. On the other hand I like a nice low action and the higher tensions minimizes the buzzing. I guess the other thing I want to improve right now is hammer on's as i feel they could be louder, would switching to normal tension strings help with legatos? Though I imagine alzapua and picado would be better with high tension.

Interestingly enough, the tomatito normal tension savarez strings are more similar to savarez 500CJ normal tension strings than high tension. They also address the 1st string tension being higher than all the rest and also the tubby G string issue. They are expensive though no doubt, though I go through bass strings once a month and swap the trebles every two or three.




tri7/5 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 11 2022 17:55:47)

Why not just try and see for yourself? It's all an individual thing. Doesn't matter what Vicente uses, what you use could be different. No one can tell you this.




Ricardo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 11 2022 17:56:19)

High tension strings allow more bass response and give the illusion of a louder guitar. Raising the action does the same thing. I find, in general, if the guitar is set up well, normal tension strings are more balanced across the scale. If a guitar is too soft and buzzy low action, higher tension strings can off set that a bit. So I also prefer normal tension strings if possible.

Savarez tend to be harder than normal tension, so their “normal” tension compares to say Daddario hard tension IMO. The Tomatito strings break…I went through a couple packs and so did my colleagues when they were first on the market. I watched Low E, D, and high E strings pop on stage…in the same gig. It was hilarious. In my case it was the A string that popped, twice. This never happens to me with any other brand (unless the strings are super old, and always the D string only). They sounded great for the few hours they lasted, and my colleague got them cheap through a friend working at the store. This was back in like 2013 so perhaps quality control has addressed the issue? I wouldn’t know I simply avoid ‘em.

You can read the old comments here:
http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=228953&mpage=1&p=&tmode=1&smode=1&key=tomatito%2Cstrings




AndresK -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 11 2022 23:23:44)

Not only Vicente uses normal tension but also has lower than "normal" flamenco action on his guitars too. That means extra buzzing, which is actually very nice the way he does it. I get much less buzzing from my basses compared to when I started playing flamenco, just because the way I hit the strings changed with experience. Yes, I fell legato are much easier with lower tension strings so I go for normal tension almost all the time.

Ricardo is right. Savarez normal tension is harder than D'Addario normal tension. Some players need a certain feel of tension on their guitars so they match the strings accordingly. So if a guitar is giving them more tension that they are used to they put lower tension strings on that specific guitar.

Vicente has a cooperation with the solera strings company and he has a set with his name if you want to try, calling it Alma. That have a "professional" package that has 4 sets of basses and 2 sets of trebles so you can do what you say with the changing of the strings. It is even lower in tension that the ej45. They have the same numbers as the la bella 427 which in my experience are very comfortable to play with.




orsonw -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 12 2022 12:29:50)

quote:

On the other hand I like a nice low action and the higher tensions minimizes the buzzing. I guess the other thing I want to improve right now is hammer on's as i feel they could be louder, would switching to normal tension strings help with legatos?


Each person finds the set up that's the best compromise that works across all the techniques. Different strings, action etc.. on a guitar might make a difference for you, it's worth experimenting. e.g. I generally prefer harder pulsation guitars, and I find different guitars work best with different tension strings, and/or 12th fret actions.

I also recommend exploring your potential to improve your ligado technique.

You might find this Pepe Romero lesson helpful.





trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 12 2022 15:48:42)

Interesting, well I use savarez hard tension so perhaps thats why im struggling a bit to get good volume on hammer on's. I like them for alzapua and picado, though im curious to try the tomatito strings. Yes Vicente Amigo apparently uses D'Addario pro Arte strings, pretty much run of the mill strings here in North America. Though admittedly my hands are pretty strong due to heavy weight lifting for 15 years.

Yes I constantly break the D string no the savarez set, usually by the fourth week. Im also not a string nazi that changes them every week as im less concerned about sound quality and more concerned about practice time if im just playing for myself. Considering as I only picked up flamenco 8 months ago, I mostly play for myself. It takes me 45 minutes to change a full set of strings due to the fact you have to tune the strings 10 times in the first 20 minutes.

