Chapter 10. A Conclusion

So, there you have it! - my little saga and commentary about classical guitar strings: their beauty and their shortfalls, my victories and my dead-ends.

By the way, I never wanted to become a guitar string nerd, and I really don’t think I am now.

If I hadn’t become progressively more fussy about tone, projection, string texture/sustain etc. I’d be still happily plonking away on a cheap guitar with cheap strings and not worrying about gauges, tensions and string materials etc.

My descent into the labyrinth of detail about string tenson/gauges and brand differences was motivated only by a concern to solve immediate problems – such as the notoriously buzzy D string issue – or to try to coax just a little more sonority out of my guitars.

But one thing led to another - or rather, one slightly better guitar came after another, each with its own personality - and my playing aspirations moved with these changes.

I blame the great virtuoso guitar players for entrancing me with their music, tone and technique and inveigling me into this quest.

Before I knew it, I found myself tangled in strings. After several decades (and quite a few thousand dollars of expense!)

I’ve come out of the maelstrom knowing both the subtle and striking differences that strings can make to a classical guitar’s sound.

Of course the player makes all the difference, but we owe it to ourselves & the music to get the optimum quality of sound from the instrument we have or can afford to buy.

Strings are a critical part of this relationship.