Does anyone make nylon strings for a standard acoustic guitar (non-classical)?
This may seem crazy, but I really love the sound of nylon strings, and I DO NOT want to buy a classical guitar though.
I was wondering if any manufacturer makes nylon strings for a "normal" acoustic guitar. One where the strings have the standard small "bolt" and at the end of the string instead of having to tie them off, as well as correct tension.
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I have been playing for about 8 years and I used to love to put nylon strings on my steel string acoustic.
For many reasons:
It's easy to play a little quieter for when you're in your parents' basement.
I like the sound.
Anyway, they didn't do anything to my guitar (Washburn D10S).
I have used the ones with the little ball, also if they didn't have balls on them I just tied a large knot in the end and they stayed on just fine.
You can put nylon strings on a normal guitar.
There are nylon strings with ball ends.
e.g. these
The only problem you will have by fitting thes on a regular acoustic is that the three highest strings(in pitch) might be too thick for the ballslots..
You will not brake anything on your guitar and this can safely be tried , but i doubt it will sound any good.
Never put steel strings on a classical guitar though, since this will certainly break the guitar.
Steel-strung guitars contain a truss rod which is designed to be counteracted by the tension of steel strings. Storing the guitar with loose strings is a bad idea; putting nylon strings on the guitar is a bad idea. Especially if it's an expensive guitar.
If you're really desperate to try this, go to a guitar shop and ask if they can adjust the truss rod to suit your nylon strings. I suspect it won't be possible, but it's worth asking.
The only problem with putting ball-end "folk" nylon strings on a steel-string guitar is that the steel-string guitar is braced under the top to resonate properly with steel strings. The nylon strings only put about 40% as much tension on the top of the guitar as steel strings. So if the guitar in question has a thick top that is heavily braced, the nylon strings will not be able to "excite" the top to vibrate properly, and the sound will be a bit quiet and muted. If the top of the steel-string guitar is thin and lightly-braced, it will work better.
A rule of thumb is that inexpensive steel-string guitars are "over-built" with a heavier top and heavier bracing, and more expensive steel-string guitars are "lightly built" with thinner top and lighter bracing. More expensive guitars are more resonant, but also more delicate and less durable.
Also, the style of the steel-string guitar matters as well. Nylon strings would probably not sound great on a big dreadnought or a jumbo guitar, but would sound better on a grand auditorium, concert, "0" or "00"-style guitar, which are smaller guitars that are braced more lightly as a rule.
Here is a link to D'Addario "folk" ball-end nylon strings.
Its sounds amazing i just tried them today an i got Daddario folk nylon strings with ball ends. The only problem is that it doesn't stay in tune at all, like in 2 minutes you'd probably be a whole step lower. I'm guessing this is because the nuts to small for the higher pitch strings so it doesn't hold the note for very long, but may hold it longer for the lower pitched strings. I strongly doubt though that this would do any damage to your guitar the worst would be that the string would just snap and end up breaking somewhere. The nylon at least on my guitar doesn't appear to be capable of pulling anything off or out of order. The higher pitched strings E B G feel sort of to weak and plasticky. Or i guess I'm just not very familiar with nylon. Hopes This Helps!!!
Been playing for about two years, I've always strung my acoustic with nylon strings and haven't had any problems with the neck. You can find nylon strings with ball ends.
There is a balance between the strings and the top. If you put too much tension, it'll sound awesome until the top snaps or the bridge comes flying off. If you don't put enough tension, you don't get the top moving and it doesn't sound good. Nylon strings are for classical guitars and vice versa.
There are silk-and-steel strings from string makers like D'Addario which might work for you.
One factor to consider, that I haven't seen here (but could be on account of many answers): On a steel string the tuning posts are vastly different than on a classical guitar. You will have difficulty tuning a nylon string using a steel string post. (I once tried to put steel string tuning posts on a classical guitar and the result was almost useless.)
Also, I have seen this in the answers, but to reinforce: There are many good acoustic guitars designed to feel like and play like a steel string, but are designed for nylon strings. That is your best option.
Also, as a classical guitarist, in my experience the classical strings that have the ball ends suck. (to use a technical term.) In other words, they just do not sound good or feel right when compared to good brand name classical guitar strings.
Probably the best version of your idea is to get hard tension classical guitar strings and tie knots on the ends, since if they are any good they wont have those ball things. As others have said, silk and steel are also worth investigating. I never tried them myself, but when working at a guitar store, they seemed to sell reasonably well.
It is possible to put nylon strings on a steel string guitar as others have said. It is likely to sound terrible. It probably wont hurt the guitar. It is possible. Acoustic guitars with floating bridges would have a problem with nylon strings. The tension would not be enough to hold the bridge in place. You are likely to get allot of fret buzz.
There are quite a lot of crossover guitars out now.
What you get is steel string playability as in the size of the neck the nut and lower action on a guitar purpose built for nylon strings. ?banez makes a nice one for about £250.These guitars are also known as hybrids.I have one made by cort it was not too expensive and the tone and playability is excellent.I play solo style a mixture of jazz, classical, popular, country blues and ragtime and the nylon strings handle all these styles producing a really lush warm sound.When i play steel strings they sound too harsh compared to the nylon strings.
I've been playing for about 15 years, and I only use nylon strings on my Ibanez V-310 acoustic. I used Dean Markley high tension ball end nylon strings. You might have to adjust the truss rod until you get the tension and sound you want. Be very careful! Adjust it a small amount at a time! And you'll probably have to file your nut slots or buy a new nut to fit the nylon strings.
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