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Howe - Orme guitar
I have a Howe - Orme guitar with a patent date on the end of the peghead of 13 FEB 94. My question is what kind of strings would it have been meant for at that time? I seem to remember that steel string didn't come into common usage until the late 1890s. Should I play it safe with "gut strings" or try extra light steel?
On a related topic, does anyone know the relative amount of tension produced by nylon (Aquila Nylgut), Silk and Steel, or Extra light steel strings?
Many thanks for the help, George
Mark McLean
Hi George
String tension calculation is made easy at these two websites:
https://www.daddario.com/string-tension-pro (has many types of string options)
https://tension.stringjoy.com/ (seems to be only steel strings)
Howe-Orme made some great guitars. I would really love one of their "cylinder top" designs, and the ones with adjustable necks were very cool and advanced for their day.
Nov 4, 2025