[hellyea]

k, heres the deal.

I want to get an acoustic so im not confined to a place with an amp. I wanna go nylon strung/classical style just cos' i like the sound better really.

Im comin from playin' electric for 'bout 5 years here so im tossin' up wether to get one with a cutaway....is it worth it? so im payin' off volume for widdle-ability right? or is there something more to it?

price range- id go up to £300 i reackon.

by the way im not really intending to play "classical" music on it. i just want something to write more mellow stuff on ya know? im playin metal mostly these days...this will be a nice break for my ears and everyone near me.

so what about alternate tunings? i would be lookin' to go to c standard. can a nylon strung guitar handle that? will it do it with a different set of strings?

k, thanks!

[grzeg]

A nylon string guitar can handle alternate tunings. The problem is not about the guitar itself, but about strings. They break if you detune a couple times a day. If you keep nylon strings in one alternate tuning, it's OK. But if you change tunings frequently... nylon strings don't like that. They also need some time to adjust. If you detune metal strings, they sound OK intantly, but if you detune nylons... they're quite unstable for a couple of minutes.


If you don't want to play classical, ask yourself if you really want a nylon string guitar. You could try some metal string acoustic instead.

Anyway, if you want a classical, try Admira in that price range. If you want a metal string guitar, try some Takamines.

I don't like cutaway classicals. I don't venture so high to make a difference on a classical. And if I do, I can handle that. There is a difference in tone. A very slight one though.

[dadfad]

...If you don't want to play classical, ask yourself if you really want a nylon string guitar. You could try some metal string acoustic instead....

Good advice.

[hellyea]

Bwah?

I dont get why i have to play classical stuff if i get a nylon stringer.....by classical i mean i dont wanna sit there and go, "right, heres so and so's symphony in the key Gmaj". id hate to be doin' that....

Marty friedman

listen to the intro of forbidden city. thats the kind of stuff i wanna be playin' . ok sounds a bit classical'ly but basically i just want to play nice sounding stuff.

and for that i think a nylon stringer is much more appropriate- warmer, and more rounded if ya' get me?

Marty plays with a classical guitar o lots of his tracks and its definately not classical music he is bangin' out....cant find a good example on the internet tho'.

Thanks

This post has been edited by hellyea: 18 June 2007 - 10:37 AM

[monkeybutler]

I reckon if you got yourself a nylon strung, its possible you'd end up a bit disappointed in it and end up getting a steel strung anyway. I think you might find them quite limited for the type of music you have in mind.

Maybe even get a steel strung, and one of these babies for your nylon needs? http://www.dolphinmu...roduct_id/16654

[rasav]

Despite what the naysayers and selfrightious steel string junkies say it's completly worth it to get a decent nylon string. I like the flexability of an acoustic electric with cutaway. In your price range Check out Yahama, Takamine, Applause and my personal Favorite the espana by dean. (The Espana has both a quater inch out and an xlr jack)
The cut-away really helps espically if your doing albeniz arranged for guitar. Truthfully at the price range your talking about (About 650 U.S. right?) the sound trade off is minimal. I don't know if I'd be so eager to do it with an Alverez.
Also check the web for Bolivian/ Brazillian guitars. They have mind blowing hand made guitars avaliable at a fraction of the cost of a euro guitar. (I love economics!)

[dadfad]

I'm not really a "naysayer" about classical guitars. (Although I guess you could call me "self-righteous" if using the right guitar for the music one plays is the definition.) I have a classical guitar myself. I just don't use it often because of the stuff I play. Most of it just won't work on a classical guitar. Nylon strings have a sound of their own, and that's a great sound. However a lot of the things we take for granted in guitar-playing, like bends, pull-offs, slid double-stops, etc, just don't work out that great on a nylon string guitar. Also he specifically mentioned using altered tunings. Like Grzeg said, that's all well and good, but not if he plans to change between them with any kind of frequency. As a classical guitarist you know the extended "break-in" period for strings, and how easy it is to fatigue them with a lot of changes. He also mentioned using C tuning, which is extremely low for a classical guitar (pretty low even for a steel-string). I doubt he could tune nylons that low.

There is a sort of "middle ground" which is the use of a steel-string guitar (or braced classical) (not that common) using what's commonly called "silk and steel" strings, which uses metal-wound silk thicker strings and steel thinner strings. They have more of the "mellow" classical sound but with the ability to do a little more things on the solids. With much less string tension than regular steel-strings.


