Cameo guitar - nylon vs steel strings?

[Paulie]

I have an old Cameo FS-1 guitar (made in Korea) that I got for free at a swap meet. It was made in the early 80s and came with some worn down metal strings. I'd like to re-string it with nylon strings but I've been told that this will not work unless the guitar is specifically a classical guitar and/or made for nylon strings. If not, nylon strings won't get the body to resonate and therefore will result in little volume.

Is this the case? Can I string a formerly steel string acoustic guitar with nylon strings?

[andygabrys]

Technically yes, but I honestly wouldn't bother.

Most nylon strings don't come with any kind of ball end to anchor the strings so require a different kind of bridge that has holes in it that allow you to tie the strings to the bridge. Most steel string guitars don't have a bridge that has holes in it except for certain kinds of "folk" guitars that were strung with silk and steel strings.

You can get a cheap Yamaha nylon string guitar for $140 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CGS104AII and its going to be a thousand times better than the fixit job you are talking about.

Email me a pic of the guitar showing the neck, nut and bridge if you want further commentary.

[Paulie]

It looks like this picture:

[Paulie]

The guitar has bridge pins, so I'm guessing it's designed for steel strings.

[andygabrys]

Yeah. Not happening.

[Len911]

Here is a cheap Lauren acoustic steel string guitar. I put on light tension nylon strings and this video shows how it sounds acoustically. The bridge on this guitar lifted off badly so I removed it and re-glue it at the proper position to achieve good intonation at fret#12 (and overall).
It sounds pretty loud compared to its steel string version, and warmer too, still not to excited about this.

https://youtu.be/hthpBJh0SOE

It doesn't sound very classical,lol! Rubber bands might have mellowed the sound more.

[andygabrys]

Kinda up to you Paul.

If you are hoping to record it and actually submit it - the $139 would be worth the investment.

If you just want a hobby project go for it.

But you will need to replace the bridge of do something to fix the strings on. At one time you could get nylons strings with ball ends and maybe you could get a set via a google search.

[mojobone]

It'll perform best with steel-core strings, but of course you can fit silk or nylon-core strings by looping them 'round the peg. Tonewise, YMMV.










* ADDENDUM: Andy's right; classical guitars are braced more lightly than steel-string guitars. Sometimes, you can go against the grain and find a cool new sound. This is NOT one of those times.

[Tunesmith]

Try silk and steel strings..Martin M-130 Silk & Steel Acoustic Strings

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... oCokHw_wcB

Linda

[mojobone]

Try silk and steel strings..Martin M-130 Silk & Steel Acoustic Strings

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... oCokHw_wcB

Linda

What she said, LOL. They have ball ends, and the wound strings sound exactly the same as a nylon set.