darylcrisp - Posted - 04/24/2013:  18:15:03

being used to steel strings, i am venturing into the nylgut world. Love nylon guitars, Ukes.

found a  neat used fretless Ramsey. Filed a bridge and the nut to accept the wider strings. Bowline knot used on the "no knot" and all has went well. Of course they continue to stretch out, but they sure seem flexible-is that the norm?  thinking i might be tuned an octave too low, but they sound okay-for the few seconds they stay in tune.

 and the wound 4th-whats the best way to attach to the "no knot", can't imagine a bowline works well with that winding?

thanks

d

Edited by - darylcrisp on 04/24/2013 18:16:36

rudy - Posted - 04/24/2013:  18:30:41

They should be the same pitch as you normally tune to, assuming that you have the classical set.  Yes, they feel like butter!  I start them out as tight to the post as possible, no extra wraps.  I wind up with 3 or 4 wraps around the post when they have decided to calm down.  Once they stretch out they will remain stable unless you do a lot of re-tuning, which I don't think Nylguts fair well with.  That said, I love 'em.

Edited by - rudy on 04/24/2013 18:32:06

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/24/2013:  18:31:08

Bowlines work on every string for me. Yes these strings are floppy compared to steel, but not as floppy as I expected.

One great thing about Nylguts, you can tune them up and down like crazy and they "work" well at all pitches, I find. From a low dead man double E tuning or low A in drop C tuning, all the way up to "standard" G or double C.

I use a very high action on my Ramsey fretless. Get a good purchase on em. Make 'em POP!

Have fun.

darylcrisp - Posted - 04/24/2013:  19:22:51

quote:

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Originally posted by The Old Timer

 

Bowlines work on every string for me. Yes these strings are floppy compared to steel, but not as floppy as I expected.



One great thing about Nylguts, you can tune them up and down like crazy and they "work" well at all pitches, I find. From a low dead man double E tuning or low A in drop C tuning, all the way up to "standard" G or double C.



I use a very high action on my Ramsey fretless. Get a good purchase on em. Make 'em POP!



Have fun.

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 thanks guys, you both described what i just went thru with the first set-the feel and such. they do sound really neat.

and i see i need to cut a new nut for the A scale Ramsey fretless, its way too low for these and the strings are laying down when fretted and buzzing up until about the 6th or 7th fret area(man they sound cool there).

so a new nut it will be.

BTW, if you had a low action in the first couple fret regions, did you find it was too low for the nylaguts?

thank you both

d

hillside - Posted - 04/24/2013:  19:34:07

I didn't open the slots in the nut at all - jsut lay the nylon strings on top of the slots. Wopks fine these last decades, and I can go back and forth steel to nylon.

Pluckin Mutha - Posted - 04/24/2013:  19:57:35

quote:

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Originally posted by darylcrisp and the wound 4th-whats the best way to attach to the "no knot", can't imagine a bowline works well with that winding?

thanks

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The bowline works OK on the three Banjos on which I have Nylgut "Classic"s.

Mutha

Pine Cone - Posted - 04/24/2013:  20:53:23

quote:

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Originally posted by darylcrisp

 and the wound 4th-whats the best way to attach to the "no knot", can't imagine a bowline works well with that winding?

thanks

d

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While many use a bowline, I find that tying a figure-8 knot around the "no knot" posts works very well.  I put the lower loop of the figure-8 around the post on the tail piece.  Easier and stronger than a bowline.

Prescott - Posted - 04/24/2013:  22:11:22

You don't really need a knot with a No-Knot tailpiece. If you look on Mike Holmes' excellent Mugwumps website, there are full directions for installing strings on these handy tailpieces. A warning: if you have one of the modern reproductions, be sure to remove sharp edges and corners on the posts and slots, or they will cut your strings. Some repros may need the slots widened a bit, as well.

Fathand - Posted - 04/25/2013:  06:45:20

I switched to Nylguts on my banjo uke. They felt like they had more tension than the original nylon strings but I have no way to measure, just the feeling in my fingers.

ClayTech - Posted - 04/25/2013:  07:19:09

I switched to Nylguts recently, and I found it took over a week for them to really settle in on their sound and feel. They definitely feel looser than steel, but once they finish stretching it's not so noticeable. On your next set of Nylguts, try the set with the red 4th string. It's not wound, so feels and sounds just like the other strings.

trapdoor2 - Posted - 04/25/2013:  07:42:07

quote:

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Originally posted by ClayTech

 

I switched to Nylguts recently, and I found it took over a week for them to really settle in on their sound and feel. They definitely feel looser than steel, but once they finish stretching it's not so noticeable. On your next set of Nylguts, try the set with the red 4th string. It's not wound, so feels and sounds just like the other strings.

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You can speed up the "settling in" process by stretching them manually as you're putting them on. Basically, you put on a string and tune it up as normal. Then, lay the banjo in your lap and grab the string with both hands (divide the string into thirds for hand placement) and push/pull the string into a "Z", stretching it like a rubber band. Tune it up again and repeat. I do it about 5 or 6 times for each string. If you do this, they'll be playable immediately and only require a bit of touchup tuning after each tune/song. Keep at it (stretching manually) a little the next day and they'll be done.

Be gentle with the 1st and 5th, you can overstress them (*POW!*)

I also often finish for the evening (after installing a new set of nylguts) by tuning the whole instrument up a full step and leaving it overnight. Retune it to standard the next day and you're generally good to go.

Edited by - trapdoor2 on 04/25/2013 07:44:17