Picking the best classical guitar strings to give your nylon string guitar a warm tone can be hard. There are several different types of good nylon guitar strings that all have different tones and feels.
Classical guitar strings are typically made out of nylon plastic with a wound metal coating on the last three strings. The metal coating is typically silver plated for tone and support over the life of the strings. Some nylon strings have ball ends or bullet ends similar to acoustic guitar strings, but most classical strings don’t have anything on the string end. For these, you will need to knot them around the guitar bridge. Finding the right classical guitar string for your guitar is a mix between tension and tone. You need to find something that feels comfortable to play and sounds good to your hear.
That being said, let’s review the top-rated nylon strings for your classical guitar and compare their tones and features to see which one is right for your playing style.
Compare the Top Classical Nylon Guitar Strings in 2020
Contents
- 1 Compare the Top Classical Nylon Guitar Strings in 2020
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here’s a list of the best classical guitar strings that will make your nylon string guitar play great and sound bright.
- D’Addario Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings
- Savarez Nylon Guitar Strings
- La Bella Medium-Tension Classical Guitar Strings
- Hannabach Series 815 High-Tension Classical Guitar Strings
- Augustine Classical Guitar Strings
- Ernie Ball Earthwood Folk Nylon Ball End String
D’Addario Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings
Specs, features, and benefits
D’Addario Pro-Arte EJ45 nylon string set is an excellent choice for classical guitars. It is made of a combination of different materials, each of excellent quality, which is capable of giving you perfect consistency while playing.
That said, your experience will be very satisfying, since these strings can produce an excellent balance of very comfortable resistance and intonation, with perfectly balanced volume, which is capable of producing high-quality tones.
Trebles are measured by laser, meaning that diameter and tension levels are perfectly calculated, which is capable of delivering clean tones and balanced volume each time you play.
Pro-Arte EJ45 uses multi-layered nylon core, surrounded by copper winding plated in silver, capable of delivering excellent bass effect, without losing cleanness and precision during playing.
As for the gauges you get with these classical strings, there are trebles .280, .0322, .0403, basses .029, .35, .043, so you have pretty decent selection.
Apart from that, you can easily select tension size, since these strings come in light, normal, hard and extra-hard tension.
Pro-Arte strings are made in the USA and have several centuries of experience in making guitar strings while using winding technology, which is controlled by computer.
That allows them to give you perfectly balanced and consistent sounds, while also being very durable and can last for a long time.
Pros and Highlights
- Trebles selected by lasers to deliver perfect intonation and volume
- They have nylon core, with silver-plated copper winding, to allow clean and precise basses
- Very durable, due to being built of high-quality material
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Chime is not perfect, almost non-existent
Bottom line
If you need very reliable classical strings, capable of delivering excellent tones, without sacrificing durability and consistency, then D’Addario Pro-Arte nylon strings are the perfect choice for you, since they come from very famous and trusted string manufacturer with long-time experience in making very high-quality guitar strings.
Savarez Nylon Guitar Strings
Specs, features, and benefits
Coming from one of the best string-making companies, this high-quality classic guitar string will most certainly satisfy most of the customers.
As one of the items from the Alliance HT Classic 540R series from Savages, these normal tension strings are capable of delivering excellent sound, while maintaining durability, consistency, and quality of the bass and treble effects.
Trebles are built of carbon material, while basses are completely covered in the silver-plated wound, which allows you to have clean tones and balanced volume for the maximum effect. That is exactly what HT stands for.
Along with that come masterfully designed carbon strings, that feature normal-tension kgf alliance plain composite trebles, which, along with everything else, is there to allow you to completely enjoy using these strings.
One wouldn’t expect the less from such a renowned manufacturer. Savages have been around ever since 1770 and managed to become and stay one of the best string-making brands in the world.
Because of that, you can be sure that the strings you get from Savages are of very high quality. They are used by both casual players, who like to enjoy playing their guitar at home or amongst friends, as well as by professional musicians, who have their own bands and perform at concerts or taverns.
Pros and Highlights
- Made of high-quality materials, making them very durable
- KGF alliance composite trebles, or in other words carbon strings
- They can be used on both acoustic and electric guitars
- Less chance of getting darker due to the long-term oxidization
- They produce excellent sounds
Cons and Potential Flaws
- E string can be a bit weaker if not tuned properly
Bottom line
Coming from such a renowned string-making company, you can be sure that Savarez Accordion Accessory 540R is an excellent choice for both acoustic and electric guitar strings, which is used by both professional musicians, as well as casual players.
La Bella Medium-Tension Classical Guitar Strings
Specs, features, and benefits
La Bella 2001 Classical Medium-Tension guitar strings are part of one of the most popular strings sets from La Bella 2001 Concert Series. They are capable of giving you perfectly balanced intonation, high-quality sound projection and very comfortable experience whatsoever.
Because they come with wound basses that are silver-plated and have medium tension, you will always get clean, soft and completely balanced production of both high and low-pitch tones.
These strings come with the latest MAP technology, which stands for Modified Atmosphere Packaging. It is used to prevent your strings from becoming tarnished, thus making sure that strings are always fresh and have higher aural transparency. That means they are capable of delivering excellent sound projection of different tonality.
When it comes to their endurance, La Bella 2001 classical medium-tension guitar strings are very flexible. That allows them to be pretty responsive, meaning that they are also quite sensitive, even with the subtlest movements.
As for the gauges these strings have, there are .029, .0335, and .041 Clear Nylon Trebles, as well as .0285, .035, .0415 Silver-Plated Wound Basses, to give you maximum enjoyment and excellent sounds.
