23" scale Nylon strings

[Pete Kenna]

Is it possible to purchase nylon strings G C E A "ukulele tuning" to fit a 23" scale tenor guitar.

[Bax Burgess]

This is a little more difficult than I thought. I think this will work. You can buy single strings, try D'Addario to begin with, as they sell the smaller gauges. G- .024,C- .032,E- .028, A- .022

[charles Tauber]

Used to be you could get just about anything from Pyramid. Not sure if that is still true but you can try. Their website is mostly in German, http://pyramid-saiten.de/de/downloads/downloads.php, but it appears you can also purchase their strings from a variety of on line sources.

[smwink]

I'd probably contact Aquila to see what they can come up with. I suspect one of their nylgut banjo sets would work here. Although those are designed for lower tuning, your 23" scale is about 3" shorter than standard banjo. I'm thinking you would use all but the 4th string from a banjo set.

Still probably best to reach out to Aquila directly, though. Tell them what you're trying to do and they can run the numbers to recommend a set.

[casualmusic]

Hi Pete.

- Bytown Instruments sells a string set for 23" GCEA tenor ukulele.

- Here is my essay on strings for a 23" nylon (fluorocarbon) GCEA. I've owned a 23" nylon Pono Nui big ukulele.

- I'm assuming you are using an instrument braced for nylon strings. My experiments using nylon on an instrument braced for steel strings resulted in a very very quiet sound. (I've heard of steel tenor guitars that were adapted by removing the backs and thinning down the braces). I've found solutions for 23" steel GCEA.



There are three ways to find (and then refine) a good or great string that solves length, tenson, tone, availability and price:
- adapt from ukulele string sets (beware string lengths)
- adapt from claasical guitar string sets
- pièce together from single strings.


Sources of good advice:
- Makers and sellers of the 23" nylon Pono Nui. See the websites to contact the Pono Guitar company and HMS (a top vendor) who are both located in Hawaii
- Makers of strings for ukuleles and classical guitars
- Sellers of strings for ukuleles and classical guitars
- Websites and forums that discuss ukuleles and classical guitars (short scale guitars)
- Online reviews of ukuleles and classical guitar strings that comment on tension, tone and availability.


Materials:
- Nylon and nylonish
- Fluorocarbon aka carbon
- Metal wound bass strings

I'm familiar with fluorocarbon. It's thinner than fat nylon strings, has nice tenson and feel, and has a crisp tone (but slightly less sweet than nylgut).

I avoid wound ukulele strings because the ones I've tried frayed quickly. I haven't tried the highly regarded Fremont wound G string.

And wound strings designed for 17" tenor probable won't tune properly at 23" and will probaby snap while trying (to be safe wear glasses, goggles or a face shield).


I like classical guitar strings in hard or x-hard for 23" and 20" scale.


Fluorocarbon used on stringed instruments is direct or adapted formulation of fishing leader line (not fishing line).

String makers appear to generally agree (minor variations) on string thickness vs musical notes. Some folks prefer specific formulations.

Approx sizes if you need a piece of fluorocarbon leader (musicality depends on thickness not the approx breaking sttrength):
1.15 mm - 130 lb
1.04 mm - 100 lb
0.91 mm - 80 lb
0.74 mm - 60 lb
0.66 mm - 50 lb
0.62 mm - 40 lb
0.57 mm - 30 lb SeaGuar Premium
0.52 mm - 30 lb
0.47 mm - 25 lb SeaGuar Premium, SeaGuar Red

Conversion is 2.54 mm per inch.

Fluorocarbon leader is available in 25, 50, 100 yard etc spools from fishing stores and outdoor stores. Smaller sizes are availble locally. Larger sizes may need to be special ordered or found at big suppliers such as Cabelas or Bass World or sport/commercial fishing shops. Sport/commercial suppliers may sell pieces by the foot.



1. Ukulele strings:

++ Comparison between Bytown, Living Waters, Worth, Fremont, PhD indicates that there is general agreement on string thickness for each musical note. Daddario and Martin chose slightly different formulas. Aquila choses à non-fluorocarbon sugar material.

Comparison between 13" soprano and 17" tenor indicates enough stretchiness to accomodate a 5" length variation. Indeed Bytown is OK with a 10" variation.

So far I've liked string sets from Living Waters, Fremont, PhD, and Daddario. And because carbon is consistent across makers would probably like the others.

Did not like the wound bass strings in the Martin version.

Beware that tenor versions aren't long enough for 23" scale.

Note 1: Worth strings are packaged in double lengths that would be good for 23" scale (with pricey wastage or perhaps short lengths left over for sopranos).

Note 2: Classical guitar D strings are often recommended for tenor ukulele low G strings.

Note 3: DGBE baritones sets are long enough for 23" scale. You may want to use the three GBE strings for GCE supplemented by an À string of 0.52 mm or 0.47 mm.



++ bytowninstruments.ca fluorocarbon

GCEA 23" tenor - 0.91 0.74 0.66 0.52
GCEA 17" tenor - 0.91 0.74 0.66 0.57
GCEA 15" concert / 13" soprano - 0.91 0.74 0.66 0.52
DGBE 20" baritone - 1.04 0.91 0.74 0.62

This tells us that at least one seller has a standard formula for 23" nylon.


++ kenmiddleton.co.uk/living-waters-strings fluorocarbon

GCEA 17" tenor - 0.91 0.74 0.66 0.57
GCEA 15" concert / 13" soprano - 0.91 0.74 0.66 0.52
DGBE 20 baritone - 1.04 0.91 0.74 0.62

They will make custom sets not mentioned on the website. Shipment is prompt via brown envelop through the mail. I average down the mail cost by ordering aprox half dozen at a time.


2. Classical guitar strings.

Classical guitar full scale is approx 25 1/2 inches.

Strings are available in regular, hard, and x-hard tension to suit taste and short scales. Harder versions are often used for shorter scales to avoid floppy string tension.

Half sets of treble strings GBE can be used for GCE with a supplemental À string in the 0.52 mm or 0.47 mm range. (I haven't tried half sets myself).


3. Single strings

There are various online string calculators available on string maker sites to guide the selection of string sets and single strings.

String sellers will provide good recommendations.

Single strings are available at guitar shops and online.

I've had had fun trying different scale lengths on ukuleles, tenor guitars, and banjos. Which led me to buy 25 yard spools of fluorocarbon fishing leader in various guages. You may only need a single spool or so to supplement a standard string set.



Best regards. I'd like to hear your solution




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