Strings for a 1910 Bay State Parlor

[BlueBuddha]

Hi, I've just bought a Bay State Parlor from ebay. It was a bit of a punt as I've never played a really old instrument before. It's a lovely little guitar, plays beautifully and has a very sweet tone. However, I'm struggling to get used to the thin, weedy strings.

Does abyone know what would be the highest tension strings I could use without fear of wrecking the guitar. It seems to have plain steel strings at the moment, they feel like 9's or something? I'm thinking of maybe putting some Thomastik Plectrum Bronze strings on it (low tension silk and steel). I'm pretty sure the extra light 10's would be fine as the string tension goes from 15lbs on the low E to 17lbs on the high E. However, I'm wondering if I could get away with the light gauge 11's. They go from 22lbs on the low E to 19lbs on th high E.

I'd be grateful for any advice?

[Bingoccc]

From the present Bay State site...

At some point around 1890, John C. Haynes & Co. bought Anderberg out and took charge of Anderberg's guitar operation. At that time the factory employed about twenty five men, first on Sudbury St., opposite Court St., then at 72 Purchase St. and later on Stanhope St. Pehr Anderberg left the John C. Haynes Company in 1892 and continued to make guitars on his own in Chelsea, MA. His guitars were called "Pullmann" and are quite rare. Pehr Anderberg died February 9, 1932.

Bay State guitars from that era are known for their fine wood and intricate inlays and bridges although Bay State also constructed plain unadorned instruments. All guitars were gut string since, of course, steel strings were not widely known or used until the 1920’s. Of course, the guitars did not have truss rods or reinforcements of any kind in the neck.

I might stick to some nylon folk strings or the TI's you mention.

[cellocolin]

Based on the info Bingoccc has posted, it sounds like you should stick to nylon strings. If you want to give steel strings a try, though, I recommend Newtone Heritage strings in the .011 gauge. I use them on my 1925 Washburn - they have the lowest tension of any steel set I am aware of, and they make this little guitar sing! I haven't tried the TI's yet.

A luthier could probably check the bracing, etc. and tell you whether the guitar can handle the tension or not, and what to watch out for.

[RussMason]

Without seeing your nice guitar, I would recommend Titanium low-tension strings. They are a bit pricey but will last a long time and the sound, especially on small-body guitars, is very warm and good.

If you Google Rorhbacher Titanium Strings you will find them.

The low tension nickel or phosphor bronze would do well, and they are much lower tension than steel.

[Dr. Jazz]

You might also try Newtone "Heritage" strings. These are designed for this purpose with low tension similar to Gut strings. I put them on my 1898 00-18 which is was also a gut strung guitar. They work well.