Thomastik-Infeld Nylon/Silverplated Copper Flat Wound Light Rope Core, .016 - .039, KR116

The Rope strings changed both the sound and the volume output of my classical nylon string guitar, a 1959 Goya 17. The crisp, more resonant sound for fingerpicking is frankly stunning. The increase in natural volume output is dramatic for both fingerpicking and strumming (I don't use a pick). The strings also hold their pitch much better than the standard nylon strings. The only drawback, even with my low action, is the need to press down a bit more on bar chords. I've gone back and forth between standard nylon strings and rope strings because of this, mostly because of my aging arthritic thumbs (especially the left one). One solution may be to have two quality classical nylon guitars (narrower and shorter neck, wider frets, and pegs perpendicular to the head, etc.) to use for different reasons during performance or perhaps for different performances. The sudden drop in volume and string sound when switching to the non-rope strings during a performance can be compensated for somewhat by the amplification system and EQ. But the difference is very noticeable, so I'd stick with one or the other during a single performance. Another solution is to tune the guitar down a half step or even a whole step to lower the tension of the rope strings. I'm still experimenting with this. As a fingerpicker, now that I've begun using the rope strings, it's become harder for me to return to the standard nylon strings. Just an amazing sound.

A quality product.

These are great strings-they are pricey but so are many imported items. It’s easier to thread the ball ends through bridge holes than tying the nylon ends on bridge. This also keeps them up to stable pitch better. Martin also makes ball nylons, of course.
But the evenness of tone across low to high strings is unique, as a regular nylon set has long sustain on the silver wrapped bases but little to none on the plain trebles. The High e especially has a clear ringing sustain, helping add life to legato vibrato, arpeggios, chords, and high up-the neck-scales. Will give your guitar less ‘Uke’ sound and little or no difference in load on the top, as rope cores are lighter pressure than steel cores. Great!

In 1975 while on tour in Brazil I visited the Del Vecchio guitar store in Sao Paulo and bought one of their "Dynamico" model resonator guitars, which was the one used by Chet Atkins and Los Indios Tabajaras. This guitar took silk and steel strings and for the next 20 years this was what I used, and with good results. I eventually became close friends with Nato Lima (of Los Indios Tabajaras) and one night he gave me a set of these Thomastik Rope Core strings, telling me "Try these--you will get much better results." After putting them on my Del Vecchio, I could not believe what I was hearing--these were the BEST sounding strings imaginable! I was amazed--never before had I seen a wound first and second string! These strings are designed for the classical guitar--but give an 'in-between' sound. They are a low tension string as well, making them ideal for the Del Vecchio resonator guitar. Since the early 90s, both Chet Atkins and Nato Lima were using these strings exclusively on their Del Vecchio guitars. I must say these strings are the best for these kind of guitars. Respectfully, Bill Turner

Love these strings and using them on both of my guitars- classical and acoustic. Beautiful tone and easy on the fingers

They don't sound so good because they're flat wound, but for my style of playing; sliding up and down the strings like a sitar, they cant be beat.

For my guitars, I'm in an almost constant state of trying to find the "perfect" strings. This search ended, at least for my classical guitar, back in 2012, when I put a set of these on for the first time. I can say, with confidence, that no other string will sully the neck of my classical guitar without written permission from the Pope. They have a sumptuous tone, feel just right, and hold tune...forever. Bottom line? They're expensive, but they're worth it.

I use these strings on my tenor guitar and my baritone ukulele both tuned dgbe. The uke has a little twang to it like an acoustic guitar but maintains the richness of tone and the strings kind mellow out my tenor which I prefer.

Like all Thomastick strings they go about things very differently. The KR116 strings are not like any conventional Nylon/Classic string at all. They are a new style of string perfect for the Nylon cross over style. Sound sits someway between a good Nylon/Silk and steel sound.

On July 17 2010 I wrote an enthusiastic review here of the Thomastik KR116. I had the set on a spanish guitar. I am sad to report that the guitar developed an affliction, so I pulled these strings to give them a try on my 1965 Martin D18. They are still there, and 4 years later the sound is still fantastic, with touches of spanish and steel. On a bigger body like a Martin they sound even better. I keep promising to get another set, but since they still sound fine ...

These are outstanding classical guitar strings!

