D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings, Normal Tension

• D'Addario's best selling Pro Arte set, Normal tension offers balance of volume and comfortable resistance
• Laser sorted clear nylon treble strings for consistent, precise intonation
• Precision wound basses for warm, projecting tone and the utmost consistency
• Made in the U.S.A. for the highest quality and performance
• String Gauges: Trebles .0280, .0322, .0403 Basses .029, .35, .043
• Set of Six strings Musical Notes E,B,G,D,A,E -
• Item Diameter Tension *J4501 - 0.028 inch (0.711mm) 15.3 lbs (6.94 kg) *J4502 - 0.0322 inch (0.818mm) 11.6 lbs (5.26 kg) *J4503 -
• 0.0403 inch (1.024mm) 12.1 lbs (5.49 kg) *J4504 - 0.029 inch (0.74mm) 15.6 lbs (7.08 kg)
• *J4505 - 0.035 inch (0.89mm) 15.0 lbs (6.80 kg) *J4506 - 0.043 inch (1.09mm) 14.0 lbs (6.35 kg)

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.

Combine rectified strings with an ebony fingerboard guitar & you have a very limited guitar when it comes to sound. Ebony is the most dampening of woods & a deadening fingerboard for guitars. Most guitar tonal & volume issues classical guitarists have is because of Ebony fingerboards & rectified Nylon strings. Ebony was used for three reasons in classical stringed instruments:

(1) Durability. Since strings were in direct contact on the board ebony was used because of its density & look. Guitars are fretted & strings don't touch the wood, so almost any hard wood can work.

(2) To cut overtones. Since many classical stringed instruments played together, instruments were created with more fundamental note emphasis, because when multiple instruments play together they have a chorusing effect, overtones & volume are created in conjunction with the other instruments. That's why maple another dampening wood is also used for backs, sides & necks of many classical stringed instruments. When large groups of stringed instrument play together if they all had many dynamic overtones, the group as a whole would sound too blended together, so focusing on the fundamental is for that environment. Violins had to play above the orchestras, ensembles or groups, so their instruments were designed with more overtone activity. In the book Science & Music by Sir James Jeans explains how the difference between a Stradivari violin & modern or cheap one is the overtones & harmonics. The Stradivari is much more sonically rich. The same thing with a Harpsichord or Clavichord, the modern piano evolved from them because they wanted to dampen the notes, which were much more sonically rich with overtones & harmonics.

(3) Placebo Effect. Today a high end classical guitar is expected to have ebony. No matter what Luthier creates an instrument [many are overpriced junk] the woods themselves setup parameters that already lay the tonal foundation. Build two identical guitars one with ebony & one with Rosewood fingerboard, the Rosewood one will have better overall sound & will be louder. For example Cordoba's Iberia line which are designed by Kenny Hill but built in China by a top Asian Guitar company proves it. The C5, C7 & Flamenco guitars all with Rosewood fingerboards are designed perfect & louder than many $800-$10,000 instruments. I have literally compared especially the C5 & C7 [which are good standard classical guitars at 650cm scale length & for serious performance] to many hand built expensive instruments & the volume & sound is quite noticeable & dramatic. I've done this with many Rosewood fingerboard guitars of various price ranges.

A guitar is a solo instrument. Much like an orchestra to itself. So more overtones & harmonics brings out the most of it with great effect. Rosewood or other hard woods are better for a fingerboard than ebony & no dampening of the guitars spectral dynamics tones, Rosewood adds to it [that's why it's used for back & sides]. Torres himself made many Rosewood fingerboard guitars. Luthiers only use ebony because that's what guitarists want based on a false impression & reputation of being better. But it's not, & all kinds of interesting guitar engineering went into hand made guitars that could easily have been remedied by using a different fingerboard & different strings other than rectified Nylon or Pro Arte Nylon 6.

Buy D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings, Normal Tension Now

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.

Read Best Reviews of D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings, Normal Tension Here

(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)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.

Want D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings, Normal Tension Discount?

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.

Save 59% off

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.