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36 of 43 found the following review helpful:
 EJ45 vs. EJ27N Jun 16, 2012
By asherasator
There are so many guitar strings out there most people don't what it's all about & can be confusing for anybody pro, intermediate or beginner. I spoke with D'Addario about some of their strings & here are the details along with a few other things I've learned over the years:
(1) The first nylon classical string from D'Addario is the EJ27 line. These are "Clear Nylon" & Du Pont's original Nylon 6,6. The word "student" applied to them is now misrepresented & was only used because they offered short scale string length sets in this line: EJ27 1/2 & EJ27 3/4 for smaller guitars, & not because they were any lower quality than other strings. The EJ27N & EJ27H are professional high quality sets & the brightest out of the 3 basic nylon string types: "Clear", "Rectified" & "Laser Checked". These strings & terminology have been misrepresented & misunderstood.
(2) Then came "Rectified" strings EJ29-31. Same basses as above, just ground & polished trebles to cut the higher overtones [???] & harmonics for a "warmer sound" [???] & make em feel more like Catgut because that's what strings were always compared to back in the day with feel & sound [not sure if these are Nylon 6,6 or Nylon 6]. Savarez String Co started rectification & D'Addario came up with their own rectified products EJ29-31 line for that market place [Andreas Segovia & students also wanted treble string tone difference from steel string acoustic guitar tone & cut the higher overtones & harmonics, Augustine String Co simply used a soft nylon but thicker strings for their dampening method influenced by Segovia].
(3) Then came the Pro Arte "Laser Checked" trebles EJ45-52. These are checked for assurance that "They're Round". Their treble gauges are lighter than the EJ27 line. I believe these to be Nylon 6, with softer feel, tension & tone
"Clear Nylon" strings don't need to be laser checked because it's perfectly round from the supplier DuPont who have their own high quality checks. Many think the laser checking makes a better string & checks for general integrity & evenness in manufacturing, but that's only good if you do something extra like rectification & that costs, it's not needed if you don't want a "warm" string that cut the overtones.
The bass strings are all silver coated wound, but the earlier sets I suspect are Nylon 6,6 core & the Pro Arte line Nylon 6 core. Now many people complain that the trebles "aren't bright enough" with sets like EJ45-52, well then stop using those strings & that type of Nylon 6. Also Rectification dampens the overtones, but ironically then luthiers started to brighten their instruments with many techniques, woods & engineering & also flourocarbon & other materials were introduced for strings.
You can start with the strings first in a very simple way: don't use nylon strings that are designed to not be bright. The bottom line is a "Clear Nylon" [Nylon 6,6] is brighter than "Rectified Nylon" or "Laser checked" regardless of manufacturer. & they're also less expensive. But if you want the best La Bella makes the absolute best sounding nylon strings & most balanced gauges. D'Addario's bass strings are a little too thick & tense with all their nylon string models compared to their treble strings. La Bella uses the highest quality & densest nylon for the best tone & most intelligently balanced gauges for feel & tone with their bass & treble strings.
All these choices with strings are not well understood by the public & most music store personal don't know either. A lot of goofy & crazy things have happened in the classical guitar world because of string engineering & manufacturing. Guitar players simply experiment til they find something they like, which is amusing to a certain point, but you can cut to the chase by eliminating strings that you don't want if you know what they were manufactured for in the first place.
A lot of people are using rectified strings that cut the high overtones, but then use higher tension gauges to get brightness, power & volume for that exact purpose that would be easier achieved with a clear nylon? This foolishness makes no sense & other guitarists influence each other like "the blind leading the blind" through a labyrinth of idiocy. (a) You need to simplify (b) & understand what you're dealing with (c) with what it was designed for (d) in order to make proper choices from facts.
