nylon on acoustic

[magnus1225]

I was wondering if nylon strings on an acoustic guitar would work? Since i've been getting into classical guitar lately, but only have an acoustic, which is quite difficult at times to barre for the classical songs. thannz

[Sandra]

I see two problems here - the bridge and the nut.

Classical strings are typically "tied on" and wrapped thru holes in the saddle. Steel strings typically have ball ends held in via pegs or a loop that hooks onto a tailpiece. I've seen some peg-less bridges where you simply slip the ball end string thru a hole but I'm not sure if the holes are wide eough to accommodate nylon, since they are thicker than steel. Depending on your guitar, you might be able to use ball end nylons, though your string choices would be limited. (I use LaBella Folksingers on my SoloEtte.)

Since steel strings are thinner than their nylon counterparts, the grooves in the nut are not wide enough. You would either have to file out the grooves a bit or the strings can slip out of the grooves during the course of playing.

I'm not saying that it can't be done. It would certainly be safer than trying to put steel strings on a classical, since classical necks are not reinforced for the higher tension and can bow the neck.

[C. Vega]

And the guitar probably won't sound very good.
Acoustic guitars generally have thicker and more heavily braced tops to take the considerably greater tension of steel strings. Nylon strings generally don't have the energy to drive the top enough to produce a decent sound.
You might try going with some extra light gauge steel strings or maybe some of the low tension strings sold as "silk and steels".

[Rex]

I put nylon strings on a mandolin that was made for steel one time. The strings did not fit down into the grooves, but that worked out ok because the nylon strings needed a higher action anyway. The grooves were enough to keep the strings in place. If you have bridge pins you might have to tie the string to something that fits down the hole in the bridge. My mandolin worked ok, but the volume suffered a lot. The top was braced for steel tension and the nylon strings could not drive it as hard, like CV said.

[magnus1225]

thanks much for the responses! I think i'm just going to look into buying a classical guitar.