Nylon & Wire Lyre Sound Comparison

[@SamanthaonMars]

I've been looking forward to this. Thanks for putting it out! Wire is what I prefer for this body.

[@learningthelyreharp]

Me too

[@anuktouceda5242]

Yo yo yo it's samantha on mars wowowowo slayayay

[@sixfourtyfive]

I like both but nylon has a warmer and "older" tone (maybe I'm biased because historical instruments from my country had gut strings, not wire, but I know wire is traditional in other places). However, these nylons are out of tune. Interesting comparison anyway!

[@learningthelyreharp]

Keeping the nylon in tune was the toughest part in this experiment. It took over two months of constant tuning for it to stay in pitch but even after that some strings would just not stay in tune. So while it is doable, it is not very practical. In the end, I restrung the lyre back with wire strings and am happier with it.

[@kavimontanaro7976]

Thanks for taking the time to demonstrate this.

[@learningthelyreharp]

@@kavimontanaro7976 Thank you for watching ❤️

[@marymiettinen9821]

Interesting comparison. I like each one for different reasons. Thank you.

[@jayg8997]

Really useful to hear the two together x

[@bluebiegrace1828]

Thank you!! I Iike the nylon strings. Sounds sweeter.

[@pauthomp]

Marvellous hard work comparison thanks..

[@learningthelyreharp]

Thank you 😊

[@cassier9482]

Nice tune. I personally prefered the sound of the wire.

[@learningthelyreharp]

I do as well :)

[@SamuelFhtagn]

I kinda prefer the sound of nylon strings, but they seem to have much less sustain than wire. If changing strings were less tedious, I think I'd give 'em a try. 😄

[@learningthelyreharp]

Yes, I can attest to the tediousness first hand not just on changing the string, but also on tuning and adjusting in the weeks after the initial change. I've had to swap and try other strings to get it to this stage. Like what a good friend told me, if it's not broken don't fix it 😉All in all a good experiment though that I hope helps others.

[@TootlinGeoff]

​@Learning The Lyre Harp Nylon strings take longer to settle than steel ones. It's to do with the properties of the two materials

[@lurklingX]

(not that they are, but) the nylons almost sounded out of tune?? i'm so confused. in many vids i really like the nylons but here they sound like a cheap toy and maybe out of tune... : ( thanks for the comparison. i love ones like these - direct comparisons. still shopping for my very first lyre!

[@learningthelyreharp]

The nylons are very hard to tune. It took two months for the strings to settle and in the end I was really sorry I did this because I like the sound of wire on this lyre better. I'm actually debating whether or not to restring back with wire

[@lurklingX]

@@learningthelyreharp oh wow that’s crazy! I really don’t care for tuning, especially if it’s something that has to be done every time you play, I have enough problems on my violin. Which do happen to be nylon strings maybe that’s why. I will definitely keep this in mind! Thank you for the extra dimension.

[@learningthelyreharp]

If you really like the nylon lyre music makers has the Linda Lyre and Marini has a few options. These instruments were designed for nylon strings and have beautiful sound. I encourage people to go this route rather than trying to attempt the project. They are a bit pricey but will be worth it to get the good tone. Changing to nylon from wire while doable to me only gives an OK sound but this could be because I play the harp and the lyre now sounds like a plinky portion of one of my harps. Wire strings on this lyre is richer sound.

[@lurklingX]

@@learningthelyreharp yeah I was thinking maybe it’s just the quality of strings, or the fact that these manufactured ones are set up for steel strings. I guess I’ll have to save up for 10,000 years to get one set up for nylon. 😂 (lol I’ve only seen expensive ones in my looking around.)

[@lightworker4813]

They both sound out of tune.

[@magik155]

Very nice experiment.. Would it be the same if you have used a smaller instrument strings like an ukulele instead? I've been thinking to change my lyre's strings since I have not original strings to replace, but I have been wondering which ones would be better, ukulele, acoustic guitar or electric guitar strings?