La Bella 2001 series comes from a very experienced string-making manufacturer with headquarters in the USA. It is very trustworthy and ensures that you get some of the highest quality classical guitar strings.
Pros and Highlights
- Comes with MAP technology, making sure the strings are always kept fresh
- Highly flexible, making them very responsive, even when using the most subtle moves
- Long-lasting and durable, due to being made of the finest materials
- They are much quieter than some other strings, such as D’Addario
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Some people only got one string instead of the entire set, so check with your seller before you buy
Bottom line
All in all, La Bella 2001 Concert Series Classical Guitar strings are a very good choice for everyone that values good-quality strings that come from very respected string manufacturer.
Hannabach Series 815 High-Tension Classical Guitar Strings
Specs, features, and benefits
Hannabach is one of the most notable string manufacturers in Europe, as well as in the world. Coming from Germany, this company has distinguished itself as very fair and respected towards their client base, not just in European countries, but also across the globe.
Capable of delivering excellent professional strings that can be used on almost every classical guitar out there.
These strings have a very high-quality precision round treble and specially designed silver-plated bass, which allows you to produce very clean, precise and enjoyable tones, with completely balanced volume and gradual intonation.
These high-tension strings feature coated surface treatment of the winding wire. That, along with the fact that they are completely protected against tarnishing, makes them very durable and allows them to last much longer than usual.
Even though these Hannabach strings take a bit longer to fully stretch, you will notice excellent sound after the initial period of having to constantly stretch your strings after playing couple of songs.
Apart from that, these strings are great when it comes to having medium or high tension, so you will be able to play the way you want.
Pros and Highlights
- Comes from a very well-known and caring manufacturer
- Precision round treble for delivering clean and precise sounds
- Silver-plated basses, for excellent high-pitch sounds and enjoyable tones
- Winding wire is fully protected by coated surface, which prevents tarnishing and increases durability, making the strings last longer
- Perfect for medium to high tensions
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It takes some time to tune these strings properly, over two weeks for some people
Bottom line
Even though it takes a while to tune these strings the way you want, when that is done, they will stay completely tuned and allow you to enjoy beautiful sounds they are capable of producing. Very durable and enjoyable strings.
Augustine Classical Guitar Strings
Specs, features, and benefits
AUGRED string set for classical guitars that come from Augustine is very well-made guitar string set capable of satisfying even the most demanding musicians. With these strings, you will be able to reach regular trebles without any problems, which will allow you to produce some very clean and precise sounds.
Apart from that, these strings are perfect for producing high tension basses, without having to sacrifice the quality of intonation for pristine bass effects. They are mostly used in classical guitars, but you could try using them on other types as well. You never know if something works elsewhere if you don’t try it.
Augustine Classical guitar strings are perfect for guitars that have pretty light tops, meaning that you want to decrease the tension on the strings, allowing better tendency for the top. Along with that, you won’t have to constantly think about whether you will play too powerful or unbalanced tones with these strings.
Even though they are high-tension strings, you will always be able to predict the volume level and make it balanced, so it would sound pretty amazing.
Pros and Highlights
- Capable of producing very good regular trebles
- Made to be perfect for classical guitars with lighter top
- Allows you to have good-quality high-tension basses
- They always give well-balanced intonation
Cons and Potential Flaws
- They don’t give too much volume output
Bottom line
All in all, these high-tension strings are an excellent choice for people who appreciate guitar strings that are capable of delivering both powerful and balanced tones, without having to sacrifice endurance and intonation levels.
Ernie Ball Earthwood Folk Nylon Ball End String
Specs, features, and benefits
Ernie Ball Earthwood Folk Nylon Ball End strings ace excellent choice for people who are looking for good-quality strings for their classical guitars. These strings are made of pretty solid nylon filament, which allows them to work under medium tension, while also producing very high-quality sounds, while also increasing their endurance and composition.
What is interesting about these strings is that they have ball ends on the first, second and third strings, which are completely clear, with the exception of the ball end. When it comes to gauges of the plain strings, there are .028 on the first, .032 on the second and .040 on the third string.
On ends of fourth, fifth and sixth wound strings there are gold ball ends. These wound strings are made of 80/20 bronze alloy that goes around a floss core made of very high-quality nylon.
Gauges for the last three strings are .030 on the fourth, .036 on the fifth and .042 on the sixth string, making Ernie Ball Earthwood strings capable of delivering very precise and clean tones.
Where these strings don’t excel is in being used by people who switched from metal strings, meaning that they need a bit more time to stretch and adjust to your guitar. You will probably have to stretch them every day for some time until they completely tune in.
Pros and Highlights
- Excellent for medium tension usage
- Wrapped in 80/20 bronze wire, making them very durable
- Excellent choice to be used on classical guitars
- They come with a golden ball end
- Great design, made of high-quality materials
Cons and Potential Flaws
- They take a longer time to stretch and completely tune in
Bottom line
These guitar strings from Ernie Ball are a very good choice for both professional and casual musicians who use classical guitars since they are perfectly made for this type of guitars.
What We Recommend and Why
In the end, let us try to give the final verdict and share our opinion about which of these string sets is the best one to choose.
Of course, different people need a different kinds of strings, so someone might need low-tension and someone might need high-tension strings, meaning that your choice should depend on what you want and need to get from guitar strings.
That said, we decided to pick Savarez Nylon Classical guitar strings set because of their incredible tone and feel. These strings are super comfortable to play and have some of the best tone I’ve ever heard from my classical guitar.