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Does anyone use low tension strings?   You are logged in as Guest
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por medio

 

Posts: 289
Joined: Nov. 15 2009
 

Does anyone use low tension strings? 
If you do (or have) which one do you recommend? (brighter the better please)

I've always used high tension and been pretty happy but I just thought, hey I wonder what I would sound like in low tension....

So, what do you think? Or does no one use low tension any more?
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 18 2010 15:16:25
 
Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
I used to play hardest tension coz of better control.. Now Im changing to medium because it fits better to my favourite guitar right now. The problem with lowr tension is the slapping sounds even during arpegios. That can be annoying.

I wouldnt go for low tension...medium is already low tension IMO. Very bright sounding strings are Augustine Gold. The basses sound also fabulous. These strings have 2 problems.
1. The melodystrings are known to often already crack while putting on the guitar. I ad that several times with Augustine blue in past. And the basses... They sound awesome when they are new. Never had a string as good sounding as augustine gold basses. The bad thing is, they get worse relatively fast and then sound not good. Also on a good guitar where bad strings still sound ok IMO.

In past I played Luthier 20. The are medium to low. The basses have the longest life for a string I know so far. The meody trings sound bright after a while.
Thats another problem. New melody strings never sound bright and crispy. They need to be played much for a while. Thats the reason why I change them as less as possible. Its always horrible to get through this period in the beginning.

Very weak good strings vave Savarez. Also very bright.

My absolute favourite are strings wich you buy and they arend curled up to a circle. I forgot the blend. It a german one. They are ****ing bight and the basescome close to augustine blue.

Right now..I go with augustine Gold but in parralel I chec Labella850B and some other makers.

I hope that helps. Im also thankful for more input.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 18 2010 23:14:04
 
XXX

Posts: 4400
Joined: Apr. 14 2005
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
What i like about low tension is that you have a better sound with less force. Only thing is the maximum volume is a bit lower and the strings respond different (it can be wobbly). I use Augustine or Daddario low tension for the basses.

When you compare strings never compare between different guitars.

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Фламенко
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 19 2010 0:55:27
 
HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
nope. not even my grandma. sorry!

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 19 2010 10:40:54
 
orsonw

Posts: 1934
Joined: Jul. 4 2009
From: London

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to XXX) 
I use hard or medium/hard tension. I like a stiff feeling in the strings but there's a balance, too stiff and rasgeo gets a bit lifeless.

Strings work different on different guitars both for tone and also the stiffness/tension i.e. The pulsation of the guitar effects how stiff the strings feel (it's not about scale length, search for Anders' description).

I will share my experience though maybe it's no help- every guitar is different, every player has different technique and tastes.

I recently bought a Conde media luna blanca and spent the last day trying different strings, (Yes I know one should leave them to settle but I'm impatient!)

La bella 2001 hard tension- too stiff/dull (These are good on my 660mm Sanchis and 650mm Bernal- see scale length isn't the only factor, actually the 650mm Bernal is stiffer with exact same strings)
La bella 850B- not stiff enough too rattly (These are good on an unsigned but great 662mm 1966 Conde)
Conde Hermanos hard tension -thuddy/dull
Luthier 30 medium/hard tension- For me these fit the 660mm Conde media luna, great tone and quite stiff which, I prefer but still with some buzz and good ligado. (These are too thin sounding on the 1966 Conde)


PS I searched many Conde media luna blancas and found them all disappointing until this one- now I know why so many of the top players use them- it's fantastic - it makes me sound better than I am (and it comes without the typical corny "roses" rosette). Even a dancer noticed this guitar and they usually couldn't care less.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 19 2010 10:55:42
 
itoprover

Posts: 343
Joined: Jan. 3 2006
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
IMO for low tension strings you would either have to have substantially high action or substantially long scale length. In the end it is all about the particular guitar setup but most of the players prefer a higher tension strings on a lower action guitar(2.0-2.5mm on the 12th fret) and relaxed (medium) tension strings on standard flamenco action (2.6-3.2mm). I think if the action is higher than 3.2mm it stops giving you snappy sound and starts to sound more towards the classical guitar sound.

LaBella 820B feel like low tension on both of my guitars.
I use Luthier 30 basses/Luthier 20 trebles on 650mm Conde with 2.5mm action height.
LaBella 2001 Medium flamenco basses/D'Addario EJ45 trebles on 650mm Green with 2.7 action height.

Tension differs from one string brand to another - i.e Hannabach mediums feel like high tension for me, La Bella 820B (which are advertised as medium) feel like low tension.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 19 2010 18:12:04
 
akatune

 

Posts: 188
Joined: Mar. 28 2008
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
I use low tension strings. When I played an electric and a classical guitar, I used high or extri high tension strings.

Now, I use softer strings on my Casa Montalvo blanca guitar. It just sounds better on that instrument. It gives me the bright sound I need for flamenco.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 19 2010 19:07:06
 
gato

Posts: 322
Joined: Jun. 9 2007
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
I just use the tension and thickness for the kind of sound I want to achieve. It all varies and getting acquainted with a variety of strings is a great thing to do, and you might even write down the results for your particular guitar if you have the mind for that.

Augustine blue is thicker than black, while I find the two string varietys are different I prefer black for much more intricate work, while blue seems to play simply and loud.