If people like the bass strings from the Pro Arte line but want brighter trebles, start with going back to basics & try the EJ27N (Normal Tension) or EJ27H (Higher Tension) trbles, these give the original classical nylon sound [old school] of many decades ago & are very balanced across the sound spectrum. Nylon isn't supposed to sound like Catgut, because it's not Catgut! The density is different, but Nylon 6,6 has it's own unique beautiful "modern" sound with it's own overtones & harmonics. & if that doesn't work then maybe try Titanium Trebles, Fluorocarbon or Nylgut.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Great strings at a great price! Nov 23, 2009
By Elton Pinto
"Eptiger"
I've been using this model of strings since I first started playing in 2003 and they've been awesome! They're good not only for beginners but intermediate classical guitarists, as well.
I plan on switching to the composites for this model just to see how they stack up, but I don't really have any complaints about them. I had bought these strings on recommendation from a fellow classical guitarist who I had very much respect in (I haven't talked to him in a while, but I'm sure he's still a great guitarist) and multiple sites I browsed regarding buying strings and installing them were fans of the D'Addario Pro-Artes.
I'm not an expert on different kinds of strings so I don't have much else to compare to other than guitars I've played in stores or that friend have owned, but I felt like these strings have had great longevity for me as long as I wiped them down after practices/performances and washed my hands before picking up my guitar. Even when they were past their prime they actually held pretty decent sound, but obviously not at the quality that they do when they're fresh. I get really nice, rich sound quality from them when they're fresh.
As I've gotten better guitars these strings have still continued to serve me well as they provide as loud a volume as the quality of guitar I'm playing on should provide, and they've just felt really nice on my fingers overall. Part of why I don't like steel string acoustics is that they're kind of harsh on my fingers, which is really bad for when you can't practice every day because you're on vacation or something, whereas I'm able to pick up my guitar with these strings easily after a break in practice.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Changed a mediocre guitar to a delightful guitar Feb 17, 2012
By Joanna Daneman
Despite having played ukulele and guitar as a youth, I didn't realize that strings matter; so when I pulled out a guitar that belonged to my late husband, I remembered that (a) I never liked that guitar, a classical Yamaha model, nothing special and (b) my recent experiments with various ukulele strings have resulted in a respect for what the right strings can do for any instrument.
I bought a set of these strings and strung up the Yamaha. The instrument went from absolutely bland mediocre to a rich, deep, ringing tone, especially in the lower registers.
The strings are well-marked; labels are glued to the ends of the string to tell you who's who. The E string has a thinner area at the end, to allow you to tie off the end on your bridge. (The rest of the wound strings do not have this.)
I'm used to playing with normal tension; I don't like slack tension, but your feelings on this may vary and depending on the kind of guitar you play, you may want the high or low tension instead. The bottom line is that strings are very individualistic and can change the character of your instrument. I now have a very playable guitar and I think these strings sound wonderful.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Good Quality versus price Aug 09, 2006
By Will Kalif
"StormTheCastle"
These are good strings for the amateur or student classical guitarist. You can't beat the price vs performance. One nice thing about these strings is that they are packaged in an air tight bags filled with an inert gas which inhibits corrosion. So if you buy several sets you won't have to worry about them while they sit in a drawer for months.
9 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Too light and uneven Jan 21, 2007
By W. Drake Dorosh
I presume these are designed and tested by engineers and there are many variables that may account for my experience. My experience was that EAD the metal wound strings were quiet compared to the clear nylon. I think these lower frequency strings should have more tension or less stretch so they are louder.
The Pro-Arte strings came on my Portugese all solid wood cedar top classical with firm tuning gears. It took several tunings before the the strings settled down. I got it the day after Christmas and it still lost a semi-tone of pitch from last week. I think they finally hold pitch. Their surface is too smooth and slippery to hold a knot. I worried that the strings would snap out of their harnesses. They didn't but perhapes the company can experiment with special texture or rosin on the knotted section of the string to grip saddle and tuning pegs.
One the positive they are very flexible and stretch a mile.
I will play these strings real hard to work in my newly made guitar and later try a set which is the next gauge up.
This is 19 days into breaking in on both strings and guitar. I will edit this if the the strings ware unevenly and will keep them in constant EAD GBE tune until standard tune Egan values have worn into the varnish indicated hopefully by a noticable increase in volume.
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