Members chu2 Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Does anyone use this setup? How would it sound?
Members Stackabones Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Search out some posts by garthman. IIRC he's done it and has had great results.
Members totamus Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 If you are doing it for playability, try silk and steel strings first.
Members guitarist21 Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Does anyone use this setup? How would it sound? I've heard from folks who've said its great and also folks who say it is terrible. Be prepared to make a few mods (widen nut spaces primarily, more mods possible depending on your bridge situation). But my main question here is why? Are you doing it because you want the nylon sound? Or are you doing it for playability, like totamus suggests? Ellen
Members Verence Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 I was thinking about putting nylon strings on an old silvertone archtop I have. I'm learning Gypsy Jazz and I don't think the steel strings sound quite right for that style.
Members Ohioarrow Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Wouldn't relief also have to be adjusted. A lot less tension in Nylon.
Members Stackabones Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 I was thinking about putting nylon strings on an old silvertone archtop I have. I'm learning Gypsy Jazz and I don't think the steel strings sound quite right for that style. While I dig nylon for GJ, it's not the first choice for most GJers. Savarez Argentine are a classic choice of string for that style.
Members Verence Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Oo, thanks. Those look nice. What are they, silk? The description mentioned "winding".
Members guitarist21 Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Oo, thanks. Those look nice.What are they, silk? The description mentioned "winding". They're steel. Ellen
Members Verence Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Really? I wonder how they differ from standard acoustic steel strings.
Members garthman Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Does anyone use this setup? How would it sound? I put nylon strings on a dreadnaught a few years ago. It works fine. You will need to widen the nut slots to accommodate the treble strings and perhaps take a little tension off the neck (1/4 turn of the trussrod should be about right but string it up first - it might be OK). A few string manufacturers sell ball end nylon strings which makes it easier if you have bridge pins but I just tie a knot ot two in loop-end strings - that works OK too.
Members Samilyn Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Really? I wonder how they differ from standard acoustic steel strings. Silk & Steel strings combine a steel core and silk strands that are then wrapped, hence the name "silk & steel". The non-wrapped strings are steel. The wrapping is customarily silver, but Ernie Ball makes some that are bronze wrapped. Regular steel strings are a simply a wrapped steel core.
Members Verence Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Oh, so they're a combination. Interesting...
Members Samilyn Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Oh, so they're a combination. Interesting... Yup. The resulting sound, IMO, is mellow, yet airy, on a dread. On a 12-er, it's very harp-like. Simply beautiful. On a Django box, they lend an "old world flavor" to the jazzy music, which is the only way I can characterize that special, impossible-to-describe, GJ sound. So, I think they'd sound cool on an archtop, too. Also, Django box is traditionally strung with light gauge - 10s or 11s - so you may want to follow suit if you try S&S on your archtop.
Members Samilyn Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 And as to the original post..... I once tried nylons on a dread that was equipped with a tailpiece instead of a pinned bridge. Basses remained rich and sustaining. Less-bright trebles gave a very gentle feel to the music - soft and sweet. I wasn't entirely pleased with that for strumming, but when fingerpicked, it sounded lovely. But remember to do what Garthman said. You'll definitely have to widen the nut slots to accommodate the thicker nylon strings. I suggest having 2 nuts for the git if you plan to go back to steel strings, but get a tech to make the changeover for you if you're not familiar with nut replacement.
Members guitarist21 Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Oh, so they're a combination. Interesting... No wait hang on. Samilyn is talking about Silk and Steel strings, I think, not the Gypsy strings that Stack mentioned. Gypsy Jazz uses straight-up steel strings customarily. The unique tone of GJ comes very much from the unique guitars and the unique way of holding the guitar and strumming that most GJers use. Ellen
Members Samilyn Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Ellen is right. We're kind of talking about two different critters here. My mistake. For clarification, here are a couple of "pastes" from two GJ sites and one string site: #1: Django Reinhardt got an endorsement deal with Selmer, so many Selmer guitars passed his hands (he sold or gave away a lot of them). There are 2 guitars that we are sure of belonged to Django: n
Members guitarist21 Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Sorry for the thread-jack. Thanks for clarifying, Samilyn! I think we were all a little confused there. Ellen
Members chu2 Posted January 5, 2008 Author Members Posted January 5, 2008 Alright, so as to the above posts: I'm not doing this for playability, just to do something different. I'm tired of jangly acoustic. I figure nylons will be sufficiently different I'll give it a shot, but before I go out and buy a fresh nut and pull out the jeweler's files, I think I'll try some silk and steels. Thanks, all!
Members Samilyn Posted January 5, 2008 Members Posted January 5, 2008 Alright, so as to the above posts: I'm not doing this for playability, just to do something different. I'm tired of jangly acoustic. I figure nylons will be sufficiently different I'll give it a shot, but before I go out and buy a fresh nut and pull out the jeweler's files, I think I'll try some silk and steels. Thanks, all! I hope you like them. You have a couple of choices - silver wrap or bronze wrap. MattSkibaIsGod recently got some Ernie Ball bronze wrap ones and he gave a good review of them. My personal preference is D'Angelico #500SS silver wrap ones. (Not to be confused with D'Addario) A little heavier on the bass, but light on the trebles. And in the above post, there are the Savarez Argentine ones. I've never tried those. Let us know how you like them, whichever ones you choose.
Members garthman Posted January 6, 2008 Members Posted January 6, 2008 Alright, so as to the above posts: I'm not doing this for playability, just to do something different. I'm tired of jangly acoustic. I figure nylons will be sufficiently different I'll give it a shot, but before I go out and buy a fresh nut and pull out the jeweler's files, I think I'll try some silk and steels. Thanks, all! Silk and steel strings just sound a little mellower than normal bronze strings and the plain 1st and 2nd sound exactly the same. If you want that "nylon" string sound you have to go for the real thing. One possible compromise is to go for a hybrid string like Thomastik-Enfeld "John Pearce" folk. These strings use nylon tape wound on steel rope cores for the trebles instead of monofilamnet nylon so are a lot thinner diameter. But they are expensive.
Members totamus Posted January 6, 2008 Members Posted January 6, 2008 I have been recommending S&S strings for years to those who wanted easier playability. I recently put them on two of my guitars and have just decided that I am going to make them my primary string. Up until now, I have been using Martin SPs. But the set I have been playing since approx early December has great sound and playability. I am doing a lot more fingerpicking and less flatpicking, and I think that these strings are just better suited for it. I played a 4 hour gig last night and never touched a pick. That is when I decided to make the switch. Hard to describe the sound difference, but S&S are not as loud and dont punch a chord they way SPs do. But the blues are bluer with Silk and steel (if that makes any sense at all). Heres how I equate the sound: Steel Strings = Doc Watson, Silk & Steel = Dan Fogelburg
Members Stackabones Posted January 6, 2008 Members Posted January 6, 2008 Here is the description of : "SAVAREZ 1510MF ARGENTINE STRINGS - Medium-light gauge, "reds", .011 .015 .023 .029 .037 .046, designed for Selmer & Maccaferri type jazz guitars . Silvered copper-wound silk & steel (red silk winding at loop ends), high tension. " I thought that was the string Stack uses, but I was wrong. He uses a plain #1510. I use 1510MF.
Members Samilyn Posted January 6, 2008 Members Posted January 6, 2008 I use 1510MF. I stand corrected. The link in your previous post shows a 1510 without the "MF" designation, so I thought that was the one you use.
Members Stackabones Posted January 6, 2008 Members Posted January 6, 2008 I stand corrected. The link in your previous post shows a 1510 without the "MF" designation, so I thought that was the one you use. oops
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.