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Last Updated: May 20, 2019
Massimo Asks:
“Hi Bobby, this may be a stupid question, but can I use nylon strings (for classical guitar) on an acoustic (normally fitted with steel strings)?”
Hi Massimo:
This isn’t a stupid question at all! There are a lot of guitarists out there that’ll be glad you asked it.
In fact, yes, you can… but you can’t use “traditional” Classical/nylon guitar strings if your steel-string acoustic is like most–where your ball-end acoustic strings are held in place with bridge pins. I’ll assume that this is why you’re asking: Classical guitar strings don’t have these ball ends, and have to be tied onto the bridge:
On the left is a typical steel-string acoustic guitar bridge, which uses ball-end strings held in place by bridge pins. On the right is a typical Classical guitar bridge, which uses nylon strings that lack ball-ends and are tied onto the bridge.
So, what can you do?
Some may think their only choice is to affix some sort of object to the end of the string–something that can be held in place by the bridge pin. Or, some might even attempt to remove the ball-ends from steel strings and tie them onto the ends of nylon strings.
None of that is necessary.
Ball End Nylon Strings to the Rescue!
There are actually ball end Classical guitar strings available. They’re popular with a lot of Folk guitarists, or anyone simply wanting to get the the smooth, mellow sound of nylon strings on their steel-string acoustic guitar. And yes, they are used by some Classical guitarists too, who like the fact that they’re so quick and easy to install.
Below, I’ve gathered together a partial listing of nylon ball end guitar strings to get you started, but if you just search google with phrases like “ball end Classical guitar strings” you’ll probably find many more.
Ball-End Classical (Nylon) Guitar Strings
Martin M260 Classical Ball-End Strings
Ernie Ball Earthwood Folk Nylon Ball End Strings
Ernie Ball Ernesto Palla Nylon Ball End Strings
D’Addario Folk Nylon Ball End Guitar Strings
Fender Nylon Classical Ball End Strings
Cleartone Sevilla Classical Ball End Strings
A Quick Note for Classical Guitarists
For any Classical guitarists out there who might be reading this post:
You too can use ball-end nylon strings on your Classical guitar. There’s no law that says you have to use traditional tie-on nylon strings, even if you play an expensive, high-end Classical guitar. Some Classical guitarists prefer the ease-of-use of ball-end strings, so if you’re not a purist and are open to ball end strings, give ’em a try.
Just be sure there’s enough clearance behind the bridge for the ball-end, and that it doesn’t dig into your guitar’s soundboard back there.
How Nylon Strings Will Effect Your Guitar’s Setup
I should point out to everyone that nylon strings behave differently and exert different forces on a guitar than steel strings. Also, the trebles (the 3 highest strings) are thicker than their steel-string counterparts. This means:
If you put nylon strings on your steel string acoustic guitar, you’ll probably need to make adjustments or even do a full setup.
When you put nylon strings on a steel string acoustic guitar you may experience some weirdness including:
- The high G, B, and E strings may be too thick for the nut slots.
- The strings may buzz excessively.
- The action may feel too low (usually goes hand-in-hand with buzzing).
- The outer E strings may occasionally slip off the edges of the fretboard when you’re fretting notes or chords.
- Related to #1, some of the strings may bind (stick) in the nut slots, because nylon treble strings thicker than steel trebles.
- You’re going to have to tolerate some intonation issues, which can’t be corrected.
If you’re lucky, simply loosening your truss rod a bit may be all that’s needed to fix #2 and #3 above. However, it’s more likely that you’ll need to have a full setup performed to truly eliminate them. If you’re experiencing #4 or #5, you will most definitely need your guitar set up (modified, in fact) to play properly with nylon strings.
If this foray into nylon strings is just a temporary thing (say, to record only a song or two) and you plan to switch back to steel strings, then you may be willing to tolerate these things and leave your guitar’s setup alone. On the other hand, if this is a more long-term (or permanent) switch, then you may need to have your guitar set up or modified to accommodate the nylon strings. This could mean having the nut and bridge modified specifically for nylon strings. If you do, ask your guitar tech to save your old nut and bridge saddle, so that you can easily switch back one day.
IMPORTANT: Don’t Put Steel Strings on a Classical Guitar
Lastly, don’t ever go the other way: don’t put steel strings on a Classical guitar or a guitar that was designed to use only nylon strings. Without going into specifics, suffice to say you will permanently damage the guitar if you do this.
Can I put nylon strings on my Martin DCX1E acoustic (dreadnought) guitar?
Good Afternoon, I have a Yamaha F-310 that uses steel strings and I was wondering if it would be okay if I change them to nylon strings and play mariachi style songs.
