Soundcheck: Augustine Strings - The Original Nylon String for Guitar - Full
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2019
- Full extended audio samples: • Soundcheck: Augustine ...
Summary video (5 min): • Soundcheck: Augustine ...
Karmen I tested out all 4 models of Augustine treble sets - Classic, Imperial, Regal and Paragon - to determine the unique tonal and tactile qualities of each. We tried them out on the same pieces so you can hear even the slightest nuances of the sound.
Developed in New York in the 1940s by a Danish immigrant named Albert Augustine, Augustine Strings invented the modern nylon string with the guidance of Andrés Segovia, who, along with countless other masters of the guitar, went on to play them for the rest of his storied career. "...All sing out and sound more beautifully on the new Augustine strings than on any other," Segovia wrote -- let's see if we agree!🙂
karmenstendler.com
barosrecords.com/studio
www.albertaugustine.com
My favourite gear: kit.co/urosb
Recorded with two Schoeps CMC6/MK21 microphones. Preamps/converters: Metric Halo ULN-2.
Video: 2x Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera with Samyang 12mm T2.2 Cine and Sigma ART 18-35 f/1.8.
Uros - I am a 67 year old American who has loved classical guitar since I received my first Segovia record in about 1967. If my wife and I ever get to Slovenia, I will look you up. Your place looks so beautiful!
Robert Hunt hi Robert, nice to Meet you! Slovenia is gorgeous, especially its mountains, rivers, caves and the capital city, so you should definitely visit.
Beautiful playing by both of you.
Such beautiful playing ❤..came here to choose some strings but here I am in tears
Wow, thanks so much, Nick!
This was a very useful review. I appreciate your efforts! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely great video!
I really enjoyed the classics. They sound very smooth and I love that type of sound.
This was helpful. Thanks!
I liked the sound of Paragon best, I didn't expect that
Excellent video! Thanks. I liked the classic blue sound. Was surprised this was the Segovia string set.
I was surprised, too! Thanks, Jeffrey!
I find the Augustines always have the best intonation than any of the other strings I've tried. The thickness seems just right too...not too thin or too fat.
Uros, thanks for another very useful comparison video. My perceptions are not what I expected. Karmen seemed to get the most lively sound from the Imperials.It was a big difference to my ears. What was a surprise was that the Regal and Paragon trebles sounded two dimensional in comparison. Also I didn't notice an increase in loudness listening on UA-cam with good monitoring. Interestingly the difference in the strings was much less noticeable when you played. I thought the Paragons may have sounded the best for you. After hearing that you each chose those strings respectively as your favorites I'm thinking personal technique may be the deciding factor. Congrats fine job with editing and playing!
Thank you!
I also thought that Uroš would love the Paragons 😂
Great comparison video and looking forward for more! I prefer brighter tone so I love the Paragon and the Imperial set.
Thanks!
I use Augustine regal reds and I absolutely love them
Nice!
Greetings Uros and Karmen. I just got a new spruce top guitar, strung with Augustine Regals. I like the sound a lot, very balanced, powerful, but at the same time, sweet. I used carbon for a long time and i liked it, but it is true that they sometimes feel extremely stiff, and the colors are not as pronounced as in nylon. I did liked Regal and Paragon the most, a warm carbon string is also excellent, but i will use nylon once again.
Great video.Imperial is my favourite, I use red imperial sometimes.
I always use the Classic Blue and for me it's the best choise.
I've been enjoying the Imperial Gold for several months now, great strings.
Good to hear!
The Augustine Blues were used by my two uncles...It seems that no matter how hard I try, all the other brands sound terrible to me by comparison. I think all the Augustines sound good to me, but I'm a hopeless Romantic and love Segovia. I think that I still love those Classic Blues the best. Thanks for the great video! Such magnificent playing from both of you!
Thanks so much Michael!
Awesome playing!
No matter the tool but the hands behind it. In this case glorious hands...😊
Thanks
Imperial have been a favourite of mine for years:
1. Paragon: the overall result in terms of sound in the recordings was the most satisfying! The balance was awesome. The guitar had a fuller and more interesting sound and showed the most aspects of its timbre with these strings. In my opinion, they don't sound like real carbon strings and not that radical different to the Imperial I also liked very much.
