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  #1  
Old 02-21-2021, 12:10 AM
tadol tadol is offline
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Default NGD, and any string advice?

It’s been 50 years since I last had a classical guitar - it was what I took my first lessons on, but when it cam time to buy a guitar, it was steel strings from then on -

But my buddy was at a sale, and found this lovely old guitar at what I think was a great price, so I asked him to get it for me. It is a Yairi guitar, built 1970, no 85 ( I guess for that year?). Laminated EIR b& sides, pretty sure a cedar top, just a few small case bites on the top, otherwise near perfect. I’ll throw in a few pics, just to show off - ;-).

But a quick question - what are considered “good” strings for a classical? Are there different guages, I’m sure different qualities, but a quick lesson and some advice would be very welcome. According to the receipts in the case, the guitar sold for $150 new in 1972, and they put new strings on it in 1976 for $10 - I don’t think it’s been touched since then -





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  #2  
Old 02-21-2021, 05:15 AM
Dogsnax Dogsnax is offline
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Congrats on the beautiful Yairi...wonderful guitars!

Unfortunately, "nylon" (classical guitar) strings can be a perplexing topic, as there's no uniformity in tensions between the manufacturers, e.g., D'Addario normal/medium tension is different from Hannabach medium tension. And then there's the difference between nylon, flourocarbon (carbon), and other variants.

If you're just learning about the nylon strings, I recommend starting with a set of D'Addario EJ45 strings, considered by most to be a somewhat neutral set of strings. I find that EJ45s still work quite well on most of my guitars.

If I'm not mistaken, older Yairi guitars often have a longer scale length, so medium/normal tension is a good starting place.

Have fun with your new guitar!
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Old 02-21-2021, 05:24 AM
Mooh Mooh is offline
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I've most often strung my nylon string guitars with D'Addario hard tension. They don't roll around under my fingertips as much as softer ones do, they sound great, last decently, are reasonably priced, and easy to find. That said, no single brand will be the be all and end all for a guitar or player, try some options to see what you prefer.
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Old 02-21-2021, 09:10 AM
Carey Carey is offline
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Another vote here for starting with D'Add EJ45 or -46.
Savarez Corum or Cantiga basses are nice, too.
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Old 02-21-2021, 11:40 AM
tadol tadol is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogsnax View Post
If you're just learning about the nylon strings, I recommend starting with a set of D'Addario EJ45 strings, considered by most to be a somewhat neutral set of strings. I find that EJ45s still work quite well on most of my guitars.

If I'm not mistaken, older Yairi guitars often have a longer scale length, so medium/normal tension is a good starting place.

Have fun with your new guitar!
Sounds like D’Addario EJ45s are the place to start - thanks all!

A quick measure says this is a 25.75” scale - is that a longer scale? I am guessing 25-⅜” would be standard (?), but I’m unsure.

Definitely looking forward to playing this some - what I can tell so far is this may be a good way to practice some playing technique!
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Old 02-21-2021, 12:08 PM
Dogsnax Dogsnax is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tadol View Post
Sounds like D’
A quick measure says this is a 25.75” scale - is that a longer scale? I am guessing 25-⅜” would be standard (?), but I’m unsure.
25.75" equates to 654mm, which is just a bit longer than the standard of 650mm. I've owned several flamenco guitars with 655mm and they we're just fine.

Enjoy the Yairi!
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Old 02-27-2021, 01:19 PM
Always Learning Always Learning is offline
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2nd or 3rd on the DÂ’Addario EJ45s

I own a wonderful 1996 Amalio Burguet 2M. I have used Hannabach's in the past and they worked fine. Last year I emailed the maker asking which strings they recommended and his daughter who is also a luthier in the shop, along with her brother, told me that they use and recommend the D'Addario EJ45 normal tension on their 2Ms.

With that said, the EJ45's or the Hannabach normal tension would be a good starting point.
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Old 02-27-2021, 01:34 PM
tadol tadol is offline
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Well - to follow up, I got a set of the EJ45s, and installed them (side note - never going to complain about changing strings on a steel string ever again) - and as I brought them up to pitch, my high e broke - twice. First time I had enough slack on the roller to re-tie it at the bridge, but not the second. Seemed to break either at the saddle, or at the tie. The way these things stretch, hard to tell.

But - today I am going to visit my friend and master luthier Bruce Sexauer to see if he can help me sort it. I just hope he doesn’t want to convert it to friction pegs -

;-)
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Old 02-28-2021, 02:16 PM
Carey Carey is offline
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That's pretty rare, in my experience- I think I've broken one J45 treble string -the high 'e', as well- in over thirty years of on-and-off usage (mostly on) of them, and I attribute that to the way I tied it.

Maybe look for a sharp edge at the nut, saddle, or tie block to start.

Adding: when you attach a treble string to the tie block, wind it around itself
at least twice, and make sure the final wind is on the *back side* of the tie
block, not on top. Pull out all the slack at that time, then thread it through
the string roller per usual; again minimizing slack rather than having many
winds around the roller. That's what works for me, anyway.

Last edited by Carey; 02-28-2021 at 03:19 PM.
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Old 02-28-2021, 02:55 PM
tadol tadol is offline
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Yup - bad technique in attaching the string. Bruce set me straight, and we got it all working fine. Also had a chance to compare it to one of his classical builds, and one of his flamenco builds. Yeah, his are nicer, and friction pegs aren’t all that hard to use, either -
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Old 02-28-2021, 03:16 PM
Carey Carey is offline
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Glad it's all sorted. I want one with pegs, myself..
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Old 02-28-2021, 03:23 PM
tadol tadol is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carey View Post
Glad it's all sorted. I want one with pegs, myself..
I know the guy to call! 😎
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  #13  
Old 02-28-2021, 04:41 PM
Always Learning Always Learning is offline
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Default Glad your luthier found the problem

Tadol,

Happy to hear you solved the string breakage issue. I had a problem with an old classical guitar of mine. Took it to my luthier friend who is authorized by Martin and Gibson to repair their models. And what he found on my old 0028c was a bad bridge saddle. Seems the previous owner had poorly sanded it on the high-end. It was acting like a knife edge and cutting the strings. After replacing it with a new bone saddle I never had a problem.

Tadol, so did you stay with the EJ45's?

Also I see you hate having to tie the strings at the bridge. I am currently going to try a pair of "String-Tie" beads on my Cordoba and plan on posting my results about how they work. I had recently started a thread (inquiry) on said beads. You might want to check my review in a few days or so.

Enjoy the new guitar.
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  #14  
Old 03-07-2021, 07:01 PM
brodg68 brodg68 is offline
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I hadn't played in a couple decades. It was a Yairi that got me back on guitar again. I have tried a few different strings up and down the price scale and end up back at EJ45s - sound as good as my playing supports and affordable. There are some pricey nylon strings out there.

Congrats on the find - you stole it my friend. Happy playing
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Old 03-07-2021, 08:32 PM
tadol tadol is offline
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Gotta say - this has been a fun distraction. It’s brought back a lot of memories, sitting in the living room with a half dozen other kids, all trying to get their guitars roughly in tune, and trying to remember where our fingers went to make that D chord, and an E chord, and getting all 3 fingers next to each other for an A!

But it’s a wonderful tone, and the feel of nylon strings is pretty nice - the EJ 45s are fine, although I’m intrigued with what a higher tension string might feel like (and I could use the practice changing them) , but I’ll be playing with these for a while before I need to try something else -

And yeah, I think this will go down in the mental register as a very good deal!
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