You can certainly give it a try, but heed the cautions I outline at the end of this article about how nylon strings will affect your guitar’s setup. You will probably need to make modifications to your guitar’s nut, as well as making other changes to the overall setup, for it to work well. It’s not a simple matter of just swapping the strings.
It’s simple and easy in my experience , no issues if using ball end strings
I can attest about not putting steel strings on a guitar set up for nylon.
About 20 years ago, I had a cheapo guitar that I got off eBay for $20 for my friend’s daughter. I went to replace the (nylon) strings, not knowing what I was doing–the neck snapped violently and the guitar folded in half.
Hi all.
As it happens I have just converted an old Yammie FG260 12 string to nylon, sacrilege I hear you say….Well it has issues, the soundboard was badly belled at and around the bridge. The neck was overly bent upwards, so nylon reduced the pressures greatly and the neck is straighter. I also needed to strengthen the soundboard around the bridge area with a thin plate of wood (internally of course) and a few bolts. The outcome with nylons is great, less tension and a lovely mellow tone. The strings I used were standard classical strings and I simply knotted the end two or three times then inserted as you would a ball end string, it works well but make sure you have big enough knot. I have also done the same to a 6 string Ashton, again a lovely mellow sound. D.C
Hi Danny. Knotting the strings can work as well, yes, but the trailing end of the string can scratch the soundboard behind the bridge if you’re not careful. That’s the only reason I didn’t mention it here.
With the nylons, you can hit the knot briefly (and carefully) with a flame to lightly melt it, which can help ensure it doesn’t come untied.
Hello.
I was really wondering about this topic for a while now, and whilst i got the answer and i would really like to try it, i think it’d be best to not to change my acoustic guitar’s steel strings to nylon strings, it’s not worth the time, effort and hassle, so thank you.
i do have a question on your personal opinion, if you are willing to share.
i realized i really love classical songs, i’ve been learning them for a while now.
as i learn more about guitars and songs, i am pretty sure classical/fingerstyle songs fits with nylon strings more, which is classical guitar, and i’ve been playing with an acoustic guitar, which was given to me by a dear friend.
For you, personally, would it feel better and/or easier to play fingerstyle/classical songs with a classical guitar?
I’m not asking will it make me a better player or not, i know that depends on countless practice hours, not the guitar, my point is that i would like to know your honest thoughts, if it does make fingerstyle easier (in a sense like lighter pressure from pressing fretnotes, easier note slides, etc), i will have more determination to save up and buy a mid/high priced classical guitar.
i started learning classical songs about 10 years ago with a very cheap guitar, stopped for years, started again 2 months back with mid-priced acoustic guitar, tried acoustic songs, and i realized my love for classical songs never died.
i’m a straight out beginner, but boy is it fun to learn and master one song at a time. i can’t never get enough of it.
your opinion will be taken very seriously, as i have no other people to turn that is knowledgeable enough about guitars.
thank you very much, i appreciate your time man. cheers.
Hi Nathan. I’m going to give you my personal opinion on this one–as someone who studied Classical guitar “semi-seriously” for a number of years with a private instructor.
First, it’s important to get one thing out of the way: traditional nylon-string Classical guitars are not “easier” to play than an electric or steel-string acoustic. They’re… different… but not easier, per se.
Yes, they have nylon strings, but traditional Classical guitars typically:
However, I much prefer to play true Classical music on a Classical guitar.
When I was studying, I went all-out: I had a “decent” Classical guitar (model mentioned below), a footstool, long fingernails on my picking hand, and sat in the strict Classical position. I absolutely loved everything about it–including the feel of the guitar itself. The stuff I listed above (wider neck, higher action, etc.) just added to the visceral experience of playing Classical guitar… even though it was more challenging physically.
I do not, personally, like trying to play Classical pieces on a steel-string guitar, for a number of reasons.
So, my recommendation would be: if you’re serious about Classical guitar, save up enough money to buy a decent-quality “student” Classical guitar. Midrange and pro-level guitars can easily climb into the $10k range, so look for something on the lower end… in the range of $800 – $1500 if you can afford it. Please PLEASE avoid the ultra-cheap nylon string guitars that you can find for $100 (sometimes less) by companies like Yamaha. They’re made out of plywood, are nearly impossible to set up properly, and sound like crap. They’ll make you hate Classical guitar playing.
I played a 1999 Alvarez Yairi CY116 when I was studying Classical, and though my teacher kind of scoffed at it, it was extremely comfortable to play and had really good projection. I loved that guitar and it was a joy to play.
Hope that helps!
I am very thankful for your reply, Bobby.
To be completely honest with you, I am in shock and/or awe of this realization of how wrong I was, I’m not even sure if it is in a bad or a good way.
So, I was under the impression that $200-$300 guitars are MID priced, higher than $1000 are high.
