There are such things as “standard combinations” in the world. Classical guitar strings are no exception. One of the most popular combinations of different manufacturers is the combination of HANNABACH Black and AUGUSTINE Red. I would like to review this set, which is highly trusted by many guitar shops.
Combination recommended by many guitar shops
The following classical guitar string sets have long been known as a sure-fire combination:
- Treble strings: HANNABACH Black
- Bass strings: AUGUSTINE Red
This combination has been popular for a long time. And many guitar shops use it as the default string for the guitars they sell.
Guitar Shop Aura also sells this combination as the “Aura Recommended Set,” and the Hauser III I purchased from Forte Instruments was also initially this combination.
Guitar shops are all about how many people find the instrument sounds good and easy to play. So this shows how excellent this combination is.
A perfect balance between calm and roughness
When I actually tried using this combination of HANNABACH Black and AUGUSTINE Red, I felt that it deserved to be used in many guitar shops.
The HANNABACH treble strings have a rather calm sound, with a heavy sound rather than roughness or brightness:
On the other hand, AUGUSTINE Red is a string with a more rough and bright character, and has different characteristics from HANNABACH:
However, I felt that if I used HANNABACH for the treble strings and AUGUSTINE for the bass strings, the bad parts of each would be canceled out, and the good parts would remain.
The roughness of AUGUSTINE is reduced, leaving a sense of brilliance and speed.
Also, it is said that many AUGUSTINE Red treble strings have poor pitch, but this can be improved by replacing to HANNABACH (though I feel that AUGUSTINE has improved recently).
On the other hand, AUGUSTINE improves HANNABACH’s overly plain features and makes it appropriately gorgeous.
It is truly a change that deserves to be called a “Mariage”.
The tension is not high and it is easy to play.
The drawback is the high price
The downside of this combination of HANNABACH Black and AUGUSTINE Red is the price.
Classical guitar strings are generally cheaper to buy as a set, while individual strings tend to be more expensive.
Since the combination of HANNABACH and AUGUSTINE is not official from the manufacturers, you have no choice but to buy the strings separately. This unfortunately ends up being more expensive.
The price ratio between treble and bass strings varies between the manufacturers. AUGUSTINE’s bass strings are more expensive, while HANNABACH’s treble strings are more expensive.
A comparison of their list prices is shown below:
| A set of 3 treble strings | A set of 3 bass strings | |
| AUGUSTINE Red | 792 yen | 1,958 yen |
| HANNABACH Black | 1,452 yen | 2,178 yen |
As you can see, a set of 3 bass strings of AUGUSTINE is more than twice the price of a set of 3 treble strings, while HANNABACH is only about 1.5 times the price.
In other words, the combination of HANNABACH Black treble strings + AUGUSTINE Red bass strings is a combination of the more expensive strings of each.
Each guitar shop sells this combination for more than 2,000 yen. This is, at best, a slightly lower selling price than the HANNABACH set.
If you’re looking for strings that will fit any guitar, I recommend this combination
I found the combination of HANNABACH Black and AUGUSTINE Red to be a wonderful combination, enhancing each other’s good qualities and cancels out each other’s bad points.
It’s a sure-fire combination that’s no wonder many guitar shop use it for their stock guitars.
The disadvantage is that it is relatively expensive because you have to buy HANNABACH and AUGUSTINE strings separately. However, you can reduce running costs by replacing the treble strings only once in a while and only the bass strings on a regular basis.
If you are unsure about the choice of strings, try these out.
