D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arté Nylon Classical, Normal Tension: D'Addario's best-selling classical set, reviewed

D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon Classical is a 6-string set in Normal Tension, D'Addario's own best-selling tension for classical guitar. The three trebles are clear nylon monofilament, plain, unwound strings that give classical guitar its sweeter, mellower top end. The three basses are silver-plated copper wound over a multi-filament nylon core, tuned for a warm, consistent low end. It ships uncoated, tie-end, full scale, made in the USA at D'Addario's New York production facility.

D'Addario's own product page doesn't undersell it: Pro-Arte Nylon is the set that "has come to define classical guitar," and Normal Tension is the company's best-selling tension across the whole classical line, "preferred for the balance of rich tone, comfortable feel, and dynamic projection."

A steel set is specified by gauge, in thousandths of an inch. Classical nylon strings work differently: tension, a rating for how hard the string pulls back against your fingers at pitch, is the number manufacturers actually publish and players actually shop by. D'Addario's own product page for EJ45 lists no diameter chart at all, only a per-string tension chart, in pounds, at standard pitch. If you're still weighing nylon against steel in the first place, our nylon and classical guitar strings guide lays out the full trade.

That's roughly 85.8 lbs of total pull across the set, D'Addario's own published figures, not a third-party estimate. Notice the third string, G3, actually measures thicker than the wound fourth string, D3, even though D3 sits lower in pitch: a plain nylon string needs more raw diameter to reach the right mass, while a wound string gets there through the wrap instead of the core. That's the opposite of how a steel set works, where each string down the neck is reliably thicker than the one above it, and it's a detail that catches steel-string players off guard the first time they try nylon.

Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero of Rodrigo y Gabriela both string their custom Yamaha nylon guitars with D'Addario EJ45. Premier Guitar's own rig rundown confirms it independently for each player: Sanchez's Yamahas, built on the company's NX series, "are strung with D'Addario EJ45 strings," and Quintero's NTX-based prototypes "take D'Addario EJ45s," which she plays fingerstyle only, no pick.

It's a two-decade case study in what Normal Tension is actually built for. Rodrigo y Gabriela's style is aggressive and percussive, tapping and slapping the guitar body like a hand drum between fingerpicked phrases, and it would be reasonable to assume that calls for the loudest tension D'Addario sells. It doesn't. Both players use the same Normal Tension default described above, not Hard or Extra Hard, evidence that D'Addario's mid-tier tension has real headroom for a hard-attack playing style without the added strain a heavier set puts on the fretting hand across a full show.

D'Addario ships Pro-Arte Nylon in four tensions. All four share the same basic construction, silver-plated copper basses over a nylon core, clear nylon trebles, uncoated, tie-end; only the tension, and the gauge that comes with it, changes.

Gauge figures come from retailer Strings and Beyond's published listings for the line; D'Addario's own site specs each tension in pounds rather than diameter, the same convention used in the tension chart above. None of the other three tensions have a CYS page yet, EJ45 Normal is the one with a documented player behind it.

• Classical and flamenco players who want D'Addario's default: its best-selling tension, and a safe first set for any nylon-string guitar
• Fingerstyle players who want a warm, projecting tone without the extra finger strain of Hard or Extra Hard tension
• Rodrigo y Gabriela fans chasing their exact documented tone on a standard classical guitar
• Players moving over from steel strings for the first time: tie-end construction fits virtually every classical guitar built today, no special hardware needed

• Maximum volume and projection: EJ46 Hard or EJ44 Extra Hard tension gets there instead, at the cost of more strain on the fretting hand
• A lighter touch or smaller hands that find Normal still too stiff: EJ43 Light tension is the gentler option
• Players who want a coated set for extended string life: D'Addario's own spec lists EJ45 as uncoated, standard for classical strings but shorter-lived than a coated steel set, see our how to change classical guitar strings guide when it's time to restring
• A steel-string acoustic or electric guitar: tie-end nylon strings are built for a classical guitar's bridge and top bracing, not a pin bridge or saddle

EJ45 is D'Addario's default classical string for a reason: its best-selling tension, a construction it calls the sound that defines classical guitar, and a real, working case study in Rodrigo y Gabriela, who reach for this exact Normal Tension set rather than something louder despite a famously aggressive, percussive attack. If you want more projection, D'Addario's own Hard and Extra Hard tensions are one purchase away in the same construction. If you're not sure where to start on a classical guitar, start here.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Approved

D'Addario

Pro-Arte Nylon Classical, Normal Tension (EJ45)

.028 – .043

Price tier: $

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