Need silk string alternative

[salzo]

Never played guitar, but I have been playing the Cuban Tres. It is a 3/4 guitar that was converted.
The person who converted it for me used steel strings. I do not know what kind, but I was having an extremely difficult time pressing down, particularly on chords. I changed to the BELLA Cuban tres string set, which are 4 steel strings and two silk/steel strings. When I switched the difference was dramatic; I could play chords that I could not play with the steel. But I have been going through strings fast, and for the first time I just changed the silk strings, and left the steel. It sounded great. It seems to me that the silk strings are wearing down much faster than the steel. I am wondering what strings I can start using other than the silks. I am really knew to this-are there "light steel" I could try, or is bronze silk a longer lasting alternative to silk/steel? Or anything else any one can suggest would be appreciated.

[jaymarsch]

I do not know much about a Cuban Tres but do you know if the instrument has been set up correctly? Sometimes, if it is hard to play, it may not only be due to the strings but due to the fact that the strings may be too high off the fret board requiring you to have to press harder than should be necessary.

You may already know about this and it might be just the strings but I would take it to a qualified luthier/tech who would know about this type of instrument and have the set up checked. Otherwise, I do not have another string recommendation for you but hopefully other folks will chime in.

Best,
Jayne

[Wasper]

Hi,

I'm not sure what the tension of those LaBella strings are. I looked, but couldn't find any info. I'll go by a couple of other brands to base my thoughts off of....

Martin's Silk & Steel strings have a combined tension of 122.2 lbs.
D'Addario's Silk and Steel have a tension of 126.9 lbs.

So, I'd imagine that the LaBellas would be around that level of tension.


I, too, love the lighter tension of silk & steels (I used Martin's), but I also didn't like how long they lasted (like you). So I set out to search for steel string replacements. I found some strings that work great and I think they would work for you as well.

Check out some Newtone Heritage strings. Newtone is the company and Heritage is a low tension string in their line-up. They have a nice warmth to them like silk and steels and have a few options in string tension, a couple even lower than the silk and steel sets. They take a few days to settle into their sound, but then they last for a good long time.

Here is the string chart from Newtone with the tensions.

NHS-010
.010 .013 .017w .023 .032 .043
15lbs 16lbs 16lbs 15lbs 16lbs 16lbs Total=94 lbs

NHS-011
.011 .015 .019w .026 .036 .047
19lbs 19lbs 19lbs 19lbs 20lbs 19lbs Total=114 lbs

NHS-012
.012 .016 .020w .028 .038 .051
22lbs 22lbs 21lbs 22lbs 22lbs 22lbs Total=131 lbs

NHS-013
.013 .017 .022 .031 .042 .055
26lbs 25lbs 26lbs 26lbs 26lbs 26lbs Total=155lbs

I'm currently using the NHS-012 and they are great. I also used the NHS-011 in the past on a different guitar and they worked out well too.

I've purchased from these two places in the past to get these strings.
http://www.juststrings.com/newtoneac...rheritage.html
https://www.stringsbymail.com/acoust...bf2qcg5d1eoje3

Hope this helps,
Wasper

[mercy]

I use the Heritage strings also. They have a good feel and sound, much better than any of the xxx and steel.

[salzo]

Thanks for the great suggestions. Very helpful! I am going to see a folk instrument luthier and will mention the strings that you all mentioned.
As far as finding a luthier who is familiar with latin instruments-I have been asking but it seems around here it just aint gonna happen.

[Jersey tuning]

DR sunbeam 11's, round core strings with lower string tension and great tone

[pops]

GHS makes a silk and bronze that i like way more than silk and steel. They also make a vintage bronze that has less tension than the silk strings.