A few days ago I bought D’addario XT acoustic string, it was priced around $20, and I thought it was a very decent or at least good mid-priced choice for strings, and you’re telling me $100 strings are ultra-cheap? Wow. Hahahaha.
I’m not completely sure if these differences of mindset of prices are because currency conversion or the differences of our economical power, maybe currency conversion played some part, but then again, I am not that strong in money either.
I reside in Indonesia, so the conversion (IDR to $) probably mattered a lot, I don’t have a clue how things are priced in the US either.
The world of music and guitar sure is much more deeper than I realize.
I guess apparently I’m way down in the low tier for now.
Please don’t think that you discouraged me from learning more, I’d hate to make you feel bad just because I was being honest.
However, I’ll remember your opinion, it helps a lot, so thank you.
I’ll keep learning through my acoustic for now, and hopefully later on I’ll advance more to afford the mid priced guitars.
Thank you so much!
Hi Nathan. You asked me if you should play Classical music on a Classical guitar. My answer is yes (my opinion, of course).
I wasn’t talking about strings, I was talking about Classical guitars.
Dont worry Nathan. I am a violinist for 50 years (lots of string snobs in that group) and have a beautiful very expensive violin from family that was heritage that judges in contests used to always ask to play themselves, just to see if they could get the same sound, and I use mostly cheap strings for 40 years. I also play mandolin and guitar and have a total of 20 or so stringed instruments. All are good with low priced strings if the instrument is “sound”. No problem if your not recording or a professional. Here is a $100 dollar violin from a second hand shop, refitted with new sound post, bridge, strings, tail piece and chin rest for $125 (Swiss prices $$$$$). Total investment $225 without case or bow $50 new carbon bow and ? plastic case that came with something else I bought used. It is my travel anywhere acoustic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oraNn0YwmGA
Certainly buy the best that you can actually afford. But cheaper options don’t truly sound horrible and they are not impossible to set up. That even goes for the entry level models from the established brands. Numerous people around the world learn and play classical music on them.
I tried putting nylon strings on steel string acoustic guitar and found that it’s ultimately unsatisfactory solution. The reason is intonation. As you can see from the two juxtaposing pictures of steel and nylon string guitars at the top of this post, the bridge placements are different. Classical nylon string guitar has the bridge perfectly perpendicular to the string direction while steel string acoustic guitar has the bridge at a slight angle to the direction of the strings. Because the scale lengths of both guitars are 25.5″, I suppose the difference is due to the strings specifically used for the type of guitars.
What I found as a result of this is that the intonation of the higher strings (1 to 3 or EBG) are more or less OK going all the way to above the 12th fret, the intonation of the lower strings (4 to 6 or DAE) are definitely off from around 10th fret. Therefore, putting nylon strings on steel string acoustic guitar may be OK if you never go above 10th fret, it’s going to create problems if you go high on the fretboard especially on the lower strings. You’ll likely try to bend the strings to keep it in tune or add vibrato to fool the ear or even fiddle with the tuning peg constantly as I did.
Thanks for sharing that experience James. I’ll specifically call-out intonation in my cautionary section near the end of the post.
I’ve also been contemplating rewriting this post so that the cautionary notes are at the beginning of the post vs. the end.
When I originally wrote this post, I was answering the question quite literally: yes, you can put nylon strings on a steel string acoustic guitar, and ball-end nylon strings will allow you to do that. Then, I slapped a quick note at the end of the post about the potential pitfalls.
However, Classical and steel-string acoustic guitars are definitely different, and while you CAN physically put ball-end nylon strings on a steel string acoustic, it’s sometimes more trouble than it’s worth.
Hi! I know that there are ball end nylon strings but I saw a non ball end nylon strings which I want to put in my steel string guitar with bridge pins. Is it still recommendable? I’ll just use the ball of the old strings I got to tie it on the non ball end nylon strings.
Hi Kevin. You’re creating a lot of work for yourself, and also creating the potential for an accident or damage.
The knot could potentially slip and untie itself. Or, more likely, depending on how you tie the strings onto the ball-ends, you might prematurely wear out or damage the bridge plate (the piece of wood inside the guitar, under the bridge, that the ball ends rest against).
Your guitar is your personal property, so I can’t dictate what you do with it. However, I’m here to help my readers avoid making mistakes and potentially damaging their guitars. I can only advise and guide; I can’t dictate.
That said, I think you should use proper ball-end nylon strings… and not try to MacGyver-together a makeshift solution.
I have a Gibson classical guitar that was given to me by my parents approximately 50 years ago. It was not an expensive guitar but was my first, making me very protective of it. My son has taken up playing guitar and has three of his own. He loves the sound of mine but would like to experiment with the sound by changing to different tension strings. I have always kept normal tension strings on it. Could switching to silver plated copper high/hard tension classical strings damage the guitar?
