All Product Reviews

I have always loved this set for it's tone and ease of play. However, the 4th string's wrapping breaks/cracks at the 3rd through the 7th frets after only a few days of play. This has happened on every set that I have tried over the years (whether it is the light or normal set). It appears that the metal wrapping is too thin for the 4th string. Very unfortunate for an otherwise great set of strings.
Rob

The price is high but the quality is too. I have a Richard Howell Cedar Top (Fleta style bracing) and these strings are breathing a different life into my guitar. They make my instrument sound clearer, more sustained and the volume has increased. The sound of my guitar has now swung further towards the timbre of the strings and somewhat away from the timbre of the body as these strings are robust and quite loud. What I like about this is that it is significantly easier to play un-amplified to an audience. The audience can hear what I am doing more clearly and the tension balance between the strings is so accurate that individual voices within chords sound clear and are easy to make melodic.
I was using a variety of strings on this guitar before: Luthier 50, D"Addario LP & Carbon combinations (I just went through a stringing spree and shot 15 videos with different sets on my guitar to find the individual strings Iliked the most on my instrument) and I got my ideal set worked out. Now that I have tried these Optima Gold I am not so sure anymore :( ;) $$ Oh well, Shopping time!

Here are some key points about these strings:
Balance of the complete set: Excellent - couldn't be happier with the pressure gauge of all these strings, the most balanced tension I have found yet and it does make a difference to how hard I work when I am playing!

Timbre of the trebles:
A very slight metallic sound to the carbon E but overall the best Carbon E I have found, the B is a bit more dull compared to the E and sometimes needs the tiniest bit more nail in my technique to match sequences between both strings but as for cross string melodic work these 3 work very well indeed. The 3rd string is a bit of a problem but only in terms of timbre as it is the darkest sounding string on the set - but it doesn't sound thudding at all, it sounds mid range and 'heavy' and it carries a lot of weight musicially (so it's not all that bad and I have grown to like it very much, certainly my second favourite 3rd string [just behind D'Addario 'coffee' carbon 3rd]).

Timbre of the basses:
At first I thought the fact they were gold plated was a gimmick and even one of my students remarked that the basses looked like they were from a cheap tacky string set but to be honest the sound of the basses blew him away and he was very impressed and so was I. I think these are the best basses I have ever played, better than the delightful (but fragile) Luthier, D'Addario Carbons and Silvers, Savarez and Hannabach. They are so meaningful when they are played and they really 'say something musically' even as a chord they are so cohesive as a triad (Barrios La Catederal Mv. II Bm Triad on 6,5,4 strings) yet each string can be heard in its own right.

The trade-offs of these strings (some easy 'squeak' on the basses & darkening treble timbre from strings 1 to 3, and a tacky [but shiny] look) are utterly meaningless in the light of their benefits (supreme tension balance across the set, bass clarity & timbre to die for, stunning levels of sustain across all strings, the volume to play acoustically and get the musical message across to the audience). I would like to continue using them for my future live guitar work.

After playing various strings types by various brands over a decade I can honestly say that these are the most premium feeling and most balanced strings I have played.

The best strings that I have used so far for a Spruce top guitar that has loud and heavy bass, but is too quiet and not bright enough with all the nylon strings I have tried so far. The trebles on this set are rich and bright, and much louder than regular nylons.

after further review, I'm done looking. There may be a better e string out there, but this one is just about pure perfection for me. The verdict is still out on the g and b string, I have another g string I prefer, but this D'Addario carbon e string is really something. Pure and clear, reasonably good sustain, responds very well to vibrato. Unfortunately at this point you have to buy the whole set of trebles, they are not individually packaged, but the e string is well worth it even if you don't use the other two. This is a great string for any style of playing. Hard to describe in words, but I knew as soon as I put it on that it was exactly the sound I was looking for. Yes, it's bright, but in a full kind of way. I could go on and on, but this set in normal tension has a very nice e string. good luck, hope this helps

wow, it's very rare I put on a set of trebles and know before I even have them tuned up I like them. A very uniquie pure sound with very little nylon sound. Very responsive but a really good attack sound, especially on the high e. I would give them 5 stars, but they make you buy all 3 in a set that are not individually wrapped. And since I like to replace strings one at a time it get's confusing if you have any other single D'Addario strings lying atround since they are only marked with the name of the string. Still not sure about the carbon g string, but the b and the e are the best I've found for my style (or for that matter just about any style) so far.