[@learningthelyreharp]

I used guitar nylon strings and nylon wound strings because they already come with the bead/ball end at the end. I'm not sure Ukulele strings have this. Electric guitar might not work because they will put more tension, but I have not used it so can't give you a definite answer. The main thing is figuring out the gauges that you will need based on the lyre you have to get the tone. You may have to experiment and switch out a string for another gauge if it's not working. I had to do this a few times after the first set up. It's really a trial and error and patience is required.

[@cymrulady1]

Thank you for making this video. I will most definitely stick to wire strings. (I own the Cega clear 21 string and Cega 34 string chromatic. Both beautiful instruments❤️)

[@imrlaps7097]

DEFINITELY Nylon for me :)

[@jackbn9353]

Can you provide details & source(s) for the nylon strings? I have been wanting to change one of my two lyres, particularly the C and F strings, to help to find the right note quickly.

[@learningthelyreharp]

This link will take you to the site. Scroll down to find the topic. There is a link to the PDF with the info. I used guitar strings because they were more readily accessible but if I were to do it all over again, I would likely use harp strings. I restrung my lyre with wire strings. www.learningthelyreharp.com/lyre-guide

[@dianebonnefon4331]

hi ! I personnaly prefer the sound of nylon strings, but i don't think i'll be able to restring it myself and it seems to be a bit difficult to keep in tune. Being a beginner, I wanted to know if you could perhaps tell me what lyre-harp sells with nylon strings in already. I didn't find any when searching for it... Thank you, and thanks for the comparison video!

[@learningthelyreharp]

Music Makers has a Lynda Lyre with an option to choose nylon strings. Marini Lyres also have different styles with nylon strings. Both of these brands are higher end and are great instruments

[@peachk9174]

Hi thank you for the comparison🙂 it's really helpful! I get how they sounds differently, but could you tell me if there is any touch differences for fingers between those two strings?

[@learningthelyreharp]

Nylon is softer tension to the touch and gentler on the fingers. If you have a music shop near you, try out an acoustic guitar with nylon and another with metal strings the experience is very similar and will give you a good idea.

[@peachk9174]

@@learningthelyreharp oh thank youuu😊 you're so kind

[@learningthelyreharp]

@@peachk9174 you’re welcome ☺️

[@applepi5100]

Hi! I bought a set of nylon strings online out of curiosity, and I have them as spare strings in case one of my wire strings snaps. (Un)fortunately one of the strings snapped a while ago, and I replaced it with a nylon string just to test it out. Is it normally this difficult to tune a new nylon string? It hardly ever stays in tune. I know new strings in general stays out of tune, but even before when I first got my lyre, some of the strings were somewhat stable already. Do I have to wait for a few days or even weeks for it to fully stabilize? Thank you so much!

[@learningthelyreharp]

Yes. Nylon strings takes so much longer to stretch than wire strings. It also takes time for the ball end to travel through the hole. It took over a month for the nylon strings on my lyre to finally keep in tune after daily tuning. In the end, I decided wire sounded better to me and these lyres and changed it back :)

[@applepi5100]

@@learningthelyreharp Oh my, a month? I don't think I have the patience for that LOL. But I'll take note of it, since I'll be getting another lyre on my birthday. I was planning on using nylon strings on my old lyre to have a different feel to it. Thank you again!

[@learningthelyreharp]

@@applepi5100 lol, it was very frustrating for me too 😅

[@eljebimetalero555]

Hi there, i want to ask something about strings. Each string of the lyre is unique, in the sense that if one of the strings breaks, I can't change it with any remplacement string? (making difference with the colors). I’m talking about the wire strings in any case. I hope than my ask can be understand, my english is not very good. :^[

[@learningthelyreharp]

Yes you are right each string must be the right gauge to ensure correct tension and reach the notes. There should be replacements string wire set available for sale if you look it up. Local music stores may also be able to help you with a matching gauge if you bring your lyre and the string needing to be replaced

[@eljebimetalero555]

Understood, thanks for the answer :^]

[@cubessopranista8772]

Just like before..... Lyres like that sounds better with wire strings. The one with nylon strings has a harplike sound in its high notes but the volume and resonance gets lost towards the low notes. That's the experiment that I won't do anymore. I think nylon strings resonate better as long strings in longer instruments with bigger soundboxes.