Hi Michael. It’s hard to know anything for sure without first inspecting the guitar and looking for any signs that the neck or bridge might be compromised in any way.
Assuming that’s not the case, changing to higher tension strings should be fine. However, if the guitar is 50+ years old, and you have any reservations, I’d have it inspected first. A tech will inspect the neck, and inspect the bridge for any lifting or other signs that it might not be able to handle higher tension strings. They’ll look-over other parts as well for any warning signs.
Realistically, the tension probably isn’t a whole lot higher with the high/hard tension strings, however, I don’t know for sure.
To be completely up-front, nylon string guitars (and nylon strings themselves) are the ones I know the least about.
Thank you, I truly appreciate your response.
Thanks for the advice of converting from steel to nylon on a folk acoustic guitar. As they say “horses for courses”. (As this guitar is not built for nylon strings i shall use a different one I have.)
Question is can i make its tone sound less “twangy” and steel like with different strings. (I use bronze alloy light guage) good for country but jazz style no…
Advice would be appreciated.
Regards
Anna
Hi Anna. It’s going to be tough to find nylon strings that have a sound that’s anywhere close to a metal string. That’s the main reason people switch from steel to nylon strings–they want the mellower “nylon” sound.
I’m not as well-versed in Classical/nylon strings, but I’ve heard Classical and Folk guitarists discussing this topic, and have seen suggestions thrown around for “brighter” trebles. For example, Hannabach Carbon Trebles are supposedly brighter. However, your challenge is going to be the fact that you’ll need ball-end nylon strings, which the Hannabach’s aren’t. So, in other words, you’re not going to have a lot to choose from, simply by virtue of needing ball-ends. Also, as you can see, those strings are quite expensive–and you’re only getting the 3 highest strings (not a full set).
Perhaps if I have any Classical-playing readers out there, they’ll read this and be better equipped to help you and make suggestions.
Hi,the top three strings,IE G,B and E become brighter with use if they are nylon,so you don’t need to change them every time the bottom three,(EAD)become dull but unfortunately there is no gain in cost as you can by a full set for the price of three indivual strings,so give it a go,I’ve done it for 50 years!
Hi Dave. Brightness/dullness isn’t the only reason to change guitar strings. As strings age, intonation starts to become an issue (it becomes inaccurate and inconsistent). This is especially true of nylon strings. As long as you can’t hear it and it doesn’t bother you (or your audience), then play ’em as long as you like. However, those with a golden ear or pro musicians will be driven a little crazy by it.
Tuning stability can also become unreliable as nylon strings age. Eventually they’ll get to a point where the suckers just refuse to stay in tune for more than 30 seconds… sharp one minute… flat the next… and everything in-between. But again, if you’re not noticing this, then carry on with what works for you.
Thanks to Ray for bringing up the topic of truss rod adjustment. Originally, I didn’t plan to address this topic–and meant simply to answer the question of whether you can put nylon strings on a steel string acoustic guitar. However, I think it’s important to set the right expectations so that anyone doing this isn’t met with any unpleasant surprises.
So, I’ve added a couple new sections at the end of this article. If anyone reading this article is considering putting nylon strings on their steel string acoustic, it’s very important that they read this section, as it’s not as straightforward as simply buying ball-end nylon strings and installing them on your guitar. Other adjustments may be needed to ensure the guitar plays properly with the nylon strings.
Bobby
The Guitar Answer Guy
You should also mention changing th nylon strings from steel strings is going to require a truss rod adjustment and possibly other set up work because of the change in string tension. It should also be noted that you should never try to put steel strings on a guitar built for nylon strings.
I’m curious about Ray Elliot’s statement that a truss rod adjustment and other set up work will be required when changing from steel to nylon strings. Is this a given or does it depend on the actual guitar?
That’s correct. Nylon strings will exert a lot less forward-pull on the neck than steel strings, which will allow the neck to flex backwards a bit. Most of the time, this will result in a bit of string buzz and/or action that feels too low. There’s a small chance that this won’t happen, but most of the time you will need to loosen the truss rod just a bit. In fact, nylon strings are so different than steel strings that the guitar will probably need a full setup after the switch–including raising the bridge and nut height. However, try a slight truss rod tweak first, and you may get lucky and not need any more than that.
Done! Originally, I had intended to only answer the yes/no question (and provide ball-end nylon string resources), but after some thought I do think it’s important for people to understand the potential ramifications of doing this.
Thanks, Guitar Answer Guy (“GAG”). I’ve been playing for a number of years but still don’t understand a lot about the mechanics of a guitar, so this additional info is very helpful