Hi guys! Long time, no see!
I wanted to alert you folks to a new YouTube channel run by my friend Bugsy Kerman. He's self taught himself how to play the guitar over the past year, and wants to share some of his music and tips. He gets really obsessed with learning, and loves teaching others.
Here's his latest on how to string a guitar.
Elsewhere on his channel is his first ever song "Do Wit Too". It's got a really nice and positive message.
Feel free to leave him feedback on his channel. I can also pass along your thoughts and constructive criticisms from here.
I love his delivery! Not trying to nitpick, but the title is a bit misleading. He is stringing an acoustic guitar, which is cool, but a classical guitar requires a totally different process, and it's not documented very well online, IME.
The big difference between classical and acoustic guitars, when it comes to restringing them, is that classicals use nylon strings, and there aren't any pegs. You have to tie the strings on. Also, both the bridge and the nut come off on a classical, because luthiers trim them by hand to adjust the action. Classical guitars usually have a very high action, unless you play flamenco or something, and the strings are always spaced wider than on acoustics. The reason why classical guitars and acoustics are different is kind of because of who plays them. Classical guitarists are a bit snooty, like classical music nerds. Most classical guitarists want that pure, clean tone, so the entire instrument and playing technique is designed from the ground up to eliminate buzz. I personally play folk and blues on my classical, so I am not as picky about my technique as a lot of classical guitarists, but my guitar is classical. Flamenco guitarists play classicals with lower actions because buzz is part of the flamenco aesthetic. Acoustics are more flexible, I think. Different players want different sounds from them.
The first time I restrung my classical guitar, it was an adventure. I read some tutorials, and watched a few videos like the one I'm linking to below. Then I removed the strings, and nearly had a heart attack when the nut fell off. A few people online told me to glue it back on, and I'm glad I didn't listen to them. Then the knots wouldn't hold on the high strings, so for high E and B, I invented my own knot. It's the same as what's described in this video, but with one extra bite, in the reverse direction, above the initial bite where the string first crosses itself. Then I wind below that initial cross over like the video below describes. This extra reverse bite creates a little more tension in the knot, to stop the slippery strings from sliding when I tune it up. That problem might have been caused by the low tension strings I use. From what I hear, almost nobody uses low tension nylon. Local guitar shops won't even carry it. Low tension sounds and feels great on the old 1970s yamaha classical guitar that I inherited from my dad, though.