I'm just a blues player who plays classical nylon string guitar. If you want a really nice oldtime blues bass string sound check out these 80/20 bronze normal tension bass sets. They are very very responsive. Probably not so good if you are playing loud for a crowd unamplified. But really amazing in all their complexities. Certainly wouldn't recomend them for classical or jazz or samba, but really very fine for blues. Can't say the same thing for the trebles, but if you like to play that old blues, the normal 80/20 bass set j47 is a great foundation.

Every g string on my new (taurus 1969)guitar sounds beautiful. But this pariticular La Balle medium hard g string is the best I have found so far. A very beautiful true sound of the guitar right in the sweet spot. Very mellow, but quite authoritative in that particular middle range. Can't vouch at this time for the B and the E in medium hard (or even medium or hard). But if you are starting out with a new guitar the whole La Bella medium set is a good place to start. Then you can start experimenting with different treble and bass sets by different manufactueres in various tensions. But this La Bella Medium Hard G string has a sound that I could build my whole guitar around. I gave it 3 stars because I like to keep an open mind, but then gave it five stas so maybe if you are looking you will read what others say about it.

The Martin Flexible core Phos/Bronze now come with the brass finished SP core wires. The thinner core wire and thicker wrap gives these strings a more finger friendly feel. They are loud and resonant with a bright full sustaining sound. I have tried some other "Low Tension" strings that usually cost an arm and a leg. These out shine the others by far and the very low price by comparison means that changing strings on multiple guitars regularly is not a great cost issue at all.

I was skeptical when buying, but I figured it was only $3 bucks, so why not try it. I've tried picks made of stone, bone, Graphtec, horn, and more, but not wood. When I received this pick I tried it on my Telecaster and was not impressed. I couldn't hear a difference from any other pick. Then I tried it on my cheap Washburn acoustic and wow! What a difference it makes. I'd say that my acoustic sounds louder and crisper, and with more good harmonics ringing out. So if you are just an electric player, forget it, but if you play acoustic, give these a try! I'll be buying more.

Really good!! Just have to remember to order a new micromesh buff kit from time to time :). The 2400, which is the one that gets most worn out, has lasted over half a year.. most of the others are still pretty good.

Great strings, I use them on a regular classical guitar and they have a warm, but bright sound on the treble strings. The bass strings are good too, and match well with the treble strings. Great strings for the price.

I love everything about these strings except d the 4th string it sounds muffled and is not as brilliant as the other strings.I have used three separate packs of these specific strings and the same string is problematic.

Finish at both ends of the strings is loose and very flexible, unlike the classical guitar string of the Savarez brand. Extremely difficult to push through the sting holes at the back of the bridge. If there is a secret about stringing, will someone please tell me. Savarez is the only brand I prefer!

These are my new favorite trebles for my flamenco blanca. Bright and clear yet not harsh. The trebles stretched like crazy for the first day or so but once they settled down they have been very stable. They also have a great feel. The basses are good but I prefer a brighter sound. The Rubino trebles with Savarez basses may be my new favorite combo.

Basses a little soft for hard tension, a little slow, good warm tone with even overtones. Trebles I like. Excellent for the money. On a very lively Cordoba C-5

These are great strings. On the recommendation of Matt at SBM, I tried these and I was not disappointed. This is a very powerful set and the projection is loud and clear with all strings being very well balanced and stable. One thing I noticed was that the D string has a bit more added punch which most sets seem to lack. The carbon trebles are not harsh or tinny but they sound very sweet without the mellowness of nylon. Even though the price is in the upper range of most string sets out there, I would say that the value is there and I will definitely have these on hand for future string changes. So far these have been on my main guitar for about a month now with an average of about 2hrs/day playing time and they are still going strong.

As with the other reviews here, I think these basses are exceptionally good, the trebles, not so much. These trebles have a very 'plastic', artificial sound to them. They do not have the round sound or depth that a high quality nylon string should have and the intonation - although fairly accurate when measured with a Snark tuner, does not ring true to the ear; the spectral balance is off and as a result, they sound out of tune with each other even when the tuner says they are at the proper pitch. So, even though I like the basses a lot, the cost of these strings, just for three good basses, is completely unjustified. If Pyramid would make split sets of these strings, I would definitely buy the basses and find suitably matching trebles somewhere else.

They work on nylon bass strings also...

Full tone and control. Punchy mid frequencies and subsonic lows. Great for blues and jazz styles.

Having previously been happy with the late lamented Onymyrrhe, I replaced it with this.

Before buying it's good to know that it is essentially a clear nail polish which when applying smells *strongly* of acetone and drys to a *very* gloss finish on the nail.
The look of it alone is off-putting so I don't think I'll use it again.
Does it work? It seems to have some little effect but not nearly enough to put up with the "are you wearing polish on your right hand?" questions.
Then again, try it and decide for yourself, but it isn't for me.