i tested a wide variety of strings last year looking for something that would add some life to a cheap old yamaha cg-120. every guitar is different, and what sounds good on one might sound like bunk on another. likewise, every player is also different, and a tone one player loves another will hate. that said, if you don't like the tone of your classical nylon guitar, you might consider a string change... there is a huge variety of tones that you can get out of even a cheap classical guitar with the right set of strings.

of all the strings i tried, there is only one set my wife suggested i reorder... the aquila ambra 2000. these are the closest strings to gut of all the strings i've tried. i would describe their tone as warm and rich with a nice touch of bright clarity", or as my wife put it, "lively without being tinny, warm without being hollow."

these strings managed to make a 40 year old cheap $200 guitar sound beautiful.

the overall tone is very similar to the d'addario pro arte ej45. i started with the d'addario's, but i felt that the trebles sounded dead, the g-string sounds hollow, and the bass strings have a bit too much of the harsh metallic harmonics. the aquila ambra's use a mix of dense nylons (but not fluorocarbon) which gives the trebles more snap and harmonics. they retain the warmth of the d'addario's but with more clarity and a little more brightness, although they are nowhere near as bright as fluorocarbon strings, like the savarez alliance carbons.

the bass strings are made on a multi-filament core of nylon blends (sometimes marketed as "rayon" cores). these serve to deaden the harsh metallic harmonics while adding to the richness of the lower harmonics. i find the basses much richer than others. they are also softer, so they might not work well on guitars that already lack bass. as for unwanted finger noise, i found the strings to be very quiet, and squeaked a lot less than many "squeakless" strings. i am guessing the rope-like core dampens a lot of the noise. these strings are very close to the sound of authentic romantic-era silk-core basses. i cannot say enough about how great the bass sounds.

perhaps best of all is the price... at $8.99 a set on stringsbymail.com, they're a couple bucks cheaper than the d'addario pro arte, sound better, and last longer.

if you find this set isn't for you, don't give up... there are tons of different strings out there... here's a summary of some of the basic types...

trebles...

• gut - the standard sound for centuries. warm with fair resonance, a bit of bright clarity. fairly elastic. susceptible to humidity. easily breaks if contacts sharp edges (like unchamfered nuts). intonation varies by up to 8 cents per 12 frets due to density/thickness variations. i have both aquila and pyramid gut trebles, but they are put aside for another guitar (one with a chamfered nut).

• nylon - standard gut replacement. warm like gut, but with little resonance and no bright clarity. less elastic. stronger and more consistent than gut. playing with nails became popular to overcome nylon's lack of resonance. there are some brands experimenting with more modern higher density nylon, such as the aquila ambra 2000. some manufacturers are adding materials like copper to the nylon to increase density.

• carbon - fluorocarbon plastics which are denser than nylon. carbon strings are bright, and typically lack the warmth of gut, but do have exceptional clarity. carbon strings are less susceptible to humidity and easily last twice as long as nylon. the production of carbon strings results in toxic "forever chemicals" known as pfas. great for flamenco playing if you don't mind poisoning the earth. i bought the savarez alliance carbon normal tension and the savarez tomatito flamenco carbon high tension before i realized what they were made out of. the alliance sounded nice and lasted forever. they are brighter than what i wanted, and have little warmth, but weren't harsh or tinny.

• bio-nylon - aquila has a line of strings whose plastic is derived from plants, specifically caster oil and sugar cane. the strings are brighter than nylon, but less dense and bright than carbon. i found these strings to be squeaky, hollow, and some with severe intonation issues. the aquila sugar strings were off by sixty cents at fret 12... that means my E note was so flat it showed up as a sharp Eb. the aquila perla strings sounded hollow.

• multi-filament - often a metal, such as titanium, or a carbon fiber string is used for the core. the core is then wrapped in nylon. my experiment with the d'addario titanium and carbon cores was horrible and short-lived. some people have used the titanium cores on steel string guitars to give it a more classical feel. that might work. putting these on my guitar made me long for fingernails on a chalkboard. neither set lasted more than a day before i swapped out for something else... anything else... fishing line will do.

basses...

• gut core - many old school bass strings consisted of metal wrapped around a gut-string core. these string provided a high resonance. the elastic gut core absorbed some of the higher metallic harmonics. quite expensive.

• silk core - romantic era bass strings consisted of metal wrapped around a core of silk rope. this produces a softer sound. the tone is more center focused as the higher metallic harmonics are absorbed by the silk. given that silk doesn't stretch, a gut leader is often used between the nut and the winding peg. quite expensive. i have a set of aquila genuine silk basses, but they are put aside for another guitar.

• mono-filament - a modern gut core replacement, with metal wrapped around a single nylon core string. these have less resonance in the low end and pronounced metallic harmonics. cheap. i am not a fan of most mono-filament bass sets as i find them too harsh sounding for classical guitar.

• silver/gold - a mono-filament string that uses solid or plated silver or gold wire. the increased density reduces the higher metallic harmonics while producing more energy for louder bass that engages the soundboard more. louder than silk or poly-filament, though with more metallic harmonics that silk or poly-filament. richer low end than standard mono-filament. quite expensive.

• poly-filament (silk, rope, rayon, etc.) - a silk core replacement. metal is wrapped around a rope consisting of many thin strings, often made of nylon or rayon. these strings are very thin and soft (see photo above). they have no harsh metallic harmonics. they have a richer low end than standard mono-filament. they are also a bit quieter than any of the mono-filament basses. cheap to expensive. the aquila rayon basses and the aquila ambra basses (same material) are the only basses i'll use... at least until i find something i like more 🤣

and one final note... remind your friends and family that string variety packs make great stocking stuffers.

happy holidays to all.