D’Addario XT Classical Guitar Strings

This article will review the D’Addario XT classical guitar strings. These strings are quite unique because they feature a special coating on the bass strings that give them extended life. According to D’Addario, they should last 2-3 times as long as standard uncoated strings. The treble strings are exactly the same as other D’Addario sets, so you can get XT basses in the following:

  • Nylon Treble Strings
  • Carbon Treble Strings
  • Titanium (Composite) Treble Strings

They are also available in normal, hard, and extra hard tensions, like other D’Addario classical guitar strings.

Our Review

In this review we will look at the differences between the three types of treble strings, while testing the extended life of the basses. Here’s how it works:

We changed the basses and left them on for six full weeks (close to twice the amount of time it takes us to wear out uncoated basses). But every two weeks we also changed out the trebles so we could hear the difference in each treble type with the coated basses. The “TL;DR” is that the basses do in fact have extended life! They stayed quite vibrant, bright, and powerful up to the six-week mark. Beyond that they did begin to dull and wear out, however.

Some things to consider when testing classical guitar strings

Your instrument matters!

“The wand chooses the wizard, Harry.” Well, when it comes to strings, the guitar chooses the string. Your particular instrument will just sound best with a particular set of strings. That may end up being a hybrid set of different kinds of strings. But every guitar is a bit picky and prefers the sound of one kind of string more than another.

Many other factors can affect strings

There are several factors that affect the sound or tone of your strings. First, humidity and temperature can affect intonation and even the life of the strings. If your hands sweat a lot, you’ll gradually wear down the strings and they just won’t last as long. Likewise your nails and their current shape will have a big effect on the sound. And our nails change pretty much every day depending on our diet, hydration, but also other environmental factors.

The guitar for review

The guitar we are using for this review is a fan-braced traditional Spanish instrument built by Durham, North Carolina Andy Danser. It’s a phenomenal guitar with spruce top and a gorgeous satinwood back and sides. Thanks, Andy!

The string tension

For every set of strings in this review we are using hard tension strings. This is simply because I prefer this tension and so does my instrument.

The music for this review

Every time I changed the strings I played the same piece, a beautiful piece called “A Lullaby to Wake up with” by the late guitarist and composer Philip Rosheger. This piece has a gorgeous melody on the bass strings and so we can really hear the way the basses sound with each two-week interval. Plus, we really get to hear the interaction of the basses with the different kinds of treble strings.

In other sections of the video I am simply improvising.

The mics for this review

The mics for all of the recordings of Philip Rosheger’s “A Lullaby to Wake up with” are SE8 microphones. Other improvised noodling feature the Aputure A-Lav omnidirectional lav mic.

Nylon Trebles with D’Addario XT Bass Strings

Nylon trebles are have a “warm and round” sound according to D’Addario. And that is a very accurate description. These strings provide perhaps the quintessential sound we all surely associate with “the classical” or “nylon-string” guitar. Now, it’s important to point out that the terms we use to describe these characteristics, like “warm” or “bright,” are quite subjective. You may have an entirely different vocabulary to describe these things. But “warm” and “round” work well for nylons. Another way to describe them is that they have a fuller-bodied depth to them than other types of strings.

Two important characteristics to point out about nylon treble strings. First, the first string really sings in a beautiful way compared to other types of strings, at least in our experience. You can get a beautiful vibrato with nylon and the sound is really appropriate for a melodic singing tone.

Secondly, the third string is a bit too dull and round on nylons. This is typical of nylon strings in general. The reason for this is that the fourth string is the thinnest of the basses and so is brighter than the other basses. But the third string is quite a bit thicker than the other trebles. And thus the transition from the fourth to the third string can be a bit inconsistent. Having a thinner, brighter third string can really help smooth out the transition between the fourth and third strings.

Carbon Trebles with D’Addario XT Bass Strings

Carbon trebles, according to D’Addario are “the thinnest in diameter” and made of a “much denser and tensed material,” which makes the string “bright and offers much more projection.” So often guitarists remark that carbons are “louder.” That’s something that’s difficult 12-18 inches away from a microphone. But we can certainly say the strings have a “brighter” sound to them.

The first string is particularly bright and even “pingy” with a sharp high-end set of overtones. The characteristic I would use to describe this string is that it sounds a lot like the ringing of a steel-string high-E. The bright third string really provides a nice transition from the brightness of the fourth string.

Titanium Trebles with D’Addario XT Bass Strings

Titanium trebles, again according to D’Addario, represent “the compromise string,” in that they are “just as thick as nylon,” but with “a brighter sound.” These are a composite material blending the best of both worlds of nylon and carbon. These strings have a less defined characteristic compared to the nylons and carbons. They do, however, chart a middle course in terms of the sound between the warmth of nylons and the brightness of the carbons. If you’re looking for a more mellow, moderate sound then you might really like these strings.

But what about the D’Addario XT Bass Strings?

The coated basses of the XT strings are very similar to the D’Addario Dynacore bass strings. The dynacores are a composite-core string wrapped in silverplated copper. And in my opinion the coating did not change the sound of the typical dynacore basses, which is tremendous! They are quite lively, have a ton of power, and in our testing they really did last for about twice the time D’Addario’s nylon-core basses usually last.

If you like the sound of the nylon-core basses, you may find the dynacores not to your liking. But as with all strings, we really recommend you try them out first!

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We hope that review was helpful for you! We really enjoyed testing out these fantastic strings by D’Addario. Would you like us to test your strings next? Send an email to [email protected]