[Sector9]

hey all, I have recently purchased a yamaha s-50A 1973 guitar. I thought it was a classical guitar...but i was told its actually a folk guitar...does it really matter..the guitar shop told me to use folk... specific steel/silk strings...or can i use nylon...


what would the possible ramifacations be (if any)

thx

[stuartmerenbloom]

I'd use silk & steel on it, nylons might make it sound like a ukelele.

[sunday_girl]

Hi I'm not an expert or anything but i thing nylon strings would break on a folk guitar.
Put steel on it and enjoy it if you want the sound of nylon you will have to get a classical guitar.
Rachel

[Graeme! Yes, Graeme!]

The grooves for the strings won't be wide enough for nylon, and if it's a guitar designed for steel strigns then it will probably sound better with those on.

[epearson]

Labella makes Folk Guitar strings which are nylons with black trebles and gold basses that are of a harder tension and skinnier than most classical nylons. They have ball ends which facilitates easy placement on both classical and steel string guitars. Willie Nelson typically uses these. But, I must say, I've tried them on my girlfriends folk guitar (basically a steel string with the same dimensions of a classical) and was not that impressed. The bracing and structure is different than that of a classical and as a result will produce different tone, but of course my gf's folk guitar is a Julian (a defunct japanese company that I can't find info on) and not a lot sounds good on it. Give them a try, you might like them.

[adds]

I guess you could do it.If the guitar is built for steel strings then it would do any harm putting nylons on.If it was the other way round you would have a problem regarding the trus rod.As has been said the nut slots for the strings wouldnt be wide enough but that can soon be sorted.And if it sounds crap then nuts are cheap and its easy to put it back to normal.

[Zep-Bowie-Young Freak]

No you can not, there are many reasons, you'd be changing the pressure on the neck drastically, they may not even fit or logistically be able to be strung on to the guitar, they won't resonate correctly because the guitar was not meant for them... nylon strings on a steel string guitar is an all around no no.

[ctshaynes]

I would think that a properly set up steel string guitar partially relies on string tension to pull the neck into position. Nylon strings have much less pull than steel so it is likely to cause fret buzz without a truss adjustment.