Thoughts on this?

I have an ovation steel string guitar, but I find the steel strings to be too rough on my hands after playing Uke for so long... I was thinking about this and I wanted to hear what others thought...

What I was thinking is to put some high tension nylon strings on it and tune it up to ADGCEA (guitalele) tuning.... Would that put enough tension on the guitar to not cause issues with the guitars neck stretching back on itself? OR, are Ovations (being made of "plastic" materials) less prone to issues with lower tension?

I doubt that you could tune nylon strings that much higher without having them snap or break on you, especially when you try to strum.

While you could put nylon strings on it, instruments built for steel strings generally have a thicker top and heavier bracing. Nylon strings won't have enough oomph to power the top. The sound would be weak.

Don't know about steel string necks, but isn't there a truss rod to ensure the tension? The bigger problem is putting steel strings on an instrument built for nylon. That can cause the neck to bow, the bridge to lift off, and even the top to cave in.

itsme said:

I doubt that you could tune nylon strings that much higher without having them snap or break on you, especially when you try to strum.

While you could put nylon strings on it, instruments built for steel strings generally have a thicker top and heavier bracing. Nylon strings won't have enough oomph to power the top. The sound would be weak.

Don't know about steel string necks, but isn't there a truss rod to ensure the tension? The bigger problem is putting steel strings on an instrument built for nylon. That can cause the neck to bow, the bridge to lift off, and even the top to cave in.

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I've read some info on it and I guess with the lower tension the neck on a steel string could bow backward, away from the top... I tuned my classical up and it seemed to be OK, but I didn't keep it that way for long. You are probably right, the strings would be more prone to snap sooner under the higher tension...

This was another thought I had on this... No nylon strings, but steel strings like this:

So basically, what I need is a 12 string 12th (high E) and 6th (High G) string along with the 5th, 4th, 2nd, and 1st strings from a normal set. EADGBE drop the low E string and shift the strings over and loose the G, leaving ADBE add the 6th from the 12 string set on the end making ADBEG and the 12th as the 4th ADEBAG and tune it ADGCEa! BOOM, Guitalele without stretching the strings too much!

The guages would be:

1st .009
2nd .010
3rd .014
4th .027
5th .030
6th .039

Thoughts?

Basically the strings would be: ADEBEG (I was incorrect in my first post putting ADEBAG) To get them to ADGCEa I would need to tune the E to G (2 half steps, not too much) the B to C (1 half step) and the G to A (2 half steps)... I don't think 2 half steps is too much for those strings... I think I might just be over analysing and worrying about it...

I'd go ahead and use the requinto strings. Some call the sound weak, but I'd call it soft or gentle. Of course, the nylon strings won't drive the top like the steel strings would, but you are looking for a different sound. Not sure about what will happen to your neck. Just monitor it and if anything weird starts to happen, fix it. Also, I'm guessing that you're probably doing this on an instrument that isn't an heirloom or anything like that, right?

I've never done this, but I know a guy who has converted many steel-string dreads to nylon without any problems. The sound is actually quite nice.

Please don't tune your guitar up to A... Instead, why not try silk and steel strings tuned down a half step? Silk and steel strings are great for beginners, as they are essentially a hybrid between nylon strings and regular steel strings. They are designed for steel string guitars, whereas nylon strings are not.

Steel string guitars are braced differently from ukuleles, so messing around with the strings too much could negatively affect your guitar's tone. Keep at it, and you'll get used to the higher tension eventually!

Trying the low tension strings on a acoustic guitar has some set backs. First of all the guitar is going to sound very weak even if you tune it up to a high A, which IMO the steel strings will break or the tension will be too stiff, which is what you are trying to avoid. The numbers you listed are very very light, even too light for an electric guitar, and those guys love light strings for bending. Also, with very light gauge strings, you are not going to damage the guitar in any way, except the guitars ego which in this case it's an Ovation. Some people love Ovations but I can never understand why, just my personal opinion. If you want to play guitar, then you should play guitar and not try to make it something it is not. Your hands will get stronger as you play and it won't take that long. How about classical guitar?

dkpianoman21 said:

Please don't tune your guitar up to A... Instead, why not try silk and steel strings tuned down a half step? Silk and steel strings are great for beginners, as they are essentially a hybrid between nylon strings and regular steel strings. They are designed for steel string guitars, whereas nylon strings are not.

Steel string guitars are braced differently from ukuleles, so messing around with the strings too much could negatively affect your guitar's tone. Keep at it, and you'll get used to the higher tension eventually!

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I'm going with Silk and Steel strings actually!