It’s been a while since I’ve had a string made by Royal Classics. I’m reviewing the Sonata series lights, which are at the top of the catalog and seem to be a manufacturer’s focus. The strings had a gentle, soft sound with high clarity and simple silver plated wound strings.
The following article summarizes the string reviews/impressions/information articles in this blog:
Authentic Spanish string maker Royal Classics
To be honest, Royal Classics is not a major manufacturer in Japan. I think only Aura is dealing with it properly in Japan.
However, it seems to be reasonably popular worldwide and has a wide range of products.
Not piano, but light? And medium tension?
The Sonata Light I will be reviewing is the medium tension version of the Sonata series.
As I mentioned in my article above, the Sonata series includes the following lineup:
- Sonata (SN10): Normal Tension
- Sonata Light (SL10): Medium Tension
- Sonata Forte (SF70): High Tension
- Sonata ‘X’ Forte (SX80): Extra High Tension
- Sonata Titanium (ST30): Titanium strings are the treble strings with normal tension
If high tension is forte, then low tension is piano, I think, but it’s not piano, it’s light. Is it because the volume seems to be small with the piano, and it is negative?
Furthermore, the name is not low or light tension, but medium tension. And since Sonata has higher tension than Sonata Light, I think Sonata Light should be called light tension.
It’s strange in many ways, but that’s the way it is.
Highly transparent treble strings and silver-plated bass strings
Now, I’d like to actually attach it.
The back of the package looks like this. It says that the treble strings are clear nylon and the bass strings are silver plated.
Also, it says “Anti corrosion” on it, so it seems to have a coating to prevent rust.
As a feature, it says “Sonata Light can make subtle nuances stand out with a special soft touch”. Then it’s still low-tension…
The inside of the package is simple. It is a monochrome printed paper package. I guess this is enough because there is a coating to prevent rust.
This is what the 3rd and 6th strings look like. Can you see that the treble strings are quite transparent?
It looks quite normal when attached to the guitar.
Treble strings with a soft and gentle sound
Let’s start with the treble strings. It sounds as clear and uncluttered as its highly transparent appearance.
Also, it has a soft and gentle sound like a low tension string. Even if you play it with a lot of force, it won’t be loud, but it is excellent for small and medium volume.
The stability of the nylon strings was surprisingly fast, and after a night, they were stable enough for practice.
It doesn’t feel very low tension, but it’s definitely low tension and easy to play.
Surprisingly powerful bass strings
On the other hand, the bass strings sound surprisingly powerful.
The tension is certainly low, but it feels like it has the bottom power to keep up even when you play it hard.
The metallic sound is so-so and normal, and it’s somewhere between speedy and volume oriented.
I didn’t feel the tension was that low, but it wasn’t high.
Good strings for enjoying the guitar sound in a moist way
I felt that the Sonata Light is a good string to play carefully and enjoy the sound of the guitar, rather than trying to generate volume and power by force.
In Japan, they are sold at AURA. In addition to the set, there is also a bass string only set that contains two 4 strings, which is a great deal.
It seems like a string that could be used more.
If you’re tired of Pro Arte, Augustine, or Savarez, you might want to give it a try.