Im playing the Cordoba Paco F7 (Negra) which came with hard tension savarez strings, I've been buying them up in bulk since the bass strings don't last long at all, by the fourth week they sound like crap and I play on average 1.25 hours a day 7 days a week.




orsonw -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 12 2022 17:09:19)

quote:

Yes I constantly break the D string no the savarez set, usually by the fourth week


I use D'Addario pro Arte because the basses don't break. I prefer the sound of Luthier or Labella, but prefer the long life of D'addario, I don't mind their neutral sound and they intonate well and feel good under the fingers.

For me with all other string makes the D strings breaks after 4-5 weeks. The winding wears on the fret and then the string breaks. More life can be got by a weekly restringing of the same string but moving the string along so a fresh bit is on the fret.




Ricardo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 12 2022 17:51:58)

quote:

It takes me 45 minutes to change a full set of strings due to the fact you have to tune the strings 10 times in the first 20 minutes.

Im playing the Cordoba Paco F7 (Negra) which came with hard tension savarez strings, I've been buying them up in bulk since the bass strings don't last long at all, by the fourth week they sound like crap and I play on average 1.25 hours a day 7 days a week.


As much as I loved the sound of Savarez, yes they used to die very quick so I stopped using them. If you want advice on changing sets, this is what I do. Two or three minutes per string, I start with trebles and and end with basses (in order 1-6). I tune SHARP by half step (F,C,G# etc). Each new string that goes on I tie it on the roller, with all slack pulled hard, then re tune the previous string(s). I don’t take off old strings at once, replace one by one. By the time I put on the low 6th, the entire guitar is almost settled, SHARP by half step, and I check the whole guitar and play a little bit on it. Only about 15min or so, and I am done. It goes in the case, in the car, and by the time I get to the gig, the strings have all pulled DOWN to concert pitch and it’s ready to play.




trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 12 2022 18:05:52)

I just swapped in a set of D-addario Pro Arte EJ45 and I love them, though have to rework my picados. They are so much easier to play and just need a light touch, my hammer on and legato with my pinkie is better than ever. Ill continue using them and see what I want to do. The bright side is my hands are really strong now from the savarez high tension but honestly im running into hand injuries for the past few weeks so I needed to change something anyways in addition to the stretches I introduced. I think I really needed the high tension savarez when I was starting out as they are easier to control, now that I have more finesse and control I can go with something lighter. I venture to guess my guitar came with them despite being a flamenco guitar because most people that play flamenco, play rumba. For the stuff im learning to play the high tension doesn't work well, especially for the pinky. I did lose some of the bass but I have a cedar top negra anyways so still lots of bass, it also has a more flamenco tone.

I have not found a need to raise the action though, I like a low action with some buzz. The downside is I have 6 sets of savarez HT strings I won't use.




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 12 2022 21:39:07)

quote:

I guess the other thing I want to improve right now is hammer on's as i feel they could be louder, would switching to normal tension strings help with legatos?


"legato" is a term relating to articulation and means notes are smoothly joined together.

As opposed to "staccato" where the notes are sharply separated.

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with hammer-ons or pull-offs - the word for those is "LIGADOS"

jus sayin... [;)]




Richard Jernigan -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 14 2022 2:57:00)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mark indigo

"legato" is a term relating to articulation and means notes are smoothly joined together.

As opposed to "staccato" where the notes are sharply separated.

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with hammer-ons or pull-offs - the word for those is "LIGADOS"

jus sayin... [;)]


Diccionario de la Real Academia Española https://dle.rae.es/ligado

Ligado

3. m. Mús. Unión de dos puntos sosteniendo el valor de ellos y nombrando solo el priimero.

4. m. Mús. Modo de ejecutar una serie de notas diferentes sin interrupción de sonido entre unas y otras, por contraposición al picado.


[4. Mode of executing a series of different notes without interrupting the sound from one to the next, in contrast to staccato.] In Italian and English, "legato."

Diccionario https://dle.rae.es/picado?m=form

8. m. Mús. Modo de ejecutar una serie de notas interrumpiendo momentáneamente el sonido entre unas y otras, por contraposición al ligado.

[Mode of executing a series of note, momentarily interrupting the sound from one to the next, in contrast to legato.] In Italian and English, "staccato."

Despite what the Diccionario says, you might not immediately make yourself understood to a flamenco guitarist by calling hammer-ons and pull-offs "legatos." However many Italians and Spaniards find their languages to be almost mutually intelligible.

Both flamenco and classical guitarists speak a slightly different language from wind or bowed instrument players.

