Flourocarbon Stinrgs?

[rlgph]

Has anyone out there tried ukulele fluorocarbon strings on your tenor guitar? If so, how do they compare with steel strings? Is the tension high enough to get reasonable volume? Did you have to downtune from DGBE?

[Cornfield]

I’ve used the on a tenor banjo with good results. I think it would be pretty quiet on a tenor guitar

[fox]

There are many people who have tried, you can see the same question along with all the arguments on many of the Facebook pages.
Some folk are totally convinced that their chosen nylon strings work very well!
However if a particular instrument is designed to operate at its best with steel strings under a certain amount of tension, then for it to perform as designed, the nylon strings should match the steel string tension.
Unfortunately this is not really practical as the nylon would be far to thick.
There may be other factors at play because nylon behaves in a different way to steel and tends to oscillate for longer but with less force but in any case without further modifications to a steel string guitar, you could not really expect it to perform very well with nylon strings.
Having said all of that, apart from any modifications to the nut, bridge and tuning pegs you may enjoy the effect of a subdued sound and you won’t actually harm the guitar.
There a few tenor guitars on the market that are designed for low tension nylon.

[Lord of the Badgers]

If you get a pono BIG baritone - it's made for nylon strings. The bracing is different to a steel string tenor. Different loads!

[john bange]

"standard nylon strings are not going to drive the sound board satisfactorily on a tenor guitar, braced for steel strings. They are too thick to fit the nut slots"

all this is true...but!
Thomastik-Infeld/John Pierce nylon tape wound strings do. .016, .024, E,& B strings work great when paired with silk and steel, wound D and G strings and they require no nut filing. I use them on my 0-18t Martin and have put them on Blueridge and others. They seem to prefer 23" scale but work ok on 21" too.
The only downside is the cost but if you try them and are not convinced, switch back to steel. You didn't have to modify the nut slots. I put the B and E on a Pono nui and It really came alive along with 2 wound nylon D and G's.

[Harley Marty]

I’m spending most of my time playing a 3/4 (23”) classical guitar that I bought for €3:50 while I wait for the carbon fiber to arrive. I have some of those carbon strings but haven’t tried the yet. I have however put a carbon onto the E on a 1/2 (21”) size classical & it sounds great. What I did with both guitars was rasp all the internal braces down until I got scared. Believe me when you only pay €3:50 for a guitar you won’t have much bracing left when you get scared :-). I drilled a series of holes into the top side for portholes & they are both powerful for strumming chords in any session!!!

[rlgph]

Thanks for your comments, guys/gals. Flourocarbon is a different animal than nylon -- denser, which makes for thinner strings. Nevertheless, they are low tension. I might well try them on my tenor banjo, as Cornfield does.

John, thanks for the tip on the T-I/JP strings. I too have a Martin 0-18t, currently tuned to DGBD.

ron

[john bange]

my banjo is a small 5 string with a 10" pot and a 19" scale. I use Aquila Baritone ukulele strings on it, tuned GDGBE. It is very loud. My 0-18t is one of the Elderly 40 year anniversary custom guitars. I tune it DGBE with the T/I strings. I did the same strings on my friend's 50 year old 0-18t. Both guitars sound and play fantastic.

[Harley Marty]

Pardon my ignorance what are T/I strings?

[Huck]

Pardon my ignorance what are T/I strings?

Hi Harley Marty,
Thomastik-Infeld. See #5 above.

Cheers,
Huck

[fox]

Banjos work well with nylon, they have a fully adjustable skin that is extremely light weigh and easy to vibrate.
Wooden top guitars are normally adjusted by the builder or manufacture to work within a set string tension ie ... 150 lb for a steel six string, 85lb for a tenor guitar and 90lb for a six string classical, all with a little leeway either side.
That is not to say a particularly guitar will not be playable with a different string tension but it might not be performing at its best,
Of course there is nothing wrong with fitting any strings you fancy and low tension, low volume strings may well prove to be perfect for certain circumstances.

I would also like to know about Thomastik-Infeld strings... are they nylon flats?

[Harley Marty]

Another little tip for stringing banjos with nylons (I only play in fifths), the top plain string works well in steel just like violins, violas & cellos. Sometimes I have to file the bridge so the plain steel meets the back of it

[john bange]

Thomastik-Infeld strings are wound nylon tape on rope core. the tension, while high for a nylon string is still much easier to fret. at .016 and .024 for the E and B, they are much thinner without the "tubby" sound of a standard nylon string trying to drive a wood top braced for steel strings. used with 2 wound D and G silk and steel strings, you have a set-up than is easy on older tenor's, with no truss rod and produce plenty of volume and sound very similar to steel strings.

they're probably not for everybody...might only work with DGBE(I don't know) but until you try them...?
I get the sets and single B and E strings from Just Strings.com
At close to $5 a string...they are expensive.
I love them on 23" scale but I don't think they are worth the money on 21"