2. Imperial Blue: clean sound with warmth and power; it had the benefits of the traditional Classic with an extra kick and more colors.
3. Regal Blue: rigid and less vivid tone as Imperial, a little "boring" sound if you allow me to say so haha.
4. Classic Blue: few overtones, but really well defined notes; maybe too dark in my taste and I heard less sustain...
Regards, my dear friends Karmen and Uroš! ;)
Big hug! 😊👍
Carlos Alberto Castro thanks man! Awesome insight right there, exactly what I feel but in better words! :)
@@UrosGuitar I'm happy to read that! 1 to 4 are the sets in order from more to less favorite 😉
I swear to god I didn't know Augustine had created the nylon strings (and all the history behind it). I just went to Music school (conservatory) and when there our teacher sold and recommended Augustine strings. He even picked each one of our sets. He told me to use the Black package ones, for my playing... and so I did. I still love their sound :D
I have to add that your studio (your recording methods) is producing a sound second only to Manfred Eicher's with ECM. A not too distant neighbor of yours, Stefano Amerio, has a studio in Udine that creates a similar quality of sound - he has done many recordings for ECM. Must be something in the air in that part of the world!
Thanks for an excellent video! Im trying to decide on a set, because i want the warmth & vibrato of the originals but with more power. Which would you recommend?
I use the regal blue but hearing these examples overall, I liked imperial.
You should this with other strings brands, very informative!
thanks for this usreful informations , please can i know the microphone used in this video ?
I am new to nylon string guitars, but I must say that really did prefer the Imperial strings on your guitar. Maybe they just recorded better in the sound environment, or maybe it was the particular characteristics of your guitar that highlighted that string set. I will be trying the Augustine Imperials. Thank you so much for the comparison, and the beauty of your skills!
I like the paragon best for the guitar your using. I’m using the classical red at the moment on a ramirez type guitar. I’m curious if the paragon set would work on a more traditional guitar...
Ha, ha, ha ,,,, I have the same dilemma, that's why I'm here. I also play reds
and I have a Ramirez guitar, I don't know whether to stick with the reds or not
buy a more expensive Paragon.
How much time to get strings to stop stretching?
I use high tension fluorocarbon on all my 630 mm scale guitars
Augustine string manufacturer must have a reason for coloring one end of the trebles. Which end of the string goes where. That instruction should be on every string sold. Which end of the basses with the loosely wound loop go?
Hi Uros and Karmen
Thanks for this interesting set of videos (I also looked into the longer ones). I have not played any Augustine strings myself so this is really interesting. I have a few comments and questions:
How long did you allow the strings to settle after putting them under tension?
I think it would have been cool if you added Uros' old favorite EJ46 (or even better EJ45) to the comparison. These are just the reference string most people have some experience with.
I would have liked to see something about the Black and Red basses. Since both of you seems to distinguish between recording/small venue strings and large venue strings, I wonder whether you would actually prefer normal or low tension bass strings for small venues or when recording.
Thanks again for the video.
Hi, thank you for your comment!
1) 5-10 minutes, tuned them half a tone higher and after a few minutes only the Augustine strings held the pitch extremely well.
2) Maybe in the future, this set of videos was done specifically for Augustine strings. For me Augustine have deeper basses and more singing trebles, but I agree it would be cool to have a direct comparison.
3) I think we might do another set of videos comparing the basses soon!
Best wishes, Uros
As usual, you have put together a great video as well as provided us with useful material. Thanks a lot for this gift.
I have one question in regards to using medium tension trebles and high tension basses. Would this difference in tensions negatively affect the guitar in the long run?
Thank you very much! I don't believe it would, though I think luthiers might have a better answer. :)
@@UrosGuitar Thanks for your response Uros. I just ordered a few sets of the Classic Blue, they seemed amazing. I'll let you know how they worked out. Have a nice day.
