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Old 09-08-2022, 05:23 PM
JackDaniel JackDaniel is offline
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Default Can you put steel strings on a cf nylon guitar?

Any thoughts? I figure the neck would be plenty strong to handle it defeating the old rationale that you'd break the neck. Might be weird to string up on the bottom though...
But, I wonder with the lighter constriction if you'd get more response from the top.
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Old 09-08-2022, 10:04 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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Can... or should? I am not a luthier, nor do I play one on TV, but it seems to me that the guitar maker builds the instrument for the way (and material) it should be strung. I assume that the lay-up on the top is designed to be different for steel vs nylon.

I know people have put nylon strings on the Blackbird Savoy and have said it sounds OK. Easier to buy nylon "folk" strings that have a ball end to try on a steel string guitar than to try to fit steel strings on a nylon guitar. Just the opposite of what you are asking, but I did try a set of those nylon folk strings on my X7... not what I'd call a successful experiment.

While a CF guitar should be able to handle the additional stress of the steel strings, you would be a "test pilot" on that one... if you can figure out that whole ball end attachment.
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Old 09-08-2022, 11:39 PM
btbliatout btbliatout is offline
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My bet is that you can, but that none of the MFG's would confidently say so.

I have an Emerald X20 Nylon, and my intuition is that the top is thick/robust enough for steel strings. A new nut would have to be cut for steel strings though, the strings being thinner and all that. The tuning posts may have to be replaced too. All my nylon instruments have some sort of plastic tuning post, which may not hold up to steel strings in the long run.

I suspect that volume as a function of tension is a curve, that too much tension (even if nothing breaks) can begin to mute things, so finding a sweet spot might be a challenge. The perfect top for a nylon guitar would have its sweet spot somewhere in the realm of what nylon strings typically provide. I suspect the carbon fiber nylon guitars are not there though (at least not the ones most of us have), that higher tension strings than nylons will drive the tops to have more volume.

If you experiment, please keep us posted.
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Old 09-09-2022, 01:11 AM
mountainmaster mountainmaster is offline
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I have put Thomastik Infeld rope core kr116 on my Emerald X20 Nylon. The sound is somewhere in between steel and nylon.

I have no idea what the actual tension is, but my feeling is that it is also somewhere in between the two. They are definitely louder than nylon strings if that is what you are looking for.

I am very happy with these. The only downside is a high pitched squeak on the windings of the high strings when I strum (which I rarely do).
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Old 09-09-2022, 11:15 AM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackDaniel View Post
Any thoughts? I figure the neck would be plenty strong to handle it defeating the old rationale that you'd break the neck. Might be weird to string up on the bottom though...
But, I wonder with the lighter constriction if you'd get more response from the top.
Call or email the manufacturer (yes, no, warranty void, string gauge, etc.)
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