They feel and sound very different from typical classical guitar strings, but their intonation is perfect, they quickly come up to pitch and stay there, and harmonics jump off of these strings.

They almost sound a bit like steel-string acoustic strings (of couse, they should given their construction), but they are not overly bright. They also last an incredibly long time (like all of the Thomastik-Infeld strings I have used), and they are, at least to me, well worth the expense.

Muffle them, thromp 'em, even try to break them... these strings give off harmonics that please the ears.

With a seven-octave stroboscopic tuner try precise Pythagorean tuning. Everything is ready for a clear six string chord. Open strings, ethnic music, even dissonance is more interesting. Get above the 12th fret and find the range of tiny volume control.

But do be careful putting them on. They are very easy to mount - but if you bend the silverplated copper string it will remember.

I just received and installed (very easy to install) these strings on my Yamaha classical silent. Took a gamble and very glad that I did. I have slowly changed (I am 78) to popular tunes through the years and these string are great. I don't use bells and whistle while of course I use the amp, but these strings give amazing life to the music. Glad I tried them.

I play a custom built Kirk Sand nylon/electric guitar. I've had Thomastik Classic N flat wounds on it for a couple of years. However, the basses were were a bit dull, so I took a chance on the Classic S.

Wow! is my review. At least for this guitar.

They are bright and full and feel great. The basses are thinner than standard nylon, so your set-up might need a touch up. The ball ends are not strictly nylon. But I think they are required because stringing them the classic way may lead to early breakage at the saddle.

Haven't tried them on a standard classical acoustic yet.

Customer# 310280 order # 549885

These are the worst classical guitar strings I have ever encountered.

1) They don't fit on the instrument. The low E-string is so thick it only fits through the standard hole size with great effort

2) The strings have a metal cylinder on the bridge end which are not used on classical guitars. This mechanism is for acoustic guitars only.

3) Once on the guitar there are several evident problems. For one they are out of tune by .1 to .25 cents!!

4) I'm not recalling the term for this but due to their un-eveness they actually don't have a consistent pitch the pitch wanders

5) Talking about tone quality is irrelevant at this point these string are unusable.

I called justforstrings and asked about their satisfaction guarantee policy: "You can't just return them if you don't 'like' them. If you think they are defective call the manufacturer."

This is the first review that I have written about anything, ever. These string are the best quality guitar string I have ever used. I have a couple of classicals, two steel string flat tops, three arch tops, and several solid bodies and I have tried a lot of different string on all of them. I put a set of these on my Taylor NS72. They really sound amazing. Immediate improvement in the intonation and a bright, even sound. The sound is much brighter that a typical nylon string set. The trebles sound almost like a steel string guitar. If you are used to the typical nylon trebles and really like that sound these may not be for you. I would describe it almost as a hybrid type sound. I had no issues with fret or nut buzz even with the smaller diameter compared to a traditional nylon set. Great feel, touch, dynamics, sustain. I find myself picking up that guitar before any other now that I put these strings on it! Great service from JustStrings - no more trips to GC for strings for me!

I wanted to make my guitar sound a little brighter so I googled "brightest nylon strings" and these came up. I like them very much. The sound is very bright, yet substantial, there's no low end boom, they really opened up the sound of my guitar. They stay almost perfectly in tune for long periods of time. I've had one set on for about a month now and they still sound like they did the day I put them on. They're a little more expensive than others but definitely worth every penny to me.

The sound is excellent but the thing that has not gotten as much attention here is how these stay in tune! I'm used to trebles that stretch for days and days and days. I strung these trebles and they are spot on immediately.

The one caveat I have not seen here is that you may need to have a new nut cut. Although the bridge was fine, I got a lot of string buzz on the open string until I replaced the nut.

In 1999, I was dared to try these Classic "S" series strings at a music store in Johannesburg, S.A., A 13th birthday gift in 67', my 1st guitar has become my $85.00 Stradivarius. Many mixers have been impressed by it's acoustics in studios around the world. After riding a 24 cataract, E ticket ride down the wild Zambizi River, at Victoria Falls (Sept. is best), we camped out on a sandy shoal. Our fantastic Metebele guide arranged to have my guitar carried down the face of a 1000 foot cliff to our camp below. "This might be just the place to accept the dare of playing steel strings on my classical guitar." With an audience of over 40 river guides, several basking crocodiles, and a pod of groovin' hippos, I began to play Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier". The sound those strings produced was pure magic, and on cue, every creature in the bush that knew the words, began to sing. Like a 60's "Beach Party Bingo" movie, I played electric without an amp. A swinging monkey even banged out ripping solos on a hippo's teeth.
What a night! After that, can I put anything other than Thomastik-Infeld metal strings on my Ventura Bruno? Never.

