Classical guitar strings are strings manufactured for use on

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

s. While steel-string acoustic guitar strings and electric guitar strings are made of metal, modern classical guitar strings are made of nylon and nylon wound with wire, which produces a different sound to the metal strings. Classical guitar strings were originally made with animal intestine and silk wound with animal intestine up until World War II, when war restrictions led

Albert Augustine Ltd. Albert Augustine Ltd. is the originator of and currently a manufacturer of nylon classical guitar strings.nylon strings. Nylon guitar strings were put into production in 1948. Strings made from

fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...

polymers have since been developed and are the main alternative to nylon strings.

String construction

Traditional

The three treble guitar strings are made from sheep or cow intestine, referred to as plain gut, while the three bass strings are made of a silk thread core wound with gut.

Modern

Since the development of nylon guitar strings by

Albert Augustine Ltd. Albert Augustine Ltd. is the originator of and currently a manufacturer of nylon classical guitar strings.Second World War animal gut and silk were the materials from which guitar strings were manufactured.

Albert Augustine Albert Augustine Ltd. is the originator of and currently a manufacturer of nylon classical guitar strings.nylon. According to Rose Augustine, his wife, he was unable to secure source materials due to the war restrictions and happened upon nylon line in an army surplus store in Greenwich Village. When initially approached by him the

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

company, who manufactured the material, were unconvinced that guitarists would accept nylon's sonic characteristics. Augustine staged a blind test with company representatives from DuPont, they happened to choose nylon over gut as having the best "guitar sound". The DuPont company then supported Augustine's initiative. Augustine classical guitar strings were first commercially manufactured in 1948, in conjunction with Olinto Mari, President of E.& O. Mari/La Bella Strings at their factory in Long Island City New York. When Andrés Segovia, the great Spanish guitar virtuoso, discovered Augustine's strings he was an immediate convert.

Fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...

polymers have recently become an alternative to nylon treble strings. The sound is preferred by some luthiers and players, especially for the smooth transition provided by the G string from treble to bass.General remarks on strings for the classical guitar, Sebastian Stenzel

Notes

External links

Tilman Hoppstock - 2006 Interview with lacg (Los Angeles Classical Guitar)
How to Select the Best Classical Guitar Strings
by Tom Prisloe

Article about how guitar strings are marketed, written by Professor String
ProfessorString.com
Guitar string research
How to Change Classical Guitar Strings video
by Strings By Mail

A quick look at the composition of Strings, Frank Ford, 5/18/00.
How to Attach a Guitar Strap to a Classical Guitar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Classical Guitar Strings Classical guitar Guitar parts and accessories