Of course what strings you use seem to best situate yourself thru availability, and right now the closest retailer for my day sells D'addario. It used to sell the Augustine and I could get what I wanted between blue, red, and black. I have a retailer much farther away that sells Augustine, and a large outlet near that that has all varieties. I don't have the time to waste. So I get what I can and I fill up a wooden box with the strings that I purchase and and I use what I have.

I am afraid it's all as simple as that. But, of course, having a variety to choose from when you do choose depends solely on the style of music, the required technique, and the sound, which go together, but you find your way and it's always a good idea to ask a reputable dealer. But not all strings play the same music which is my point and that's obvious.

Sometimes I will take advantage of different technique and sound for the strings that I will have on the guitar, and I will do that for the life of the strings and then change up, which is really something I have to realize, accept, and follow thru on.

Other wise I don't know any other reason to rate a string. Use what you can and apply it to your advantage is what I am saying. And most of all, do the work and apply yourself for the string and guitar to achieve the results. Acoustics is something else that plays in to that, and you might even find that when you can really hear your guitar it's easier to play. Muffled areas are terrible.
Gary
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 19 2010 22:58:53
 
Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
Man, these are great posts so far!

The good side on low tension is you get nice rasguado sound coz of the shattering, but at the same time, if the action is too low, or the strings too soft, it wastes up your arpegios. Usually when I play at home or with mic its no problem to overcome. I just play the arpegios with less force or I play each finger with another angle than usual. You get less shattering if you pull each string towards the next one during arpegio instead of "outside" of the guitar.... Understandable? :./ More ideas aout that?

I always wonder how crispy and clean arpegios Gerardo Nunez played with a very low action and very very much shattering during rasguados... I saw a gig lately when he used the guitar without mic in front of me...it shattered like hell.... Really messy..but the arpegios were clean. How come?
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 20 2010 0:02:45
 
mark indigo

 

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to Doitsujin) 
quote:

Does anyone use low tension strings?


yes.

the same strings sound and feel different on different guitars, or when played by different guitarists. it is very personal and i think the best thing is to try lots and work out what works for you.

i have tried everthing. normal tension, hard/high tension, extra hard/high tension. Savarez, D'Addario, Luthier, La Bella, Augustine etc.

At the moment i am using low tension, and i am getting a very flamenco sound with much less effort.

i don't worry about volume because people always say i am a loud player (probably because i play too hard, i am working on that), and anyway i use a mic/amp

At the moment i am using D'Addario Pro Arte because they seem the best all round. They settle in really quick, less than half the time of Savarez. They stay in tune, unlike Luthier which i was having to retune all the time. They last a long time, so i don't have to change strings too often.

Every now and then i try out different strings but i seem to keep coming back to these.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 20 2010 6:14:47
 
XXX

Posts: 4400
Joined: Apr. 14 2005
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to Doitsujin) 
quote:

ORIGINAL: Doitsujin
I always wonder how crispy and clean arpegios Gerardo Nunez played with a very low action and very very much shattering during rasguados... I saw a gig lately when he used the guitar without mic in front of me...it shattered like hell.... Really messy..but the arpegios were clean. How come?


yeah but this is somehow a placebo effect i think, coz until now on every show i have seen, when the guitarrist came off the mic for the buleria, the guitar sounded less big and more shattering. i also think that people who play alot with a mic generally have a different setup? dont know maybe its easier to mic a guitar with a lower setup than you would usually use. also the better the guitarrist the less force they seem to use, if i compare it with my own playing theres a big difference (those whom ive seen in workshops etc.). so, all in all, i think there is some truth in it that the pros prefer the lowest possible action.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 20 2010 12:51:00
 
gato

Posts: 322
Joined: Jun. 9 2007
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to por medio) 
I don't mean to sound so self centered, but it does help to have that quality about what you experiance with your guitar and strings, because it is about YOU, and what you experiance with your technique, physical attributes and limitations, your instrument, and what acoustic means you have to play the music you have chosen to play with your interperitation, that are experienced with your choice of guitar and strings.

A great teacher can only help you to find your way but in the end we all suffer and work towards the same end, and that is beautiful music or what ever we want to make.

We all work at it and to be blatantly honest with ourselves and make the trys and take the chances. It's what the artist experiances that is the scope of the experience. Sometimes when we don't have that state of independance we just cannot get to the real experience of true artistry, and for all aspects of our musical and aesthetic development.

I am seriously suggesting that in the end it's all up to the individual, and wether it's my guitar and strings or your guitar and strings, it's all different and with the different sound achieved. We all suffer in this independance or take it to the limits and really experience what success is due.

String threads can help you as do technique suggestions and they can also keep you bound to never take the challenge before you and work it out for yourself, which is of the ultimate in satisfaction. We have to do the work, and that means we have to pay the money, take out the strings, and use them, and see for ourselves.

This attitude will get you far with of course the careful use of valid and perfectly wonderful suggestion made by a lot of great people who are there, and I am not knocking that at all. Help goes a long way. But you have to really be the one I am afraid.
Gary
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 20 2010 14:15:47
 
por medio

 

Posts: 289
Joined: Nov. 15 2009
 

RE: Does anyone use low tension strings? (in reply to XXX) 
Thanks for all your input guys.

I have tried just about every strings that are out there already - except the low tension ones since I was put off by one particular set AGES ago (Augustine if I remember correctly).

I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and try a couple of different sets.

I'll let you know which ones I order and the result when I put them on.

  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jun. 20 2010 14:17:53
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