Members raggety Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 i rstrung monday and after playing for a few hours since then, i find i'm still having to retune more often than i expected to. i'm used to steel strings which settle in a lot more quickly it seems ??
Members Dave W. Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 I have found it takes several days, each tune holding a bit better than the last. They are definitely a different animal than steel. With steel, in the right weather, I can sometimes pick up the guitar after sitting a day and hardly need to touch a thing. Can't ever recall being able to do that with nylon, even after they have stretched out and settled down.
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 My limited experience was that every time I picked up the classical it was flat, at least for the two months before I gave it away. With new strings it would go flat during a song the first couple of days, then it would stay pretty much in tune for an hour or so.
Members riffmeister Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 Nylon strings take WAAAAAAAAY longer to equilibrate than steel strings. When I restring my classical guitars, I *gently* tug at the 12th fret to hasten the process. Playable within the first hour, no problem, but I find it takes 2-3 days for them to be completely settled in.
Members raggety Posted August 16, 2006 Author Members Posted August 16, 2006 Originally posted by Freeman Keller My limited experience was that every time I picked up the classical it was flat, at least for the two months before I gave it away. With new strings it would go flat during a song the first couple of days, then it would stay pretty much in tune for an hour or so. i wonder why that is?? my steel string acoustic hardly ever goes out of tune, yet the nylons need constant fiddling with
Members Bugsgalore Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 Originally posted by raggety i wonder why that is?? my steel string acoustic hardly ever goes out of tune, yet the nylons need constant fiddling with Stretch those bad boys (gently, as mentioned above) and then retune to pitch before putting the guitar away each time you play for the first couple of weeks. That should speed things up but it still takes a few weeks to get them settled and they never seem to hold tune as well as steel. . As for why they don't hold tune.....I'm no engineer, but I'd hazard to guess it's either because the nylon (nylon core for the bass strings) is a much more elastic material than steel (I don't know if I'm using that structural term right here perhaps malleable is a better term), or it has something to do with the fact that nylon strings are stretched with much less force than steel strings.....personally I think the former hypothesis is the better one....I also think nylon is more responsive to temperature changes than steel, meaning it expands more readily with heat or contracts with cold, which would make retuning a more common event......but then I"m not an engineer so I could be way off base. Cheers, Matt.
Members pipedwho Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 Well you know what they say for a nylon stringed guitar: You know it's time to change your strings when they finally stay in tune.
Members Stackabones Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 Originally posted by pipedwho Well you know what they say for a nylon stringed guitar: You know it's time to change your strings when they finally stay in tune.
Members F-holes Posted August 16, 2006 Members Posted August 16, 2006 Originally posted by raggety i wonder why that is?? my steel string acoustic hardly ever goes out of tune, yet the nylons need constant fiddling with Steel has no elasticity. The good news is you can keep the trebles on for years with little negligible wear. Basses wear out fairly rapidly. Particurarly the D.
Members postalsock Posted August 17, 2006 Members Posted August 17, 2006 actually nylon strings never settle down. Its true. Guitarhero.com/strings
Members raggety Posted August 17, 2006 Author Members Posted August 17, 2006 ah at least with all this tuning i will be able to tune by ear, something i have never had much success with.
Members raggety Posted August 17, 2006 Author Members Posted August 17, 2006 Originally posted by F-holes Steel has no elasticity. The good news is you can keep the trebles on for years with little negligible wear. Basses wear out fairly rapidly. Particurarly the D. none of the shops here sell single strings though its complete packs only.
Members riffmeister Posted August 17, 2006 Members Posted August 17, 2006 Originally posted by raggety none of the shops here sell single strings though its complete packs only. www.stringsbymail.com is the answer to that.
Members F-holes Posted August 17, 2006 Members Posted August 17, 2006 Originally posted by raggety none of the shops here sell single strings though its complete packs only. I have a bumper crop of treble strings in my house. Since buying single EAD strings comes out to almost the same price as a whole pack.
Members raggety Posted August 17, 2006 Author Members Posted August 17, 2006 Originally posted by F-holes I have a bumper crop of treble strings in my house. Since buying single EAD strings comes out to almost the same price as a whole pack. its crazy!!!
Members walfordr Posted August 17, 2006 Members Posted August 17, 2006 It's beacuse the treble strings cost practically nothing to make. They are just fishing line.
Members nylon rock Posted August 17, 2006 Members Posted August 17, 2006 Agree that nylon strings never settle down, but they do finally settle down relative to each other. When they're old, but not worn, they always look dingey to me, but they sound great nonetheless. I can pick up my nylon string a few months later and it will be close in tune, but most likely a fret flat.
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