Regal Blue. I would have preferred to hear the exact same section repeated with each type of string, or the entire selection with each set.. That would have been less enjoyable, but better for comparing the strings I think.
In this video there’s exactly what you’re describing ua-cam.com/video/phHGrJ3qyvg/v-deo.html
Could someone tell me what's the song at the beginning in the introduction?
A. Barrios: Chôro da saudade
You guitar playing inspired me to quit playing guitar.
xd
Interesting video. Can you tell me what guitar support you used in this video please?
Guitarlift.
which set of Augustine strings was playing in the black sequence title, it sound amazing, thanks a lot
I forgot, but it must be either Classic Blue or Imperial Blue😊
Who's playing the Bach 995 in the background? Just curious.
What Augustine strings suit a fan braced, cedar top Yairi classical guitar ?
classic blue has a clear and traditional tone, i like it! 💓
I have tried many different brands of string. I don't like the sound of carbon strings on any of my three classical guitars. I have settled on Augustine classic strings - they seem to have a warmer sound and tune up quickly. I prefer the Augustine classic red over the blue because they have a lower tension.
Great! If I'm not wrong, the red classic only have lower tension basses, not trebles... I tend to prefer high(er) tension basses for the cello-like sound and more volume.
I too favor the Augustine Red per referral for lattice braced top (Spruce) I have.
What do you recommend for the standard fan braced Cedar top ?
@@robdonell9915 try Classic red or Regal Red its the most warmer set you can have by Augustine, for me it works perfectly with cedar
How do they effect intonation
" We tried them out on the same pieces so you can hear even the slightest nuances of the sound." Note: the various strings were not tried out on the same pieces. But the best way to hear the "slightest nuances" would be to play the exact same section of the same piece using the different strings. Unfortunately, that wasn't done here, so this soundcheck is fairly useless.
I liked the original Nylon String because it gives a darker tone . The darker the better for my playing . I want to replace the guitar bridge nut with a wooden nut. Do you think it will make a difference?
Hi Pierre, thanks! Depending on the wood you choose, I think I would expect warmer tone but also slightly inferior sustain. What kind of material do you have currently? From my experience cow bone always works best, but upgrading the tuning rollers from plastic to aluminium made a huge difference for me.
@@UrosGuitar I am not sure about the nut but I think my problem was using the wrong strings . I just changed my guitar strings from Flamenco strings to Thomastik Infeld CF 127 flat wound strings .
It sure made a big difference , it is like I am playing with a new guitar. the bass is so deep and warm.
عالی بود
🤗🤗🌹
low, medium or high tension ??
@@MrCarlosaugust thank u for late comment dude, i already choose High tension 7months ago
🤗🎶🎵🌹❤️
How to call this tension?
I don't know which set you are referring to...
I used the blue classic strings for many years. Don't think highly of Segovia. Now prefer the Savarez Alliance 540 R HT.
Ok!
Hi from Ukraine!What are the best among these to your minds.Because it 's difficult to choose when not playing by myself.I think you have your fаvourites among these.
Imperial Blue for me
To be honest, I quit using Agustine some decades ago. I used the Classic set The poor quality turned into frayed treble strings, what absolutely inacceptable. This problems has happend several times after new market stand-ups untill the Augustine company got almost broke. When I later tried the Imperial set, the trebles cracked. In order to this experience there is no need for me to check out Augustine strings. But there is one point in your video I don´t understand. You took reference on the projection. Were this your words on this subjects or does it come from Augustine? The recording room cannot prove the pojection. How did you check this?
Our own words, not Augustine point of view. And obviously based on real world concert experience, not this studio test. I have never had any experience you are describing with Augustine, but I have had with other brands.
@@UrosGuitar Ok, thank you.
Thank you, but Knobloch strings are perfect.
Please explain, Maestro, why do they sound so beautiful? They seem to have so much soul...Other string sound soulless to me.
I don’t know, they’re special, more depth and colors I guess...
I guess you had to be there to tell any real difference in sound.
I have long loved Augustine strings but never liked carbon. This might change my mind as I feared it would. Lol
Mine too, haha!