I had always been taught that a classical guitar (one designed for nylon strings) could be damaged -- broken in half! -- if strung with steel strings. Can one actually get away with putting these light-guage "S&S" metal strings on such an instrument without putting a fatal strain on it? I doubt it, but am open to discussion...

I realize that GUEST,allen is stringing up a guitar manufactured for steel strings, and had been using nylon by choice. Others reading this thread, however, should not misunderstand this discussion and think they can install steel strings (even the lightest) on an instrument intended for use with nylon (or old-fashioned gut) strings only.

Getting a luthier to do a thorough set-up *might* help make the guitar easier to play, but then again it might not -- might not help *enough*, anyway. New strings are certainly less expensive, though!