Review by Mark C. on 16 Dec 2025 review stating My New Go To Trebles Over the past few years I’ve tried a number of strings for my Esteve GR9.
For basses I’ve compared D’addario Pro Arte EJ45 & EJ46 (regular and polished), Savarez Cantiga, 520b and 520R Traditional, and Corum NT; Aranjuez 700 LT; Pyramid Sterling Silver MT, RC Recital MT; Luthier; Pepe Romero GRNM, Augustine Black & Red; Knobloch Leo Brauwer and Erithacus LT; La Bella 2001 MH; Hannabach 815; and Ramirez MT.
For trebles, I’ve tried all listed above in the full sets, along with D’addario Rectified (LT & NT); La Bella Rectified (LT & NT), Savarez Rectified (LT & NT); Dogal Diamante in LT & NT; Knobloch CX Carbon NT, and Golden; and Daniel Mari RT.
I’ve also tried Hannabach Golden, Augustine Imperials, along with Savarez Alliance and new Crystal.
Conclusions:
Since we’re all guided by individual tastes and guitars, reviews are never purely scientific. I hate it when a reviewer calls a set “garbage”. All of the strings I’ve tried are high quality and may work very well for you.
In addition to playability, tension is very important, not just for playability but for tone. The tension needs to match the build of the top, and that can only be learns by trying different tensions. Does it make the top sing or does it choke it or under perform.
With those qualifiers, here’s where I landed:
For basses, on my guitar Savarez Corum, 520b and 520r Traditional, Ramirez, RC, Augustine Black & Red, and La Bella 2001 were all unremarkable. The Aranjuez 700 Gold set was interesting but a bit too tense.
Favorite basses for many players are Savarez Cantiga and Pyramid Sterling Silver. Both are worth your consideration. I see why they work for so well for many players.
On my guitar I found Cantiga a bit too tight and bright. The Pyramid Sterling Silver have much going for them, sustain, depth, and aren’t too bright. They’re also easy on the hands. But my guitar wished for more. I found myself appreciating them in academic, measurable ways while not being inspired.
The Knobloch Leo Brauwer basses got my attention. They have power, sustain, and sparkle without being overly bright. But for my guitar the tension felt tight and didn’t feel as move the top as I like.
Using SBM’s reviews and string tension calculations, finally I decided to give Knobloch Erithacus basses in Light Tension a try. And bingo! They’re easy on the hands without being ‘wobbly’, and tone wise, they have depth, sustain, and sparkle.
For trebles, at least the 1st & 2nd, I landed on Dogal Diamante.
I had ordered a number of treble sets from SBM and eventually the Demonte’s in Regular Tension won my ear. They have a weight and volume I haven’t found in any other trebles.
However, on advice from the Delcamp Discussion site, I couldn’t settle until I tried them in Light Tension. Put them on and “voila!”, magic!
The 3rd, “G” was already on the guitar, and not really up for debate, since I’d long concluded I couldn’t find a better “G” on the planet than Knobloch’s CX Carbon in MT (another suggestion from the Delcamp boys).
So here’s my set, Knobloch Erithacus Basses in Light Tension, with their CX carbon G, in MT, and the 1st & 2nd Dogal Diamante in LT.
With this combination, the guitar alive and magical.
As far as tension, the bases and 3rd run in the 13 Lbs. range. The 1st is about 14. 5, while the 2nd is an outlier at just under 11 Lbs. , but I don’t care because it balances with the rest, and its tone and sustain are perfect.
Total tension is 78. 97 Lbs. , which apparently is what my Guitar really likes.
I’ve never been more pleased with anything I’ve had on the guitar and it’s even not close. This combination took my guitar from something good to something special. Before I liked playing it. Now I absolutely LOVE playing it.