Anyway, play a few of each. Then get what you want. There's always another guitar waiting to be bought!

[jones991]

also. most classical nylon string guitars have a fat-ass neck, wide and thick, which may not suit your metal/neo-classical shred style. or whatever. Do whatever you want, I have a headache and i'm going to take a nap.

[ninjato]

I don't know how hard it is to find a nylon cutaway. I've rarely run into one.

Personally, I won't buy a guitar unless it is a cutaway.

[hellyea]

cool, thanks for your input.

to jones- im not really looking to play metal/neo-classical shred on this guitar. that the point of it really- to get AWAY from that stuff...

and it would be stayin' in the altenate tuning for a long time. im not one for jumping around tunings so i guess thatll be alrite.

[jones991]

well, it sounds like you want a nylon string classical guitar, SO BUY ONE! I really don't care what your musical motivation is, every other post in this forum is some kid asking which guitar is better, or should i buy this guitar, when they have already made a choice and are just searching for positive re-inforcement of their selection. so what whatever the hell you wanna buy. just my opinion.

[hellyea]

wow. yea. thanks. you might as well have blown hot air out of your a-hole.

you said this-"most classical nylon string guitars have a fat-ass neck, wide and thick, which may not suit your metal/neo-classical shred style"

so i repliead-"to jones- im not really looking to play metal/neo-classical shred on this guitar. that the point of it really- to get AWAY from that stuff..."

"I really don't care what your musical motivation is"- well obviously you dont cos' you told me what it was right?

ha, i know what you mean though about the "re-enforcement" though but thats not really the point of this thread. i knew nothing about nylon stringers apart from i knew i liked the sound. Now thanks to some people i know something.

This post has been edited by hellyea: 19 June 2007 - 12:26 PM

[jones991]

my point was that the necks are a lot bigger and (i think) harder to play. many people don't realize this right off the bat. the type of music you wanna play really has no relevance to this point.

[rasav]

[quote name='dadfad' date='Jun 18 2007, 06:53 PM' post='2814879']

"Anyway, play a few of each. Then get what you want. There's always another guitar waiting to be bought! "

But I allready have one of each!

This post has been edited by rasav: 19 June 2007 - 09:15 PM

[dadfad]

"Anyway, play a few of each. Then get what you want. There's always another guitar waiting to be bought! "

But I allready have one of each!

And he probably will too before too long!

[hellyea]

ok, so far so good.

im wondering though wether there is a difference between a nylon string guitar aimed at flamenco and those aimed at classical playin'...

dean have two ranges-

http://www.deanguita...m/classical.htm

http://www.deanguitars.com/espana.htm

i cant really see any differences- only that the "classical" series seem to be laminate rather than solid top?

is it in the strings? So do all nylon strung guitars have the 3 treble strings as nylon then the 3 bass a wound silver/bronze wound?

[dogpoo]

The strings question: Yep, three wound, three nylon.

Flamenco guitars usually produce a louder brighter sound. It depends really, you should sit down and try them out. I've got a really nice classical and I've strung it with flamenco strings to play spanish stuff. The flamenco strings are usually harder tensioned and louder and brighter, also harder to play, but marginally, and it's a great trade off if you're doing spanish. It didn't make any difference to me, having the extra tension. I do that because I normally play classical or just stuff you would normally do on a steel strung acoustic, and don't need a flamenco guitar, but for the phase I was in then, it was a good option.

Classical guitars aren't necessarily laminate. The best ones are of course solid. There are a lot of solid tops and solid sided or full solid bodied classicals out there, just like there are for steel strung acoustics. It's just where you're looking, and how much you are willing to shell out.

I do sometimes wish I had a cutaway on my guitar, but I don't often venture up that far, so it hasn't inconvenienced me much.

The different woods will also give you different sounds. I go for the really warm and mellow tones that you can get out of cedar and rosewood, and so that's what I have. I've played spruce tops and found them too jangly. I'd say go sit in a shop for a few hours and play then make your decision.

It's pretty much the same with any guitar... try then buy. If you've bought an acoustic before, it's pretty much the same way you look for one. Same kind of criteria. I'd second grzeg's suggestion of an Admira though, they are beautiful guitars at really good prices, I've got one and I'd definately recommend them.