I’ve been having trouble with my classical guitar strings sounding odd. Just changed the strings to try to fix it (they REALLY were too old), but now I just cannot get them all in tune; one in particular sounds kinda dead and won’t stay in tune for anything. Yeah, I did stretch them several times gently after the installation during the initial tuning.
I normally (I think) have a good ear for tuning, but just can’t figure this one out. Do you ever get a ‘bad’ string in a pack? These are Martins. Or am I likely to have installed one incorrectly? I know it’s a lot to ask for people to guess without hearing it or playing it, but you never know when someone will know exactly what you’re talking about and what the problem might be.
New strings can take a few days to stabilize. Fluctuations in temperature? Humidity?
Perhaps the neck is readjusting to the new tension. Odd that it should only be one string, though. Could be a dud. Martin make great guitars, but their strings (in my experience) are crap and break too easily.
Thanks – I did change them one at a time, and I think I did it right. It was several days ago, and I’ve played it at least half an hour a day, so I thought they’d have settled by now. It’s especially the G string, btw. Sounds dead, kinda sharp sometimes, kinda flat sometimes. Weird. I’m tempted to change it to see if that fixes it, but hate to blow $170 when I just changed the damned thing 4 days ago or so. :s
Yer windy thing at the top (oh god, I’m losing my ability to name things, early onset dementia are go!) might be buggered. Or a duff set of nylons. Never had that happen, though.
Prolly best to wait for irishstu to be back online.
edit jp’s here though. He knows about slack G-strings. And guitars
that G strings always where you’ll have problems with tuning…you can get an E chord sounding in tune and then try a G chord and its all out…if memory serves me right (its 25 years since I worked in a music shop) you can get nylon sets with the G string wound to give it better clarity…
Yeah, bear, I’m having that kind of trouble too. It’ll sound in tune for one chord and really awful in another. Bizarre.
I didn’t know you could buy strings individually. And if I walked in and said I needed a new G string they would probably look at me and shudder or something.
Cool, I’ll go back to Tony’s and see what else they have in the way of classical strings (unless someone has a better suggestion for sourcing).
I am a classical guitar player (as well as fiddle and banjo, funny enough) living here in Taipei. I bought a set of those Martin Classical strings for my guitar that I travel with for our holiday, and I must say they were the worst Classical strings I have ever used. I strongly recommend the Hannabach Silver Special Edition that are widely available in Taiwan. They are a bit expensive, but after they settle, they last a long time and their G string is not “tubby” or “flat” sounding at all. Try them out, you won’t be disappointed.
On a side note, it seems there are a few of us classical guitar players floating around … hmmm. Is anyone interested in maybe a once a month get together where we share what we are learning? We could also try out some duets to hone our sight reading. Dr. McCoy? Dragonbones? Mr. Presley? Level of playing is not an issue, just wanting to share with other players would be all that is necessary.
I know a small store on Roosevelt that will give you a discount on the Hannabachs (and others) if you buy the strings by the case. Thinking about it though, we might want to do a group order from Strings by Mail, it ends up being much cheaper if I remember correctly.
If he was putting steel strings on a classical guitar, it would be a death sentence for that guitar. Eventually it would rip the top off of the guitar, or at the very least cause severe warping of the wood.
[quote=“Dragonbones”]Yeah, bear, I’m having that kind of trouble too. It’ll sound in tune for one chord and really awful in another. Bizarre.
I didn’t know you could buy strings individually. And if I walked in and said I needed a new G string they would probably look at me and shudder or something.
Cool, I’ll go back to Tony’s and see what else they have in the way of classical strings (unless someone has a better suggestion for sourcing).[/quote]
In the West music shops sell single strings no problem; for the simple reason that as any electric player will tell you you’re breaking a heap more top E and B strings than bottom E and As and its pointless replacing a whole set just cos one string breaks. But in Taiwan maybe not.
If he was putting steel strings on a classical guitar, it would be a death sentence for that guitar. Eventually it would rip the top off of the guitar, or at the very least cause severe warping of the wood.[/quote]
Well yeah. I just want to make sure it really is a classical guitar rather than a steel-string, and I also want to make sure he got the right strings.
First rule of customer support - assume the worst.
Worst case? I didn’t let the cat gut dry long enough before putting it on. Yes, chief, I made these myself at home, from stray cats.
Or I put it on wrong. I am new at this, after all. But I did carefully follow the instructions. On the other hand, the instructions were for a different kind of guitar.
They’re Martin classical guitar strings, silverplated, plain end, high tension, .028 to .043. $170 a set, at Tony’s. The top three are plain nylon, the bottom three wound.
The guitar is a Yamaha acoustic CG101A, $5500 at Tony’s. I didn’t have trouble with the original set of strings (no idea what brand they were), and I could tune the guitar easily, and it would stay perfectly in tune for days. Dr.McCoy has picked it up and played it – it’s a perfectly fine beginner’s guitar, IMO.
Hmm, I wonder if I might have put a string on wrong or something. I should probably drop by and let a friend have a look. Gifthorse is nearby. I’ll PM him. I already have a spare box of Martins sitting around, so I might just replace the G first. I think I’ll look into those Hannabach Silver Special Editions, thanks Noel! I wonder if Tony’s will have them. It’s the only shop I know, actually.
I am new at this, after all. But I did carefully follow the instructions. On the other hand, the instructions were for a different kind of guitar. 
Dr.McCoy has picked it up and played it – it’s a perfectly fine beginner’s guitar, IMO.
I should probably drop by and let a friend have a look. Gifthorse is nearby. I’ll PM him. I already have a spare box of Martins sitting around, so I might just replace the G first. I think I’ll look into those Hannabach Silver Special Editions, thanks Noel! I wonder if Tony’s will have them. It’s the only shop I know, actually.