Love your company....will do business in the future.......zac bettinger.

When I was about to order these strings, I read all of the 12 reviews 3 times. All these guys are serious in what they are saying. So, I went ahead and ordered these strings. Also the price is a little high. All of my instrument had new strings, I just was not happy with the sound and feel of the strings. Anyway when these strings arrived, I right away opened the package and took a look at the strings and I was surprised at how thin they were. I thought I was going to have fret buzz. I put them on and tuned the guitar very carefully thinking that since they were thin maybe they might break. Ok, everything tuned I played my guitar and I was truly amazed at the sound my classical guitar made. The sound is really amazing.
I have a Cordoba C7 and these strings make it sound beautiful it has a great electrical sound plug it in the amp.I'm very happy with my guitar now. Thank you Juststrings.

Spectacular sound and wonderful feel on my fingertips as I follow in the Sor tradition. Will never buy anything else again.

As promised, the action and sustain are amazing. Having always player nylon I was a little taken aback by how 'electric' the strings sound. It has it's advantages for fingerstyle jazz. Tone balance is very good and no booming bass. There is a little bit of scratching sound at first when fingerpicking on the treble strings because of the flat-wind but within a week you adjust.

As a steel-string player the Thomastik-Infield rope-core KR116's are perfect. High tension, thin, great sound: very nylon but with an extra bit of zing. I bought ten sets. Too good to be true. Cheers Rob

These strings make your guitar come alive and being flat round you can have very low action that just makes you play so much better. Expensive yes, but they last four times as long as any other strings. I have two guitars with these strings and plan on putting them them on my other four, Juststrings have the best price anywhere even with shipping.

I have not been a big fan of Classical guitars, because the neck feels clunky and the sound rather plinky. Give me an oud or an ES series Electric any day. But Thomastik makes amazing strings, and this is the first time I'm really enjoying a Spanish guitar.

The first thing you notice is the high tech flat windings in nylon and in silvered copper. Like 3D chains. Then you find they tune up and stay in tune right away. Amazing. The sustain is incredible, the volume is all you want, there is no break in timbre between the basses and trebles, yet the top strings sound much like a velvety nylon or PVF, and the basses ring rich and harmonic. It's true to the ideal sound of a Spanish guitar, that nobody else quite reaches. It's hard to grasp how they do it. With a little EQ, you can bring out a huge range of tones, because there is so much there. The tension is perfectly balanced, and neither too light nor too heavy. These are not wimpy super low tension strings, they are both sensitive enough for fingertips and rigid enough for nails. They ooze such aesthetic and technical perfection that I spend time just staring at them. Absolutely the best strings I have ever played on a Spanish guitar. Well worth every penny, so much so that I'm willing to buy two sets to try on an (11 string) oud.

I love these strings.....These strings, and they are sweet on the tips of my fingers.

Long sustain of fundamentals compared to other classical guitar strings. Sufficient harmonics. All strings have nearly equal tension. String tone is consistent across the treble and bass strings. Pitch is retained, so less frequent tuning. The high quality of manufacture is obvious. I use them on an Orpheus Valley Sofia SC classical guitar.

I recently bought a Gypsy jazz with a D hole, hand made in Bolivia--40 years old; the woods have settled, and it's a rich, rich sounding guitar. I needed awesome strings to go with it. I tried several types, all nylon as this was constructed for Classical strings. When I put these rope-core strings on it--holy smokes, THERE was that sound I was after. I'm buying extra sets, not because I need them yet, but just because I want to know that I won't have to go ten minutes without these wonderful strings on that guitar.

I have a Maccaferri-style classic which I use for Django style jams. These strings are great. They add overtones and a sweet sound to this guitar. Ordinary nylon strings just don't move the soundboard the same way. The nylon wound LaBella's are a close second but these give that sharp tone on the high e string.