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Nylon stringed classical styled

Hi folks

Despite having built 7 guitars, I've never made one with nylon strings like a classical. So, this is exactly the guitar I'm starting to plan. But I'm wondering if there are any pit falls that I might be facing with a nylon stringed guitar?

As you can see from the photo, it's based on a large 3 bottle wine box, which I'm hoping might make a nice enough sound, and I'm intending to use a classical guitar bridge with a rod piezo. I'm a little bit worried that I might not get the bridge in the right place, so I'm thinking of slotting bolt holes in the lid to allow for adjustment. I was hoping not to use traditional classical tuners, as that would need a wider head to accommodate the two wide slots. Are there any single tuners like the run of the mill acoustic types that would work with nylon strings?

I'm not planning on bracing the lid, as the classical bridge will not be pushing down, and the nylon strings won't be as highly tensioned. Is this a mistake? Will it still lift the lid upwards?

Has anyone made anything similar? If so, what problems might I come across? Any advice would be gladly accepted, before I make a pig's ear of it.

Cheers folks

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Permalink Reply by c# merle on June 19, 2013 at 11:52am

my number one problem with nylon strings: you're gonna have to wind those suckers forever to get in tune.

as for the rod piezos, check out randy bretz, here on the nation, - he's the rod master.

one cool looking guitar for sure.

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Permalink Reply by Vinylhed on June 19, 2013 at 12:02pm

Cheers for swinging by and adding a comment. I'll check out randy bretz. Thanks, man.

Why do you think the nylon strings will need constant winding to keep them in tune? I play a classical as my non-homemade player, and the strings keep in tune for ages.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on June 19, 2013 at 12:17pm

i agree with the nylon strings seemingly winding forever to get them up to tension the first time .. you will also notice they will need time to stretch to eventually stay in tune once left unattended for a bit .. but it gets better with time . they will stretch and stay in tune eventually .

the only other drawback is not being able to wrap your head around why they work soo good with a slide ..

and convincing others of it too ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Vinylhed on June 19, 2013 at 12:23pm

Thanks Pick!

Slide on nylon strings?! Don't make me laugh!

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on June 19, 2013 at 12:26pm

see .. ya dont believe me .. lol, try it .

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on June 19, 2013 at 12:20pm

If you're worried about intonation I'd say the easiest way is make a nice thick saddle that you can buzz the compensation into with a dremel.

I'd call their biggest limitation a serious loss in volume compared to steel, you want a much lighter top

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Permalink Reply by Vinylhed on June 19, 2013 at 12:41pm

Nice idea, kid. I knew I could count on you to come up with a solution.

I grew up playing classical guitars, so I'm used to quieter guitars. That's one of the reasons I'm fitting a rod piezo, like the one on my electro-classical. What did you mean by lighter top? Top end strings, or top of the box?

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Permalink Reply by Vinylhed on June 19, 2013 at 12:46pm

Wow! That sounds aces! Who knew the Pick was right?

He's got that tuned like a ukulele if I'm not mistaken? Actually, it is a ukulele isn't it?

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on June 19, 2013 at 1:13pm

nylon on tin , with rod piezo , pickin and slidin and amped dirty .

Find more videos like this on Cigar Box Nation

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 19, 2013 at 6:32pm

Hedley,

Is this a 6-stringer? I'd guess so, judging from the bridge and saddle width. Love the wine box. What scale length? Judging from the CD cases, I'd say 25"...How thick is the wine box top? I'd do a quick string up with a nail where one of your machine head posts will go;, and another on the tail end of the box, to test resonance; I think your bridge may be set too far back. You could get away with a 22" scale that way, without changing the neck length (which is gorgeous wood by the way; like the half-moon curve). The adjustable bolt slot sliding bridge idea is intriguing. You could do standard 3-on-a-plate classical machine heads, by routing or multiple-hole-drilling-and-chiseling a single slotted headstock, then offsetting the plates on either side, so that you have the same thing as an oud or lute. That would work better much with a scarfed headstock than a stepped down one. Single tuners could be done exactly the same way.

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Permalink Reply by Vinylhed on June 19, 2013 at 9:22pm

Thanks Ron,

Yep I'm planning for it to be a 6-stringer. I was looking at it being about 25" scale length, as I read somewhere that the longer the scale the louder the volume. I know the bridge was placed a little too far towards the bottom of the box, but for me there is always aesthetic versus function battle. I like your idea of rigging up a test string, I'll have a go at that tonight. I like the idea of having offset tuners, I'll give that some thought.

Cheers man.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 19, 2013 at 11:56pm

Can't wait to hear the results and see the finished product. BTW, what are the actual box dimensions? They look to be about 18" x 18" x 3-1/2"...reason I ask is that I make my own boxes. My current builds at 12 x 10-1/4 x 3-1/2, and I was thinking of going a bit longer and wider with the same depth...