Nylon strings question

Posted by Greg Thompson on January 10, 2015 at 2:51pm
Hi Folks, I'm trying out nylon strings for the first time. I built a 3 stringer. Using the 5, 3 and 1 strings: GDG tuning. My issue is they sound dead and seem sloppy, but if I tighten them up, they break. Part of the breaking came from some issues with the tail sharp edge and bad angle, but since I fixed that, it's still an issue. I'm unsure how tight to make them. I know nylon is very stretchy. I have built others CBGs with no issues using steel strings. I need some guidance. What am I missing? The body is rather small gourd, 24 inch scale. The low string has a lot of vibration but when I tried to tighten it up, it felt way to tense before I got it in tune. It sounds decent, but the other two strings sound kind of dead. When I strum all three it sounds horrible! I can see a lot of movement in the strings (vibrating quite a lot) The strings I am using are Ernesto Palla guitar strings, "concert quality". Thanks, Greg

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Replies

  • Greg Thompson February 1, 2015 at 11:26am
    I'm finally able to post some pics...

    image.jpg

  • Greg Thompson January 27, 2015 at 3:43pm
    Last update. I got some help from one of my students who plays guitar. He pointed out that the nut groove was too deep and the string was buzzing on the first fret. His eyes are better than mine and his experience helped me out. I cut a small shim and super glued it into the groove... problem solved! I'm really liking this Gourtar. I had our music teacher play it through an amp and he had a blast. The music students really get a kick out of my builds. One student is always right there when I bring them in. He can't wait to get his hands on them. Love sharing! Thanks for all the help! Pics coming soon!
  • BUGGY (C) January 21, 2015 at 2:43am

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKe97da8NGU

    • Greg Thompson > BUGGY (C) January 22, 2015 at 7:05pm
      Very nice! Really enjoyed that, thanks!
  • BUGGY (C) January 21, 2015 at 2:43am

    sounds like your bridge and nut.issue...  look up baritone uke tuning on youtube, here's a song i did using nylons

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeUYzy_rN8U#t=13

    • gary sheldon > BUGGY (C) February 3, 2015 at 10:05am

      Very nice song, Bug

  • Marty O January 10, 2015 at 8:39pm

    I would consider using the 5, 4 and 3rd strings (A, D & G) then only the A needs to be tuned down a tone to G.

    Something else to consider: what scale length are you using? Classical guitars (which use nylon strings) can be around the 650 mm to 660 mm length....so if you have a shorter scale length than this then that might have a bearing on why your strings sound a little bit sloppy. So you might then need to tune up to A E A.

    Hope this helps,

    Marty

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