All Product Reviews

I'm pleased that SBM is carrying these! I have wanted these scores since the album "Direction" was released. Eddie is a very talented composer and player. These two pieces for solo guitar are wonderful! The edition is clear and well fingered. It's a joy to play. My favorite is 'This Night is a Rope'. I highly recommend them.

It's incredibly compact and easy to use. The suction cup is strong and although there is only one, gives me the confidence that it will not detach until I want to remove it. I won't have to look further for a better model, I have found what I need.

I bought the Medium Tension La Bella Argento pure silver about a month ago. This is what I liked... They stay in tune most of the time, and the basses strings sound very good for about a couple of weeks. I dislike the following... The (4th) D String lost the silver winding above the 3rd and 4th fret and went completly muddy during the 3rd week of regular use (2 hours a day or so). I read the comment about the durability of this particular set and I strongly disagree with it. They last for about a month, or not even there. I was expecting a little longer than that. Maybe the set I received was defective or old, I am not sure since the metal winding damaged only occured to the 4th string. Anyway, for the amount of money I paid, I was expecting something more durable. I am not going to buy these strings never again.

I do want to say that this guitar support is worlds' apart from the other company's model that I returned. It is very well designed, well-made, sturdy, and functions the way it should. Even the box was well designed, reminiscent of Apple boxes.

It arrived in Canada through our postal service, even though it was in a FedEx package (?) with no duty owing, so shipping was seamless.

One thought--if you are of small stature (I am just over 5 feet tall), you might do well to get the child's model. This adult model works for me, but I had to adjust it to practically its lowest height.

Thank you Matt for your advice and support.

Tried these and liked the tone for both uppers and lowers, BUT I found that I had a very hard time plucking the strings and thought my technique was the problem. After switching to my standby Hannabach carbon treble/custom basses, the problem was gone.YMMV.

I've tried Luthier trebles over the years and they have been disappointing in that they intonate flat for each higher fret (especially the 1st string). This appears to be a consistant problem. They are a fine string (for Flamenco) if you stay below the fifth fret.

Good sound, but the strings keep detuning constantly!

These are the best protectors around. By far more durable than either of the Kling On products.

This review is based on the presentation and quality of the product. I have not yet tried to put it on my guitar and may not at all.

The workmanship is frankly shoddy. I worked as a quality specialist before I retired and am appalled that this device ever passed quality control in the company. It looks like it was put together in someone's garage on the weekend. The fabric strap is flimsy and looks like some leftover from somewhere. It is not put on properly, just a plain piece of tape is used on one end to hold it. Some the workmanship on the metal part is rough and uneven. The instructions look like they were typed on a manual typewriter.

So, I have a lovely classic and will not deface it by using something so poorly made with it. I'll stick with my Dynarette for now. I will try and return the Gitano to SBM. (edit: We always accept returns like this, no questions asked - SBM)

The best capo! Lightweight! Accurate! I will buy one or two more soon.

Probably the worst set of strings I've ever used. I've used about 7 sets of Hannabach Golds at this point and they are incredible. But the Titanyls are awful.

From the very first minute after using them, I could tell that something wasn't right. The sound was flat, not flat as in pitch, but flat as in a cheap old bicycle tire with no air. The nail sound revealed the softness of the metal, sucking the spark of out heavy attack and suffocating gentle, fleshy plucks.

The sustain was miserable and I often felt like it wasn't nylon inside the windings, but rather someone's old sock and the resonance reminded me of wet cardboard.

Worse yet, it *killed* a lot of the sympathetic resonance in the instrument. Although I only used the 3 bass strings, even the trebles were affected. This was especially noticeable when playing up around the 12th fret (ie the bit in the middle of HVL Prelude #1), where my double-top guitar usually *shimmers*. The shimmer was gone. The Titanyls turned my lattice braced guitar into something that sounded like a 44cm kid's guitar purchased at bottom dollar while they were on it.

I had this string on my guitar for 3 weeks and hardly played it before the E string self-destructed while I was writing an email... Oddly, in the 3 days before it ruptured, the strings had started to settle a bit and were starting to sound almost respectable (as opposed to horrible) and I managed to play a few pieces straight through without putting the guitar away in disgust.