In english "slur" often applies to only a few connected notes, "legato" usually describes a longer passage. On a wind instrument you can play a passage without tonguing articulation for as long as you have the breath to do it. On a bowed instrument you can play without articulation until you reach the end of the bow.

When he conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, Stokowski invented a unique legato sound in the strings by splitting the bowing within sections so that in long legato passages, half the section was in the middle of the bow as the other half reached the end, etc. More bow could be used, creating a fuller sound, without having to try so hard to conceal the inevitable articulation when reversing direction.

This technique was continued by Ormandy and subsequent conductors--though the last time I heard the Philadelphians in person years ago they weren't quite as lush sounding under Muti as in the Ormandy days.

On the guitar or piano each note has to be sounded. "Legato" on classical guitar means no separation between notes, and a very gentle right hand action.

RNJ




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 14 2022 22:01:04)

quote:

Interestingly enough, the tomatito normal tension savarez strings are more similar to savarez 500CJ normal tension strings than high tension.


The Savarez Tomatito sets are made up of pre-existing Savarez strings. The basses are Cantiga, the 3rd is Alliance (fluorocarbon) and the 1st and 2nd strings are New Cristal, so the Tomatito sets are identical to the Creation Cantiga sets. I even had a set of Tomatito with some of the individual strings wrapped in Cantiga paper envelopes instead of the Tomatito paper envelopes. Strings identical.

I dunno if the problems some have had with the 4th breaking on the same day they were put on were to do with a dodgy batch, or something else, but I never had a problem with them when I was using them (on Conde A26, now sold, and on Conde A25R which I still have). They take a little while to settle, and sound totally brilliant for at least a while before they wear out.

Sure D'Addario last longer, they never seem to actually wear out, and never break, but they always felt stiff and inflexible to me on those guitars compared to the Savarez, and sounded like worn out dead from when I put them on (again in comparison to the Savarez).




trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 15 2022 0:52:51)

Interesting, ive found the opposite just now that daddario pro art being more flexible than savarez crystal corum. Granted the savarez i was using was high tension and the daddario i just put on were normal tension. Also there is a huge difference in tension between the first and second string with savarez which makes it challenging to do past picados. As far as the sound i agree that savarez sound nice but like others have mentioned they dont sound good for long, i also kept breaking the D string.




kitarist -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 15 2022 8:04:00)

quote:

Also there is a huge difference in tension between the first and second string with savarez


Speaking of the carbon trebles (Alliance), actually, there isn't, once the strings are tuned up on the guitar. The e1 string stretches a lot more than the b2 string, the end result being the on-guitar tension of e1 drops more, getting closer to that of the b2 string.

In fact this is why the calculated tension shown on the package is the way it is - the strings are designed with that differential stretching in mind so that the tension profile will get flatter once the strings are tuned to pitch.




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 16 2022 20:09:55)

quote:

Interesting, ive found the opposite just now that daddario pro art being more flexible than savarez crystal corum.


I was comparing d'addario pro arte to savarez tomatito/cantiga. corum might be different again. I have no idea how corum compare to cantiga.

quote:

Granted the savarez i was using was high tension and the daddario i just put on were normal tension.


and given that, as Ricardo has said above, Savarez strings tend to be generally higher tension than other brands, you are actually comparing extra high to normal!




trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 17 2022 18:21:24)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mark indigo

quote:

Interesting, ive found the opposite just now that daddario pro art being more flexible than savarez crystal corum.


I was comparing d'addario pro arte to savarez tomatito/cantiga. corum might be different again. I have no idea how corum compare to cantiga.

quote:

Granted the savarez i was using was high tension and the daddario i just put on were normal tension.


and given that, as Ricardo has said above, Savarez strings tend to be generally higher tension than other brands, you are actually comparing extra high to normal!


Yes valid points, though I believe the tomatito strings are corum basses and crystal treble from their regular line, though the tensions or mixed a bit compared to the regular crystal corum. The carbon G string is something else though. Might be worth trying a set anyways in normal tension, kind of done with high tension...seems better suited to rumba more than anything else.




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 18 2022 21:30:21)

quote:

I believe the tomatito strings are corum basses and crystal treble from their regular line, though the tensions or mixed a bit compared to the regular crystal corum. The carbon G string is something else though.


I don't think so.

