Hammeron
Probably a silly question, but could I re-string my Ibanez Talman acoustic with nylon strings ??
guidothepimmp
Strictly speaking, you probably could although there are some things to bear in mind.
Classical nylon strings are typically a larger diameter than steel strings which would make the fit through the nut slots less than ideal, likewise the angle break over the saddle would differ to conventional acoustic strings.. This is due to the the different designs of classical and acoustic. Getting finicky, the tuner holes that the string goes through is also probably very different due to the diameter differences.
I guess this could affect playability and tuning stability and action. This is however all it is, a guess.
Then there is the string tension issue, muuuch less with nylon so your guitar would need a setup big time to compensate..
I'm no expert though.. I'm sure XRB and Keira will be along shortly to confirm or dispel ..
VellaJ
+1 to what guido said. AFAIk scale length is also different between steel/nylon strings, but I'm open to correction there...
Also regarding tuners, you're going to find that nylon strings slip off the tuning pegs, you won't have enough purchase on the much-too-short pegs to adequately wrap the strings around them...
Ray
You dont get too many nylon strings with the balls at the end. You get them but you have to look.
The bracing is different. There wont be enough tension to get the top excited enough.
Someone else had an idea like this a while back with a smoothtalker.
AlanRatcliffe
You can do it, but you must have ball ended strings and a guitar with a slotted headstock - you can't wind enough on the solid stock tuners. The nut will also need recutting for the first three strings at least. It'll still sound pretty flat because the strings won't be able to get the heavily braced top to move properly.
On the other hand, it's pretty easy to find decent nylon string guitars on the second hand market at pretty good prices...
Keira-WitherKay
+1 to what alan said re finding pretty descent nylon string guitars on 2nd hand market for under a grand you can pick up something way beyond that in quality with nylon's pawn shops seem to see a nylon as a beginner guitar and tend to mark em pretty cheap , but be warned don't just buy any nylon , as there are some cheap brands that are not worth looking at . But you'll prob find an old yamaha G series for less than a grand and often at half that , a student of mine recently bought a yamaha G 225 with a case and guitar and case were mint, which is not unusual for 2nd hand nylon's to be in pretty good condition , and if got it for about 800 . So yes the making a steel string nylon is possible if you do all that was said in previous posts re nut and tuners but it'll prob be cheaper to buy one 2nd hand ,
