hannabach classical guitar strings review

Keira-WitherKay

i know only a few people play nylon string here but thought i'd post it anyway

last week i got asked to check out a new set of Hannabach strings for a store .so i finally had time to string up one of my classicals with em, and test em out ....... without being biased i am genuinely impressed........... i'm not getting paid for this or have any connection to the importers of the strings so honest user feedback

for years i was a D'addario pro arte user and tried their entire range from composites to standard pro artes, then in last year or so i started experimenting ........ with other strings........... i tried savarez that sounded awesome but to my dismay the bass strings started unravelling within 2 weeks of putting em on.sure i tend to play a lot and have an agressive percussive style but i was disappointed with the short life of the strings and at a retail of R300 ish not a string one wants to be changing every 10 days..... then i discovered augustine strings and so far have tried the classic blue set which is a mix of high tension bass's and medium/standard tension highs....... which i really liked... they sound great on my guitars....... i also tried the slightly lower tension red set but still preferred the blues.and i also tried the purple regal set which is high tension for bass's and tops and fitted them before a gig. but the high's were so hard i changed the 3 trebles by the 2nd break ......

then stuart asked me to try out this german made hannabach 8006 HT set ........of course it is high tension.........

well i'm not a huge fan of a full set of high tension strings but these truly surprised me as they don't feel as tight as the augustine high tension ....... so i put the set on a guitar and almost fell over backwards when i heard the tone.......... the guitar had d'addario pro arte's on before it and the difference was so significant it sounds like a new guitar .......... they tuned up easily and stretched themselves sufficiently in about 2 hours ( i DO NOT pull on the strings too much to stretch em and allow them to stretch naturally with only a hint of help) to hold pitch successfully

so yes they sound warm and surprisingly clear and articulate ,the trebles impressed me the most as they are quite thick treble strings which i like over the very thin strings in some sets......... the tone is great and definitely makes the guitar sound it's best .......and they loud strings.........

like everyone in classical world knows...good or top end strings can't make a bad guitar sound good but it can make a good guitar come alive and sound how it was meant to..........

i compared this set to my other guitars which are stringed with augustine blues and D'addario pro arte's so i had some reference to other strings tone and feel

and i saw the pricelist and they not gonna be extravagant strings to buy .....and range from affordable to the expensive mark for custom sets .....they even offer "green" sets which are enviromentally friendly in the metals used and packaging ect ect

so i have so far been impressed and asked for a set of low tension and medium tension sets to try ....which i will gladly pay for ... and see if they have the same tone and volume as the high tension set .......and if so i'll definitely buy a box of 10 sets and try em for a while............

the only outstanding factor is .will they last ....... i'll let you know in 2 weeks

AlanRatcliffe

How you making out with the Hannabach strings Keira? Try any of the other sets yet?

MikeM

I need to get some new ones.. But not high tension, getting some heavy bow on my classical's neck ?

AlanRatcliffe

You mean too much relief? Shouldn't be getting that with any nylon strings. Really slender neck?

MikeM

How would the bow in the neck and relief be different? It's a late 70s Yamaha, action is fine till around the 5th fret, then feels like I'm fretting telephone wires to the road ?

AlanRatcliffe

It's just the terminology. The bend away from the strings in the middle of the neck is called relief, but if it bends up towards the strings, it's called bow (or backbow).

My Carvin actually has a truss rod, but I don't know why - the only guitar I've ever had a problem on had a really skinny neck and a set of Savarez 520PI (plastic wound 2nd and 3rd strings - I've seen cheap guitars implode from those strings ?).

Keira-WitherKay

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: How you making out with the Hannabach strings Keira? Try any of the other sets yet?

yep i tried em all except the light tension whch i can't find.... i'm a hannabach convert .....and use em on my gig guitar exclusively ... they sound great , truly a step up and a huge one from many of the other "similar priced brands.....say d'addario's ect and they can last with me doing my hectic percussive style which shredded ( as in unravelled bass strings) a set of savarez's in 2 weeks ...... and great tone and holds tuning well ...... for the price i can't find a better string , although i'm sure in the upper end of the string market there will be competition ...... but i see no contenders to hannabach's "crown" as my favourite string for tone ( which is really something you notice when you 1st try em , then notice that tone is gone when you try another set of strings ? not a subtle change either ... if you used to normal non top end strings ) and a nice price ...... i must say if i found R300 price tag instead of half that before discount . i would not be shocked for what they offer.

AlanRatcliffe

Have you tried the Goldin and PSP sets yet? I like the idea of carbon trebles on the Goldin set (for the tension), and the Goldins are regarded as warmer sounding carbon strings. On the other hand the PSPs are polished, which means less finger squeak (pretty important for a guitar with an undersaddle pickup).

[deleted]

Thanks Keira! I'm going to try hannabach next.

Keira-WitherKay

Viccy wrote: Thanks Keira! I'm going to try hannabach next.

hey Viccy you doing the recording this at home........ maybe record a piece with the strings you have on . then change em for hannabach and record the same piece with new hannabachs and i'd be keen to see if you have the same experience i had of puttting on the strings and noticing a big difference to my guitars sound ...... to the better in my mind..... maybe it;s just my imagination too but it's be cool to test it out ?