As I already said: "The Savarez Tomatito sets are made up of pre-existing Savarez strings. The basses are Cantiga, the 3rd is Alliance (fluorocarbon) and the 1st and 2nd strings are New Cristal, so the Tomatito sets are identical to the Creation Cantiga sets. I even had a set of Tomatito with some of the individual strings wrapped in Cantiga paper envelopes instead of the Tomatito paper envelopes. Strings identical."

From what I remember when I checked the specs against other Savarez strings the tensions aren't mixed.

Also, there were several threads about these strings when they first came out;

(about half way down the page of this thread someone posted "Looks like a mixture of their strings rather than a new kind. They tell you that the trebles are New Cristal for the top two and an Alliance for the 3rd. If you look at the numbers it seems that the basses are Cantiga."): http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=174313&mpage=1&p=&tmode=1&smode=1&key=savarez%2Ctomatito


(second post on this page says "Nope, they are Cantiga-Cristals but with an Alliance 3rd"): http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=228953&appid=&p=&mpage=2&key=savarez%2Ctomatito&tmode=&smode=&s=#270536




trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 18 2022 22:43:55)

ill pickup some in normal tension to try next time I place a strings by mail order, definitely worth a shot. My fingers are thanking me though since switching from crystal corum HT though, my legato and hammer on's have improved aswell. I also noticed my picado has improved aswell, the lower tension just seems to give me better control.




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 19 2022 14:25:57)

quote:

my legato and hammer on's have improved aswell


what about your staccato and pull offs?[8|]

as I already said: "legato" is a term relating to articulation and means notes are smoothly joined together.
As opposed to "staccato" where the notes are sharply separated.
It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with hammer-ons or pull-offs - the word for those is 'LIGADOS'."

and by the way, if/when you go to spain you will hear them referred to as "LIGAO", at least if you are in the south and/or talking to flamencos....




Ricardo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 20 2022 19:47:05)

quote:

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with hammer-ons or pull-offs - the word for those is 'LIGADOS'."


Ligado=bound or tied together, aka “legato” or “slur”, not individually articulated.
Legado=legacy.




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 21 2022 22:49:04)

quote:

Ligado=bound or tied together, aka “legato” or “slur”, not individually articulated.
Legado=legacy.


As I understand it, the word "Ligado" is Spanish, and the word "Legato" is Italian.
They both have more or less the same literal meaning: tied or bound, deriving from the Latin "Ligare" to bind.

In 30-ish years of learning/playing flamenco guitar I have only ever heard hammer-ons and pull-offs referred to as "ligados", never as "legatos" EXCEPT in some cases of poor translations of Spanish to English made by non-English speakers or non-musicians who have basically used a literal type translation to render the Spanish word "ligados" into English with the Italian word "legatos" (like an auto-translate or a literal and un-idiomatic dictionary translation).

I never studied classical guitar before flamenco, but have dipped into classical guitar method and technique books out of curiosity, and in the sources I have looked at hammer-ons and pull-offs have never been referred to as "legatos" but have also been referred to as "ligados". Legato has always been used to refer to smooth connected playing, regardless of the use of hammer-ons or pull-offs.

Many words have general meanings in Spanish and/but specific meanings in flamenco: compás, remate, duende etc. etc. IMO it is better to keep the Spanish words than constantly try to render them into English as bar, killing off, elf etc. Same with "ligados" especially when that word is used specifically in relation to the Spanish (flamenco or classical) guitar to mean hammer-ons and pull-offs, while "legatos" is an Italian word with a general musical meaning relating to articulation.

I have taken a look around the net to check this out a bit, and noticed the wikipedia article on "legato" in music has a section on guitar which starts "In guitar playing (apart from classical guitar) legato is used interchangeably as a label for both musical articulation and a particular application of technique" and goes on to talk about electric guitar. I think it is fairly safe to include flamenco with classical guitar as an exception to the use of "legato" interchangeably as a term for both articulation and technique. I have no idea if "legato" is actually used interchangeably as a term for articulation and technique in other guitar styles - there are no references to back up any of this wikipedia article.

I also came across a guitarist called "Vic Dillahay" as my search terms turned up a page on his website with this:

"Legato (Italian for “tied together”)

Bound together. Performance of music so that there is no perceptible pause between notes, i.e. in a smooth manner, the opposite of staccato.

