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  #1  
Old 07-09-2020, 08:27 PM
guitar344 guitar344 is offline
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Default Do nylon strings break as easily as steel strings

When Nylon strings get old are they just as easy to break as steel? Steel string will stretch when new. If a nylon string was three years old for example would be just a prone to breaking as a steel string.
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Old 07-10-2020, 04:24 AM
NormanKliman NormanKliman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guitar344 View Post
When Nylon strings get old are they just as easy to break as steel? Steel string will stretch when new. If a nylon string was three years old for example would be just a prone to breaking as a steel string.
Three years is a long time for nylon. After one month, two at the most, the basses don’t sound as good and have to be replaced. The trebles will sound okay for a few months, but they have to be replaced, too. I’m talking about sound, but you’re asking about breaking. I’m not sure because I haven't had a steel-string guitar in decades, but I think nylon won’t last as long as steel without breaking. Nylon stretches more than steel. Maybe that's why they don't last as long.
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Old 07-10-2020, 04:42 AM
JonnyBGood JonnyBGood is offline
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Depends on usage but in my experience nylons rarely break, steel do.

I gigged with nylon for nearly 20 years, struggle to remember breaking a string but I was changing regularly for the reasons Norman states above. With my steel string guitars I have broken several within 4-6 weeks of putting them on *but* I play fingerstyle with altered tunings and its the detuning/retuning quickly takes its toll.

But yeah you wouldn't leave nylons on that long they'd be completely dead.
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Old 07-10-2020, 08:26 AM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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"Back in the day" you almost had to practice for the mid-song string breaks on electric guitars. Fact is, if your electric guitar is set up well, those sharp edges that cut through the string will be dulled and you should be able to play alot (to the point of string deadness) without breakage.

It's been years since I used smaller gauge strings .009 or smaller, so maybe using gauges .010 to .012 is the trick.

Nylon strings...in my case can last a year without breaking or audible tone loss simply because my tone is largely shaped by an amp, and I use quality strings and keep the guitar set up nicely.
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Old 07-10-2020, 09:23 AM
redir redir is offline
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I visited my college roomate last year after 20 years and he had the same maple classical guitar in his house and said he had not changed the strings since he lived in the dorms

They rarely break.
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