PDA

View Full Version : Best Strings For A La Patrie Collection Classical Guitar


waljbt
01-24-2008, 01:25 AM
HI GUYS, WHICH TYPE OF STRINGS FITS BEST A LA PATRIE COLLECTION CLASSICAL GUITAR. SURELY THE TYPE OF STRINGS IS A MATTER OF TASTE BUT I NEED TO KNOW WHICH STRINGS PROVIDE THE BEST BASS/TREBBLE BALANCE. THANKS FOR YOU TIME.:smile::smile::smile:

Mooh
01-24-2008, 10:07 AM
Your ears will be the real judge, but I use D'Addario Pro Arte Composites (EJ44C) extra hard tension on my LaPatrie Collection. They seem to drive the top better and sound smoother than others I've tried, they're pretty loud too.

Peace, Mooh.

zontar
01-26-2008, 11:36 AM
Your ears will be the real judge, but I use D'Addario Pro Arte Composites (EJ44C) extra hard tension on my LaPatrie Collection. They seem to drive the top better and sound smoother than others I've tried, they're pretty loud too.

Peace, Mooh.

Agreed on the ears part--I use Augustine (http://www.albertaugustine.com/) strings--they sound great on my guitar--and most people I know with classical guitars use them.

They have 4 types of bass strings and they describe them on their site--the main info is applicable to all brands.
For instance, if your guitar has strong bass response, you may want to try our Regal Red or Regal Black sets. The tighter tension of the Regal trebles along with either Red or Black basses will enable you to produce a well-balanced and more consistent sound. On the other hand, if your instrument has a particularly strong treble response, your best bet is a set of Augustine Imperial Blue strings. Here you will get the benefit of our robust and powerful Blue bass string along with the less tense, yet beautiful and lyrical Imperials treble string. Once again, we would like to point out that we do not designate tensions for our strings. The best way for you to decide which of our products will sound best on your guitar is simple: try them all and let your ears be the judge.

I like the end part--try them all (of course that's better for them if we all buy all their sets.:smile:)

I use the red basses, as my guitar has a string bass--they sound great, and the guitar works for other musical styles as well as classical. Most people I know use the Blue basses, and their guitars do sound like the description above. I do have some blue ones I haven't tried--I forget where I got them. But I may never try them as the reds suit my guitar.

Use the quote above as a guideline to help you narrow it down-no matter which brand you choose-but as Mooh and the Augustine site say-it's up to your ears which work best.

Ship of fools
01-26-2008, 11:57 AM
I completly agree with Zontar I have used Augustine Gold's now for 20+ years they can be a little priceir than some others, but I think you make upo for that in the sound, they don't even last as long as some others would, but to me its a trade off, sound and quality verse's $, sound will always win out.louis:food-smiley-004:

Mooh
01-26-2008, 12:58 PM
That's been my concern with Augustine strings in the past, they didn't last long for me. It HAS been a long time since I used them, so maybe I need to re-try them. They'd need to be good, I DO like the D'Addarios.

Peace, Mooh.

Ship of fools
01-26-2008, 03:43 PM
I can't even remember if they had D'Addarios back when I played the classical,don't play it to much these days, more dust collection than anything.
But I do know that the Augustines only lasted a short time for me, mind you I am very heavy on them also and tended to play more of almost a heavy flamingo style, so I beat on them pretty hard and tended to bend extremly heavy on the bass strings to get that spanish Santana sound that we were doing in the early 70's and things have changed considerablly since then, so maybe an opportunity to try something different for me.louis:smilie_flagge17:

waljbt
05-06-2008, 05:33 PM
I tried the following combination: Augustine Regal Treble Set high tension & Augustine Gold Bass Set med-high tension. They sound fine but as most of you assumed, they don't last long. Anymore choices? Thanks. :smile::smile::smile:

zontar
05-06-2008, 07:44 PM
They sound fine but as most of you assumed, they don't last long.

How long are you expecting them to last?

I don't have a problem with the reds, but maybe I'm not playing mine as often or as hard as you do.

waljbt
05-07-2008, 07:51 AM
Hi, the red's (trebble) are ok, my problem is with the golden bass ones, I won't deny that they sounded great at the beginning, but it didn't take much time before they turned brown and their sound changed. In fact I liked this combination on this guitar because it lowered the strong bass response and highered the trebble, but I was wondering if I can find something close but longer lasting in the D'Addario for instance or in any other brand. Thanks.:smile:

zontar
05-07-2008, 11:05 PM
I use reds for all strings, so maybe that's it--but like I said--maybe I don't play my classical as much as you play yours.

devnulljp
05-08-2008, 12:04 AM
I like Hannabach silver specials, mediums for the bass and Savarez standard on the trebles.
Not easy to come by sometimes, but they sound great.
That said, I end up using mostly all Hannabachs (http://www.hannabach-strings.com/) all the time because it gets quite expensive buying two sets of strings all the time. They also sound good for quite long time...they change--quite bright at first--but still sound good after a month or so just a bit mellower.
http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-schmidt/catalog/images/Hannabach815MT.jpg

Mike MacLeod
05-09-2008, 10:23 AM
I'm particularly fond of Aquila Alchemist strings. They are moderately expensive ($45.00) but the trebles have great volume. Some folks love the feel of them, others find the texture a little hard feeling.

Their uke strings are truly killer! You can hear the difference a block away.

:-)

zontar
05-09-2008, 08:53 PM
$45? Yikes.

Not for me.

Maybe if I was making my living playing my classical and it was a sound I loved.
But for a causal, play it at home guy?

No thanks.

Even when I taught that would have been too much.

But hey--if it's the sound you have to have--and for $45 it better be--if you can handle it---it's a better deal than some strings I've seen.