The Oxford Dictionary of Music

Ligado (Spanish for “connected”)

A guitar technique in which a note is sounded either by pulling sideways or by hammering down on a string on the fingerboard using a finger of the fretting hand.

The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition

So, guitarists often use ligado technique as part of legato phrasing. We can also pick legato phrases and use ligado to play staccato."




Ricardo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 22 2022 16:38:57)

Yes, because there are guitar specific terms. Arpeggio is Italian, arpegio is Spanish… but both take on MULTIPLE meanings. It can be musical (separated notes of a chord) or technical (right hand finger formulas). Picado also means staccato but we think of it as either apoyando (rest strokes) or SCALES, even then picado can be used to play arpegios (music) and ligados or RH arpegio formulas can execute scalar lines. So in this sense of multiple meanings and context, LEGATO is a perfectly acceptable usage to imply LH slur phrasing.




mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 22 2022 19:47:43)

quote:

LEGATO is a perfectly acceptable usage to imply LH slur phrasing.


Except that, AFAIK, "Legato" is not used in flamenco guitar, or even classical guitar, to mean the left hand technique of hammer-ons and pull-offs. The word used is "Ligados".

Like I said, the only time I have come across it in flamenco is bad translations from Spanish to English by non-native English speakers (and I mean bad in lots of idiomatic and grammatical ways, not just that one word).

Of course, anyone can use any word to mean anything they like...

A friend of ours got a new pet, a dog, and called him Henry.

When we saw her I said, "how's it going with Henry?"

She said, "Oh, great, I love going dogging"

"You what?!"

"I really love going dogging"

"You do know what that means, don't you?"

"Yeah, it means taking your dog for a walk"

"er, no, it means something quite different to that"

"well, it means taking the dog for a walk to me"

"ok, but don't be surprised if you get some strange looks if you tell people you are going "dogging"!"

true story! [:D][:D][:D]




Ricardo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 23 2022 15:48:26)

Ok fine you can have your Ligado law. Called “la ley de Ligado de mark indigo y su legado”. However, next time someone uses the term “arpeggio” instead of “arpegio” I am gonna dog em.




trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Sep. 28 2022 18:46:45)

Just picked up a set of EJ45TT’s, I’ve been using them for a few weeks now and i love them. They are like playing on elastics since the bass set is far more flexible than the standard EJ45 set. They are daddario answere to the crystal corum’ s i beleive but they seem to last much longer without losing their tone so far and are far more readily available in Canada. Though i dont notice much tonal difference with the treble strings, i imagine and A-B comparison with identical guitars might show a difference.




kitarist -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Sep. 28 2022 20:36:11)

quote:

Though i dont notice much tonal difference with the treble strings, i imagine and A-B comparison with identical guitars might show a difference


They are the same old PA 6-12 nylon with a bit (2-3 %) of dye added (the 'titanium' part); their density is still the same 1.04 g/cm3 as normal musical nylon. So not likely to be objectively different in sound from regular nylon, but you might find slight differences from Savarez's "[New] Crystal" which is PA12 and has a slightly lower density of 1.02 g/cm3.




trivium91 -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Sep. 28 2022 22:35:09)

quote:

ORIGINAL: kitarist

quote:

Though i dont notice much tonal difference with the treble strings, i imagine and A-B comparison with identical guitars might show a difference


They are the same old PA 6-12 nylon with a bit (2-3 %) of dye added (the 'titanium' part); their density is still the same 1.04 g/cm3 as normal musical nylon. So not likely to be objectively different in sound from regular nylon, but you might find slight differences from Savarez's "[New] Crystal" which is PA12 and has a slightly lower density of 1.02 g/cm3.


Yeah i still have yet to try the tomatito strings in normal tension, they are just hard to come by in Canada and expensive. The EJ45TT's are only $46 Cad for a 3 pack on amazon.ca with next day delivery. If the EJ45TT are really the same treble strings as the EJ45 than I might aswell pickup a 1st E String EJ45 in low tension as they dont make low tension titanium. I find for picado the tension difference between the 1st and 2nd string is pretty severe and it throws me off so im interested in experimenting. Either way I love the dynacore basses, they are a huge step in the right direction.

The perfect set for me I think would be a carbon G string in high tension, dynacore basses and a low tension 1st E string...everything else in normal tension. What I really like about daddario is that they last really long and maintain their tone regardless of how oxidized they look.




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