Please educate me on low tension acoustics

[ehdwuld]

Breed love and seagull make shorter scale necks

I haven't played any but when I was doing the same research i ran across it

 

[Mincer]

Well as far as a new tailpiece goes, it isn't just the bridge that is the issue...most classical guitars don't have a truss rod, so strings with a steel core would snap them in half.

 

[larryguitar]

I'd think the simplest way to get lower tension would be to tune down a couple steps?

Larry

 

[zionstrat]

I'd think the simplest way to get lower tension would be to tune down a couple steps?

Larry

Larry, good input. I just did this on a project where I needed that slinky feel and it worked to some degree... Up the neck was almost exactly what I'm looking for, but the low notes still felt like high tension...

Some of that is action because I normally play medium action but I think it was also scale.. this was a full scale guitar.

I don't think I'm shared in this thread the great irony of looking for slinky low tension..

I play 12s on long scale electric cuz I love the stability.. The opposite of slinky.

But the low tension thing really works for finger style ... Especially vibrato even on partial cords.

Thanks again to everybody for lots of good input!

 

[Chistopher]

Well as far as a new tailpiece goes, it isn't just the bridge that is the issue...most classical guitars don't have a truss rod, so strings with a steel core would snap them in half.

I'm no expert but I think the issue with steel strings on a classical guitar is actually the top not being reinforced enough. I've seen steel acoustics without trussrods, usually parlor guitars. Guitars don't really "need" truss rods per se, especially with graphite rods, but the low tension nature of a classical makes them more resistant to neck tension changes with humidity and temperature.

 

[Mincer]

I'm no expert but I think the issue with steel strings on a classical guitar is actually the top not being reinforced enough. I've seen steel acoustics without trussrods, usually parlor guitars. Guitars don't really "need" truss rods per se, especially with graphite rods, but the low tension nature of a classical makes them more resistant to neck tension changes with humidity and temperature.

Depends on the wood the guitar is made of...classical guitars are made generally of lighter and more sonically responsive wood than steel string guitars (especially necks).

 

[GuitarStv]

Breed love and seagull make shorter scale necks

I haven't played any but when I was doing the same research i ran across it

Taylor GTs are short scale too.

 

[solspirit]

Experiment, be the guy that educates us.

 

[zionstrat]

Depends on the wood the guitar is made of...classical guitars are made generally of lighter and more sonically responsive wood than steel string guitars (especially necks).

This is right on and actually includes a bracing issue... The big acoustics that we're used to playing for the most part, are x braced... A very strong method of keeping the top together with lots of tension.

The smaller guitars we're talking about, and practically all classical guitars, are fan braced...

Fan bracing is much lighter and delicate and can only support the low tension of nylon strings...

But it apparently provides much of the timbre I am looking for.. so the research goes on and hopefully I'll report back with something useful down the road.

 

[Mincer]

Anything with a carbon fiber top (Adamas, Emerald) are usually fan-braced. They are also very forgiving of string gauge differences, too. They need very little vibrational energy because the tops are so thin (but super strong).

 

[zionstrat]

Anything with a carbon fiber top (Adamas, Emerald) are usually fan-braced. They are also very forgiving of string gauge differences, too. They need very little vibrational energy because the tops are so thin (but super strong).

Hmmm, maybe that's what I need to be looking at!

 

[Mincer]

Hmmm, maybe that's what I need to be looking at!

The downside is the expense, but there are a lot of upsides to carbon fiber: weight, sound, strength, and impervious to temperature and humidity.