I will try to keep this short if i can.
many years ago when i was about 10 my step father was a telephone installer for the PMG. T his is an Australian thing but it stands for Post Master General. it was the government bodu for postal services and telephone/telegraph services.
not rlelevant on a tangent already...lol
He had to crawl under houses to retro fit telephone wires etc. one day he came home with a guitar. It was a homemade thing and he made a wallhanging out of it by painting the back. not a good painting..lol
4 years later i inherit it when parents split and he went back to England.
i sanded it down and strung it with nylon strings because it had a classical style bridge. it had had steel strings on it and warped the top. i sanded the bridge to compensate staines it a red cedar type colour and did a poly finish... remember i was only 14.
i played that guitar for over 25 years on and off i loved it. .
so basically i want to recreate it. smaller body and a narrow neck 46 ish mm would be good under the 1"7/8 freedom unit mark. and a scale of 615mm or around 24.2"
without buying a new guitar can i put nylon strings on a steel string guitar ? do i need to chanbe the bridge first? do i just build myself a stick in a box 6 string with nylon strings? looking for the options and short commings of this idea? could i get a cheap second hand classical guitar and reshape the neck to a bit narrower? i would possibly have to replace the fingerboard with one say 16" radius?
i think the cheapest crossover guitar i can buy in Australia is over $700 AUD.
the whole point is to be able to quietly play at night and not wake the missus up! plus the nostalgia for a guitar i lost 24 years ago.
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I'm sure plenty of members have their own ideas, but taking a cheap steel string and putting nylon strings is one way.. or get a cheap classical guitar and shave the neck down.,. You could either pull the frets before reshaping the neck, and just re-fret after words.,., or, leave the frets in and shape with an angle grinder.,., and there is always build your own., maybe a cheap used guitar you could build a new neck for,.,. enjoy..!!
Hi Tim, I am not familiar with crossover guitars, in fact, I had to look up the meaning of the word and how it applied to the guitar. Although over the years I had converted a few guitars in this manner but never put a name to it.
Obviously, your fingers would handle the thicker nylon strings on a narrower neck, as you have already played on such a setup [unless you have put on some weight in those years, Hahaha].
A few thoughts on the matter that may or may not be important to you.
First, whichever doner guitar you use you have some work to do.
The first consideration is the scale length, steel strings are normally 25.5” and nylon 25” the longer scale may give a stiffer feel to the nylon strings. Not a worry.
The nut width is reduced, is the string spacing at the saddle also reduced?
Cheap steel strings may be overly heavy-braced, will the nylon strings drive the top enough to give a decent sound. This may not be an issue in this case.
The existing fretboard could be re-radiused, not forgetting the saddle too. And deepening of the fret slots.
Making the neck narrower would mean removing the fingerboard and frets, which would be needed to re-radius the board anyway. The amount of neck carving would depend on the width of the fingerboard at the neck/body joint, depending on the string spacing at the bridge.
I would go with a nylon doner guitar as it has the correct bridge, body size, scale length, and break angle off of the nut.
Good luck, Taff.
HTML for comments.
cheers guys, i already have a yamaha C40 classical guitar and i use it for now. The nut width of 51.7mm and the flat board give me dificulties playing it for long. its ok for finger picking but when i want to practice a song with barre chords , well its difficult and my hand hurts and i stop playing.
I have 2 steel string 6 strings and a Martin 12 string i recently bought . i have a Telecaster and a Yamaha Pacifica 121D ( S style guitar) .
i just want something easy to play but quiet like a nylon string can be. the classical guitar has a 650mm scale length so thats 25 1/2" ish....
i might have to knock up something myself but i know it wont be good...lol
Hi, my bad about the nylon scale, oops.
Have you tried covering the soundhole on a steel string [a la Feedback Buster], and fitting silk and steel softer strings? I had a guitar to repair some years ago that was chock full of pillow stuffing. Now that was quiet.
Taff
Hi Tim,
Late to the party but the dimensions you describe are close to a 7/8 sized classical. Several here to check out the specs of
https://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?smcs=1f3d44_3663&a...
Not sure how common they are in your country though?
Link not opening so try cut and pasting https://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?smcs=1f3d44_3663&oa=p...Thanks but these still have a flat fingerboard and a 48mm nut width. yes it is down from 51mm on my yamaha classical. The prices look fine but shipping to Australia is going to cost way more than the guitar! not worth it.
Seems to me like you would want to stay away from any acoustic instruments if you were trying to be quiet, right?
Hi Tim, as you are in Australia I may be able to help [he says jokingly]. If only you lived closer.
I have done a few neck conversions over the years, even made 6-string necks narrow to suit 3-string CBGs.
Brian Q’s comment made me think, why not string up a steel string with nylon strings, fit an external piezo bug to the face, fill the guitar with a towel, plug into a small amp, acoustic with headphone out facility if possible, and wear headphones. However, the towel may negate the need for pickup and amp.
Cheers Taff
Taff im just down the road in brissie...lol
Part of the reason was to play a nylon string gently, a big part of the reason is i miss the guitar i had as a 14 year old... nostalgia. I have a Fender Mustang micro headphone amp. so if only quiet was the reason i would just use that on my Tele... https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/ZoomJpg/10001/2311300000_fen_amp_frt_01_nr.jpg" alt="Gallery image 1 of 17"/>
got all sorts of amp and effect emulation but uses wired headphones. will take bluetooth in so i can play a song and play along with it.
just an old mans dream of his youth...lol
https://www.mooloolabamusic.com.au/valencia-vc204h-thin-neck-full-s...
well cant build anything for this little!
was up in Moolooba for work so droped into the local guitar/music store and $119 AUD i picked up this little guitar.
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