A friend of my brother has bought his son a guitar and sent it to me to tune. I don't know much about guitars and can only play about 3 chords! This guitar came with 3 steel strings (E,A,D) and 3 nylon strings (G,B,E). Is this normal or should they be the same?
Thanks!
Full Version: Guitar Strings
Are the bottom three strings actually steel or do they have a nylon core (lots of very thin strands) wrapped in coiled metal?
Which fret is level with the top of the body of the instrument?
T.
Which fret is level with the top of the body of the instrument?
T.
QUOTE(noodle @ Jun 7 2008, 07:28 PM) 
A friend of my brother has bought his son a guitar and sent it to me to tune. I don't know much about guitars and can only play about 3 chords! This guitar came with 3 steel strings (E,A,D) and 3 nylon strings (G,B,E). Is this normal or should they be the same?
Thanks!
It sounds like a classical guitar.
Thanks for the replies!
Are the bottom three strings actually steel or do they have a nylon core (lots of very thin strands) wrapped in coiled metal?
Which fret is level with the top of the body of the instrument?
T.
Unfortunately the guitar went to it's owner on Saturday, so I can't check the strings/frets at the moment. Have a feeling it will be back here soon - not sure the little fingers will be able to resist attempting to tune it.... 
QUOTE(Teigr @ Jun 7 2008, 09:55 PM)
Are the bottom three strings actually steel or do they have a nylon core (lots of very thin strands) wrapped in coiled metal?
Which fret is level with the top of the body of the instrument?
T.
QUOTE(noodle @ Jun 9 2008, 08:00 PM)
Thanks for the replies!
QUOTE(Teigr @ Jun 7 2008, 09:55 PM)
Are the bottom three strings actually steel or do they have a nylon core (lots of very thin strands) wrapped in coiled metal?
Which fret is level with the top of the body of the instrument?
T.
Well, when you see it again, this is what you're looking for:
If the fingerboard is flat and fairly wide and the 12th fret is level with the top of the body, it's classical.
In which case the top three strings (in pitch) should be plain nylon and the bottom three should be wound nylon (thin strands - they tend to look fluffy if they stick out past the end of the winding - with metal coiled around them). So it might look like three nylon and three steel, but it's probably 6 nylon (3 plain, 3 wound). As long as they have the nylon core, they're fine. Actual steel strings (with a steel core inside the winding) would be very bad for a classical guitar. Folk guitars are designed to withstand the greater tension imposed by steel strings.
It's possible that it's a folk guitar that someone's strung (entirely or partially) with nylon strings for some reason. In which case the fingerboard will probably be narrower and slightly curved and the 12th fret will be further up the fingerboard.
T.
QUOTE(Teigr @ Jun 9 2008, 08:16 PM)
QUOTE(noodle @ Jun 9 2008, 08:00 PM)
Thanks for the replies!
QUOTE(Teigr @ Jun 7 2008, 09:55 PM)
Are the bottom three strings actually steel or do they have a nylon core (lots of very thin strands) wrapped in coiled metal?
Which fret is level with the top of the body of the instrument?
T.
Well, when you see it again, this is what you're looking for:
If the fingerboard is flat and fairly wide and the 12th fret is level with the top of the body, it's classical.
In which case the top three strings (in pitch) should be plain nylon and the bottom three should be wound nylon (thin strands - they tend to look fluffy if they stick out past the end of the winding - with metal coiled around them). So it might look like three nylon and three steel, but it's probably 6 nylon (3 plain, 3 wound). As long as they have the nylon core, they're fine. Actual steel strings (with a steel core inside the winding) would be very bad for a classical guitar. Folk guitars are designed to withstand the greater tension imposed by steel strings.
It's possible that it's a folk guitar that someone's strung (entirely or partially) with nylon strings for some reason. In which case the fingerboard will probably be narrower and slightly curved and the 12th fret will be further up the fingerboard.
T.
QUOTE(noodle @ Jun 10 2008, 09:25 AM)
Many thanks. The guitar was bought new last week so the strings came with it. From what you say, it seems like a classical guitar.
If it was bought new then those bottom strings are almost certainly wound nylon - they just look like steel strings because the nylon core doesn't show (unless you look closely at the ends).
It's probably worth making sure they know that it needs nylon strings when it comes to replacing them.
T.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.