I think I'm in tonal nirvana! 8)
My classical guitar is that traditionally warm-sounding construction: cedar (solid) top, Indian rosewood (laminated) back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard and bridge. After I bought it, I had a new - bone - nut and saddle installed and the action adjusted properly.
The guitar was set up with high-tension
Hannabach nylon strings. Although they were OK for the price (better than the stock D'Addarios), their strong bass and rather hard highs made the guitar sound loud but a little bit dull, especially on the G-string. With aggressive playing (I know cedar tops don't like that, though) I felt the sound was too bassy. High-quality strings without a doubt but my guitar was too bassy for them.
Then I changed the strings for a high-tension
Hannabach 'Flamenco' set. These strings were much softer for aggressive playing and easier phrasing, had less bass, softer - livelier - highs, nice airy mids and a generally slower response. I liked these more than the classical set because of the looser feel and sound but still missed some extra highs. On a bright-sounding flamenco guitar these strings would be nice.
Yesterday I bought a high-tension
Savarez 'Alliance Corum 500 AJ' set.
LINK Unbelieveable! Worth the extra price!!! These strings are thinner but tougher and they stay in tune very well. They have an exceptional clarity with almost glassy treble notes and tight bass notes! My guitar sounds louder, cleaner, livelier and more dynamic than ever before!
I haven't tried the normal-tension set, I guess it sounds brighter (a little bit as if you had steel strings on your guitar) and not as 'explosive' as the high-tension set I'm using.
I highly recommend these strings! :D