[@learningthelyreharp]

Yes definitely. Nylon needs the length to have good resonance. It's okay for what it is but definitely not what one is hoping to achieve if they want a full harp like sound. The wire is more stable and sounds nicer on these lyres.

[@cubessopranista8772]

@@learningthelyreharp don't get me wrong, like what I said before, I like that you did the experiment and showed it to a lot of us here, because even I thought of doing that experiment before but I think the makers themselves must have done it already (I said to myself). You saved a lot of people who may want to do that experiment, too. For content's sake and to inform others about it, etc., again what you did is good. 👏👏👏💐💐💐

[@en2336]

What type of paint did you use to color the red and blue pegs? Genius! My beginner ass was so worried I wouldn't be able to tell the notes without the colored strings :D

[@learningthelyreharp]

I used nail polish and painted it on very lightly. 😊

[@learningthelyreharp]

Some have used permanent markers as well. I found those a bit light and fades quicker so I stuck with nail polish for my newer lyres as welll

[@SoftKitteh]

Nylon for me. I like the more authentic, smoother sound of them. Lovely tune, btw. What's the title?

[@learningthelyreharp]

The hymn is Be Thou My Vision ❤️

[@chicelyfashion]

I like the wire.

[@Lawh]

Where can I get nylon strings? All I find is brass.

[@learningthelyreharp]

Harp manufacturers and distributors sell nylon strings. Many folk instruments also uses nylon strings and sellers of these instruments might be able to give you directions. I purchased mine from my local music shop

[@Faerieshimmer]

Nylon string sounds better to me!

[@BirdWhisperer46]

Yes, wire sounded better to me.

[@Fluware]

wait is that the nylon strings out of tune or it's my ears?

[@learningthelyreharp]

It likely is. It was very hard to keep it in tune after I switched to nylon strings especially for the first two months. As I mentioned in previous comments before, after awhile I ended up going back to wire strings partly because of this reason. Perhaps if I used a different type of strings it would have turned out differently

[@MartinGraham-xb3lq]

I don’t think I’ll go with Nylon Strings Wire Strings come across much more fluid and soothing in my opinion

[@learningthelyreharp]

Wire strings work better for these lyres. It was a good experience and learning for me but I don’t think I will go back to nylon, unless the lyre is specifically made for it, like the lynda or marini brand lyres

[@reigen1998]

@@learningthelyreharp hi. I have a lyre, but most of all I like the sound like harps, and so I wanted to try nylon strings for the lyre to create the same playing effect. but when I watched your video, I realized that the sound is still not so good, and even worse than metal strings. hmm.. somewhere on the Internet I saw mini harps..it is with the sound of harps.. what do you think, or does this not happen?

[@learningthelyreharp]

@@reigen1998 if you want a harp get a harp. I bought a 15 string Aklot harp from Amazon because I kept getting questions about how they sound. I posted a video comparison between that harp and the two I already own that you may find helpful. I also posted a few videos playing it. Almost all harp teachers will caution against buying harps with less than 34 strings, but if you are really wanting to play for fun and playing from lead sheets then this tiny harps may do until you can afford a bigger one. It at least has two octaves.

[@Vloggerista]

wire or metal is better

[@learningthelyreharp]

For these lyres because of style wire is better in my opinion and experience. There are specific nylon made lyres and they are very good because they were designed that way from the beginning

[@alexiarodriguez5974]

I think I like nylon better

[@King.Sheshbazzar]

I think the Nylon’s may have been out of tune

[@learningthelyreharp]

You are probably right. I was never able to get this to stay in tune after this project and ended up restringing this lyre back with wire strings after a few months. I would recommend buying a lyre that already comes with Nylon strings if that is the preference. There are a few options out there. ❤