Savarez Long Play Normal Tension Strings Not Settling

[arbous65]

Hi there,
I bought a used classical guitar in good shape a few years ago. I keep it in a moisture controlled room. The existing strings seem to be old but they were kept in tune so I never thought the tuning could be so tricky. I had a set of Savarez Long Play Normal tension that I bought about 3 decades ago and were kept sealed in the original packaging (never opened) in room temperature so I thought age hopefully is not an issue. I put the strings to the guitar with typical considerations for nylon strings. They sound very nice! I knew I would have to keep tuning the guitar quite frequently in the beginning but now it is more than two weeks passed and still I have to tune the high E, B, and even some of the other ones to some extent.
Is this normal to take that long? The off tune is about half note or so (e.g. Eb instead of E). Would age make a difference in how long it takes to settle the tuning?
Thank you for your advice!

[TBman]

I'm not sure about using 30 year old strings, but humidity plays a big role. I have to tweak the tuning of my nylons everyday.

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by arbous65

Hi there,
I knew I would have to keep tuning the guitar quite frequently in the beginning but now it is more than two weeks passed and still I have to tune the high E, B, and even some of the other ones to some extent.
Is this normal to take that long? The off tune is about half note or so (e.g. Eb instead of E). Would age make a difference in how long it takes to settle the tuning?

Age will deaden your strings, especially the basses, but nylon strings just do not settle like steel strings, *especially* when its hot. In fact when they stop stretching/going out of tune its usually a good sign they need changing :-)

When I was gigging regularly in the summer months, playing weddings etc outdoors in direct sunlight, I would be retuning after every tune!

[slooky]

It took almost a month of daily tuning to finally settle in on my classical. These were brand new strings.

[Accent]

I love Cordoba guitars and have several in 3/4, 7/8 and full size. Yet I never can stand the Savarez strings that come on them- they aren't the top of the line either, but I find them soft and wimpy, I usually try to get some life out of them, and they wind them so nicely at the factory. But I love to put the D'addario Pro Artes on them, because the guitar both sounds and feels sooo much better with better strings.. I wish Cordoba would at least put the upper end Savarez on if they otherwise have some marketing agreement. The cheap Savarez strings don't do the guitars justice.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by arbous65

Hi there,
I bought a used classical guitar in good shape a few years ago. I keep it in a moisture controlled room. The existing strings seem to be old but they were kept in tune so I never thought the tuning could be so tricky. I had a set of Savarez Long Play Normal tension that I bought about 3 decades ago and were kept sealed in the original packaging (never opened) in room temperature so I thought age hopefully is not an issue. I put the strings to the guitar with typical considerations for nylon strings. They sound very nice! I knew I would have to keep tuning the guitar quite frequently in the beginning but now it is more than two weeks passed and still I have to tune the high E, B, and even some of the other ones to some extent.
Is this normal to take that long? The off tune is about half note or so (e.g. Eb instead of E). Would age make a difference in how long it takes to settle the tuning?
Thank you for your advice!

My own personal experience proved to me that "string settling" that takes longer than 3 or 4 days is the result of slipping at the tie block or string post anchor point. It's particularly problematic if using the newer formulations such as the "titanium or fluorocarbon" trebles. Extra care in how they are attached greatly shorten the settling in period for me.

[canuck7]

Originally Posted by TBman

I'm not sure about using 30 year old strings, but humidity plays a big role. I have to tweak the tuning of my nylons everyday.

Agree, I do the same…especially over the first month to six weeks…but after that daily tweaking still necessary…at least with a range of strings I’ve used…some expensive …

[Lee Fontaine]

Originally Posted by arbous65

Hi there,
... I knew I would have to keep tuning the guitar quite frequently in the beginning but now it is more than two weeks passed and still I have to tune the high E, B, and even some of the other ones to some extent.
Is this normal to take that long? The off tune is about half note or so (e.g. Eb instead of E). Would age make a difference in how long it takes to settle the tuning?
Thank you for your advice!

I've used Savarez strings for quite a few years. Most lately I use the Cantiga Alliance on my cedar top and Silent Guitar and the Cantiga Alliance Premium on my spruce top. I have also used the old Red Card set with the nylon wound G and the Corums. All continue to stretch long after they're first installed.

In my experience I've found that the day I take a guitar out of the case after it's been sitting overnight, and it's still in tune, it's time to change the strings. It seems when they reach the point where they're no longer stretching much, the intonation starts getting a little flakey and you start losing those nice ringing overtones that the Cantiga Alliance strings are noted for.

On many string sets I often wear through the windings on the bass strings before the set has completely stretched out. That said, I've noticed that the windings on the Cantiga Alliance Premium basses don't wear through as quickly as other strings I've used.

Regarding string age factor, I can only imagine that strings do, in fact, have a shelf life. I would guess, like many synthetic products, certain chemicals eventually dry out. I've never put my theory to the test, however.