I thought it might be isolated, but I did some checking (including contacting staff at stringsbymail) and found that my results were pretty much par for the course. You could literally not conceive of a worse set of strings. Terrible sound, ridiculously low lifespan. Zero redeeming features.

Worth a try if you don't mind tossing $18 bucks in the crapper for an experiment (I was - and still am), but if you want something truly delightful, stick with the Hannabach Golds for your bass strings.

I ordered 2 of these because I didn't like the g-string on my last set of strings and I liked this string so much, I ordered the original pack that it comes shipped in. The string gives off a magnificent tone, however the 2nd one that came in the original packaging didn't seem to fit in the bridge.

I switched to these after using, first, GHS, and then Martin SP Lifespan. These marquis phosphor Bronze are half the price of the Martin Lifespan, sound better--a bit crisper, and for me, last about the same length of time. The silk wrap on the ball end keeps the wound end from sawing into the bridge slot. They make an acoustic guitar sound woody and balanced. These are great strings. The price makes them a steal. I love them and doubt I will ever switch.

For my 2000 Thomas Humphrey, the sound is beautiful and the balance particularly nice. To my ear, a better overall sound that the D'Addario ProAtre Dynacores I'd been using, and more mellow (less bright) than the Hense I had immediately after the Bosset's. But of course it depends on your guitar and your preferred sound.

Good price with quality. Strings brighter!

Good price with quality. Strings brighter!

as posted at Foroflamenco.com

I was excited but skeptical about this new set, and yet I am enthusiastically surprised that, in fact, it performed splendidly on my guitar.

I strung my German Vazquez Rubio blanca, which sports the lowest action ever attempted on a flamenco guitar [courtesy of the infallible master, Peter Tsiorba], with a set of Dynacore "Hard" Tension.

Tuning:
A few minutes later, all strings kept their pitch, requiring infrequent and minor adjustments;

Basses:
Indeed more brilliant and responsive than any of the D'Addario I tried thus far, whether Pro Arte or their Composite variation, with an accentuated metallic timbre that blends harmoniously with the titanium trebles. They also are quite flexible, even the hard tension variety.

Trebles:
I had tried titanium trebles before, and while I had enjoyed their thinner and perhaps more brilliant sound [than their conventional nylon counterparts] I always regretted a want of lyricism in their quickly expiring resonance and more frigid response.
However, within this set, these trebles performed beautifully, bringing out [or better, accentuating] the voice I like to hear from my blanca: thinner but loud, metallic yet lyrical, deep but uncompromised by excessive sustain.

There is a saying, that if you run out of ideas or excitement to compose or interpret, you should learn a new instrument. I find that while this may hold true as written, a refreshed sound to your own instrument may yield the same result. After stringing it with the Dynacore set, I just could not stop playing the guitar.

I woke up really early today [the usual 4am, Sunday notwithstanding] and played every piece of Flamenco/Fakemenco I had learned or composed but had relegated to the attic of my mind, among good but obsolete memories. Thank you, D'Addario, well done indeed.

Now, the usual and necessary DISCLAIMER:

Each guitar may find its own voice with a different tension, brand and type of strings; each player, in turn, has his own distinct expectations and discrete ways to husband the sound he wants to hear. Hence, this set may work for you, could simply leave you unimpressed or, worse, may even disappoint you greatly and arouse an irresistible fit of rage [causing you to curse me and my review.... well, then please re-read this disclaimer, once again].

However, yet, I am happy to report that I and my dear German Vazquez Rubio are both exceedingly pleased with the Dynacore set.

I LOVE the armrest! I also love that I can use it on all of my guitars since it is easily installed/removed and easily adjustable for depth. Great product!

Inexpensive, simple, easy to use. Puts my guitar exactly where I want it. Only drawback is that I regret not having purchased one sooner.

When I fist put the Reds on my 2011 Taylor GA3-12 12 string guitar, I was amazed at the sound.I know that Taylor recommends Elixir's but I have found the REDs to give a much richer, fuller sound and last almost as long as the Elixirs.

I do some finger picking on the 12 string but mostly use a flat pick. Either way, the Red's full sound makes quite a difference.

I will probably start using Red's for my 2000 Taylor 414ce 6 sting as well.