Steel bass strings vs. nylon

[robithinker]

When do you know to use steel bass strings instead of nylon? The guitar I have, an old Yamaha that functions well enough as a learning instrument, has steel bass strings and nylon trebles. However, I saw a few guitars for sale, on both this site and others, with what appeared to be nylon bass and treble strings, and some that had steel bass and nylon treble. Is it dictated by the type/maker of guitar? Do different soundboard reinforcements necessitate a lower tension bass string and hence the nylon bass strings? It would seem that you couldn't use metal strings on a guitar made for nylon basses, but can you use nylon basses on a guitar that currently has steel?

[NGiorgio]

Classical guitar strings are made from both steel and nylon. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd, are made with only nylon. The basses D, A and E, are made from a nylon filament core, and then are wrapped with steel alloy. Classical and Flamenco guitars are braced accordingly. (for nylon strings) There are some alloy wound third strings available as well as some 2nd and 3rd strings which are nylon wound on nylon.

A set of strings for a steel string guitar are made entirely from steel. The 1st and 2nd are plain steel, and the G, D, A and E are steel wound on a steel core. These guitars are braced for the extra tension. (for steel strings)

If you put a set of steel strings on a classical guitar, the extra tension would eventually cause damage to the instrument. Warp the neck, pull up the bridge and perhaps more. Installing nylon strings on a guitar built for steel might not cause any damage but the lighter tension would not vibrate the top very well and could result in a substantial loss of tone.

[keith]

hey ngiorgio--last night playing pieces without my cejilla, i finally had enough of the too light tension of the mari strings and slapped some galli med. tension trebles and hannebachs light basses on the poor man's conde. whoa! the added tension helped and the sound--awesome as they are for classical--i guess the quality of the string allowing the guitar to speak its own voice without tubbiness is what makes them superior. i have used galli for a year now (since richard at "STRINGSBYMAIL" has been selling them) for my classical stuff, and figured the tension would be a little too high but after a few hours playing, very little stress on my fingers but the sound--as neo from the matrix would say: WHOA 8). thought you would be interested.

[NGiorgio]

That is an interesting combination, Galli and Hannebach. I am going to have to try that. I still prefer the extra tension. I think that for Flamenco, the lowest possible action, with hard tension strings, gives the most bite.

How low is the action on your guitar?

I'm going to try Galli med. on my cedar topped negra, shortly. Will post the results in the Galli category. And thanks to "Strings by Mail", the Galli's are available in either bass or treble sets.

[keith]

the hannabachs are the low tension (green)815 i had around--the superlows (yellow) would probably be better but are difficult to get. but our bud, richard who owns: STRINGSBYMAIL 8) can pull it off. i think the labella flamenco med. basses would match well. the hannabachs and labella flamencos have a nice metallic sound to them. the volume went up too which is good.

the action is: 3.5mm on the bass side and 2.5 on the treble side--at the 12 fret. standard action for a flamenco.

[NGiorgio]

Keith, that's about how I have my classical set up. 3.5mm bass, 3mm treble (12th fret). I don't like to work hard anymore. I make up an extra saddle (or two) for each guitar, so I can quickly adjust any action to a string tension change or whatever. Don't like to shim the saddles higher. My flamenco's are 2.5mm/2mm, bass/treble. Just the right amount of buzz and there is less stress for the left hand.

I like the LaBella med flamenco basses with the Galli med trebles, idea. Since I've got both, may try that combo on the negra.

[keith]

hey ngiorgio--i sent off a letter to the galli folks, who replied. always a good sign when they actually take the time to reply. i asked about a slightly lighter tension than the normal tension--they replied they are making such a tension. so, it looks like nothing but galli. after a few days with the normal tension, i realized this morning just how great those strings are for flamenco. and with a slightly lighter tension...look out. 8)

[NGiorgio]

Galli's in a slightly lighter tension could be very nice. It seems to me that Galli medium are more like a hard tension. I wonder when Richard might have them?