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  #1  
Old 02-24-2018, 06:01 PM
domhooper domhooper is offline
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Default Crossover string recommendations for a mix of musical styles please!

Hi guys,

Alejandro Cervantes is currently making a Cervantes Signature Crossover 1 for me which is now nearing completion. So I'm trying to do some research re possible strings for it. I play a diverse range of fingerstyle material including: Celtic, Blues, Ragtime, African fingerstyle, Hawaiian slack key, a few classical tunes, Mexican folk, a little jazz, Chet Atkins-style, covers of popular songs etc. I also use quite a few of the common alternate tunings.

Now, I have very little knowledge of nylon strings, but reading up a bit, there seem to be options of nylon, rectified nylon, carbon and titanium (there may be others too for all I know.)

I know that no one string set can possibly be ideal for all of the styles I play, but does anyone have an idea about any brand that might be able to cope acceptably well with the spectrum of stuff that I play? Also, are there any crossover-friendly strings that would cope better for blues-style note bending than nylon strings do? Ditto for strings that can handle alternate tunings?

I know I am asking a lot here and I will be very appreciative of any thoughts that anyone has to share.

Thank you,

Dom

Last edited by domhooper; 02-24-2018 at 06:06 PM. Reason: part of message missing
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  #2  
Old 02-24-2018, 09:33 PM
Paraclete Paraclete is offline
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Check out Thomastik rope cores.
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Old 02-25-2018, 07:14 AM
domhooper domhooper is offline
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Thanks for getting back to me on that Paraclete. I will research the Thomastik rope cores as you suggest. I appreciate your help. Best wishes,

Dom
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Old 02-25-2018, 11:00 AM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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GHS Nickel Plated Set 2510. Comes with a wound third. I use them on my classical and restring my kid's Yamaha NTX1200R with them. Second choice is either (silver plated) set of D'Addario EJ44 or EJ46, the former being the larger gauge.
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Old 02-26-2018, 01:40 AM
domhooper domhooper is offline
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Hi and thanks for that Pitar: I'll add those to my list of strings to try!
Happy playing!
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Old 02-26-2018, 05:35 PM
dkstott dkstott is offline
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Savarez Cantiga normal tension strings are my choice of strings. I really like the Cantiga basses with the Savarez alliance strings. They work for just about everything for me.
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Old 02-28-2018, 05:44 AM
sirwhale sirwhale is offline
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Another fan here of Savarez Alliance treble strings
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  #8  
Old 02-28-2018, 08:01 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Here's a copy/paste from the crossover guitar page of my old website, it might help, might not.
*************************************
Adventures In String Selection

Crossover strings are usually purchased in hard tension, as they have a feel that is more to the liking of guitar players approaching nylon strung guitar from a steel string player's perspective. String selection can be a bit more challenging, as there are a wide variety of brands, materials, and tensions. To add to the confusion strings are often sold in separate bass and treble sets, as players tend to wear out basses much more rapidly than trebles, and many players also mix and match basses and trebles to better suit a preferred response and tonality. I'll be evaluating and commenting on my pursuit of crossover strings here as I work my may through evaluating a few different sets. I'm looking for easy availability, reasonable cost, and rich sounding basses with responsive and fairly bright trebles.

Savarez Corum Alliance High Tension (as supplied by the factory on the Cordoba crossovers
Comments:
Trebles don't have the edge I'm looking for and the bass strings wore through the outer wraps fairly rapidly.

D'Addario EJ46TT (hard full set) Pro Arte Dynacore basses combined with titanium trebles
Comments:
Basses have a beautiful and full tone and the wraps seem to be much more durable than the aforementioned Saverez Corums. This set has much clearer treble strings, although the third string is a bit rounder in tone than I would have liked. The trebles took a full week of tuning before they finally stopped stretching, which seems a bit long to me; they dropped a full step each day during that time. Be aware that you must ensure that there is a good string lock loop for the treble strings as they are fairly slick. I was aware of this before stringing and made sure I locked in a manner that ensured that slippage would not be an issue. I'm going to publish my preferred stringing method a bit later when time permits.
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Old 03-17-2018, 09:54 AM
GGSanders GGSanders is offline
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You are absolutely correct in the different various options available for a
"nylon" stringed guitar, whether it be classical, flamenco, or crossover.

Sometimes I think there are as many, or more, available than there are for steel stringed guitars.

I acquired a Pono crossover about two years ago, and am still experimenting with different brands, compounds, and tensions. As with steel stringed guitars, string preference is a personal thing with repect to both tone and feel.

With a steel string background I prefer hard tension, but one brand's hard tension might equal the feel of another brand's normal tension. There seems to be no set rule or standard. Right now I've got my Pono strung with Savarez high tension "Red Card" traditional nylon set. I like these, but am not quite sold on the trebles, and may give their Alliance carbon trebles another try. I really liked them last time I used them.

When you get your guitar, focus on finding the string tension you prefer. That done, try different compounds until you find the best combination for the tone you want.
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Last edited by GGSanders; 03-17-2018 at 06:43 PM.
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  #10  
Old 04-06-2018, 08:46 PM
OMCountryBoy OMCountryBoy is offline
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I am currently Using Savarez Cantiga basses with Galli Genius Titanium trebles. Try each in hard tension. The basses are somewhat bright, and punchy and the trebles have great projection, and are bright without being harsh as some titanium trebles can be. I find them useful for many genres.
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