Members gardo Posted May 4, 2019 Members Share Posted May 4, 2019 A funny thing happened on the way to the guitar shop. Before heading out to get my latest electric toy I took a look at CL and saw an old Yamaha G 230 classical guitar for cheap so I took a look and had to have it.I'm 60 some years old and never owned a classical guitar before. I don't even know how to tie the strings. I found this video and wonder if any of you have any thoughts on the subject[video=youtube_share;4Cw84_0KHTI] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted May 4, 2019 Members Share Posted May 4, 2019 Yep, that;s a good standard way of fitting nylon strings. I started out on a classical guitar many years ago and, over the past few years, have returned to playing nylon strings most of the time. In fact I owned a Yamaha G-230II once upon a time but sold it on. It was a fine guitar but surplus to requirements. Hope you enjoy playing yours - nylon strings are more problematic in some ways but persevere - the rewards are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 4, 2019 Members Share Posted May 4, 2019 I don't do it very often so I keep a copy of this out in the shop for when one wanders across the workbench http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/Classical/ClassicStr/classicstr1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 5, 2019 Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 I've always found it challenging. I replaced nylon strings a few times for a friend who is blind. It's probably a good thing she couldn't see what a sloppy job I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 5, 2019 Moderators Share Posted May 5, 2019 you are aware, that for those of us who don't care about the purist thing, you can get ball end nylon strings, right? Not that I would do it [my nylon string is now somewhere in Iowa, last I heard...may never see it again...] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 5, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 Thanks guys the strings that are on it now have little knots on the ends and I didn’t know if they were really needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 5, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 I’ve seen the ball end strings and even put a set on a little guitar my daughter had but wouldn’t want to use them on mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 5, 2019 Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 You mention that it's an old guitar. How's the action and break angle over the saddle? The traditional tie method reduces the break angle by pulling up on the string. Reason for my diatribe is that some need ball end or straight tie to achieve the minimum break angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted May 5, 2019 Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 The knots are not needed but, as Grant Harding says, the break angle of the strings over the saddle does reduce over the years as the top (inevitably) rises due to the string tension and the pull-up of tied-on strings does exacerbate the problem. Using ball-end strings does then help to improve the break angle and can give the guitar a new lease of life. The only problem is that there are only a few makes of ball-end nylon strings on the market. If your favourite string does not come in a ball-end option you have to resort to other tactics. One way is to tie a knot on the end of each string (or knots - one on top of the other - espec. on the thinner strings) then slip on a craft bead to act as a ball-end This works OK. The other way is to convert your bridge to a 12 hole. This is only possible if you have enough of an angle to drill another set of holes (or you may be able to use a flexible chuck extension). But if you can do it's a great way to extend the life of a guitar. I've now done this on three classical guitars - two of my own and one for a friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 5, 2019 Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 I don't work on a whole lot of nylon strung guitars and most of the time when I restring them I just do the standard bridge tie. There seems to be several ways to do the tuners - the Frank Ford method is pretty simple and seems to not slip so thats what I do. I've got an interesting instrument on the bench right now. It really belongs in the electrical section because its a solid body electric guitar with nylon strings. Its a Gibson Chet Atkins model, thin solid body with a piezo bridge, thin body with a cut away and a belly cut - I had seen Godin guitars kind of like this but this is the first Gibbie. Anyway, a couple of shots of the guitar and my tie job [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32514910}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32514912}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32514909}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32514911}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 5, 2019 Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 A little more information about the Gibbie at EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted May 5, 2019 Members Share Posted May 5, 2019 The video is about right. I tuck the excess for each string end at the bridge under the adjacent string's loop around the bridge, just for the sake of neatness. I end up leaving the b and e string loops loose until their ends are cross-tucked into them. A capo helps keep the tension I need on them until I bring them to pitch. Freeman's pick of the aft side of the bridge is what I mean, though the A string end appears to have been a little too short to stay secured under the D string's loop. His e string end isn't secured in the b string loop, either. At the tuner I double-back the e and b string ends through the tuner capstan holes. This leaves a loop protruding through one side. Through that loop I pass the free end of the string and then pull the loop closed with the tensioned side of the string. This locks those two strings onto the capstan to prevent slippage. It can be done with the g string as well but I use GHS Set 2510 which comes with a wound g string so it grabs the tuner capstan pretty well. An unwound g string I'll lock as I do the b and e strings. Last word, nylon strings stretch for a pretty long time, meaning, you'll be tuning quite often. On averages the GHS strings I use take about a week to stop stretching and hold tune for a few songs. Don't let it frustrate you. I'm also 60+ with a scazillion hours playing but most of it is on steel and nylon string acoustics. Like Howard, I've a preference for nylon strings now and will probably finish my days on classical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 6, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 You mention that it's an old guitar. How's the action and break angle over the saddle? The traditional tie method reduces the break angle by pulling up on the string. Reason for my diatribe is that some need ball end or straight tie to achieve the minimum break angle. The break angle is right around 25 degrees with the current strings. The guitar was made in 1971 and appars to have spent decades under someones bed. The case is like a mini time capsule. I'll send some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 6, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"E2004F31-14D6-4F63-AA35-AE66AD7152E3.jpeg","data-attachmentid":32515298}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 6, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"30B07171-95A2-492F-9AEB-75E0C666D6EA.jpeg","data-attachmentid":32515300}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 6, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"6DAF5989-DE4A-4CDD-B06B-11EEDF7705F3.jpeg","data-attachmentid":32515303}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 6, 2019 Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 It's like the case of failed dreams. Someone was really committed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted May 6, 2019 Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 Lovely guitar. You have a good score there. Hope you enjoy playing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 6, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 Lovely guitar. You have a good score there. Hope you enjoy playing it. thanks so far so good,I'm sure it will be much better once the new strings get stretched in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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