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  #1  
Old 11-15-2012, 08:21 PM
mtdmind mtdmind is offline
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Default Why cheap?

Why are so many people looking for cheap/budget nylon string guitars? While a cheap classical can sound pretty good, there is joy in playing a very nicely crafted nylon string instrument.
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Old 11-15-2012, 08:35 PM
wcap wcap is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtdmind View Post
Why are so many people looking for cheap/budget nylon string guitars? While a cheap classical can sound pretty good, there is joy in playing a very nicely crafted nylon string instrument.
I assume it has to do with people's budgets.

I also suspect that in a some cases folks might be just interested in trying one out, and don't want to invest too much in it. This might be a recipe for concluding one does not like nylon string guitars though - in my opinion there is a much bigger gap between inexpensive nylon string guitars and even moderately priced decent quality instruments. When one gets above 1K or 1.5K or so the instruments start to become fundamentally better. The same could be said for steel string guitars too, of course, but I think some of the cheaper steel string options are better than most of the comparably priced inexpensive classicals,
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Old 11-15-2012, 08:38 PM
ChunkyB ChunkyB is offline
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Default Why cheap?

I don't think it's because they don't appreciate expensive nylon string guitars. I'm guessing it has more to do with their budgetary constraints.
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Old 11-15-2012, 09:08 PM
jersey jersey is offline
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For myself I wanted something quieter and easier on the fingers to practice with. I didn't want to invest too much so I got a Cordoba C3M. Now that I've played it for 7 months or so I can see myself upgrading to a higher quality nylon string in the future.
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Old 11-15-2012, 09:10 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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My guess is most folks here are steel string players and they'd like to try out a nylon without spending too much dough, in case it isn't their bag.
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Old 11-15-2012, 09:33 PM
bozz_2006 bozz_2006 is offline
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post
My guess is most folks here are steel string players and they'd like to try out a nylon without spending too much dough, in case it isn't their bag.
Yep. It'll be a side-kick. So it gets a side-kick's budget. Nothing against nylon string. I also play electric guitar, and I doubt I'll EVER consider an electric that even gets close to the amount I'd be willing to pay for a steel string. it's about priorities.
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Old 11-15-2012, 11:07 PM
hesson11 hesson11 is offline
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Ahhhh...Let me take a wild stab at it:

Because they can't afford an expensive classical guitar??

-Bob
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Old 11-16-2012, 08:21 AM
Paikon Paikon is offline
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Originally Posted by bozz_2006 View Post
it's about priorities.
Thats what it is. I have expensive classical guitars , acoustic and electric but i paid 120$ for a used bass which i still own and 100$ for my first used flute. You get better and you upgrade
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Old 11-16-2012, 08:38 AM
mc1 mc1 is offline
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i've also noticed people looking to combine these things:

nylon/classical guitar to try out
inexpensive
travel friendly/campfire
durable

which can end up being a cheap small laminated classical.
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Old 11-16-2012, 10:21 AM
the.ronin the.ronin is offline
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"Expensive" is also very relative. $1K to me is like wow-holy-crap-how-did-I-manage-to-get-that-past-she-who-must-be-obeyed expensive. To others it's just meh.
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  #11  
Old 11-16-2012, 08:14 PM
RWG RWG is offline
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First time classical buyers can't evaluate a guitar. They need help. The biggest factor in tone is the player. Technique is everything and new nylon players simply do not have it. It helps to have somebody play the guitars you are looking at while you stand 10 feet away and listen. Somebody who CAN play. Don't look. Just use your ears. Trust your friends ears also if they know tone. Also realize tone is subjective. What one person loves another person merely tolerates. Listen for even volume between notes and strings. Listen to good music through good speakers before you even start shopping so your ear is somewhat tuned to what a classical is supposed to sound like. DO NOT get hung up on price. Look at the prices after you have decided which ones you like, you may be very surprised. My current guitar was half the price that I had budgeted to spend. One of the biggest differences between student grade and professional grade is volume. This accounts for a lot of the price difference. If you are not trying to fill a concert hall acoustically you can save a lot of money and still enjoy nice tone. At around $500 you start finding nice sounding instruments. They just don't have the dynamic range of the $10,000 instruments. When you have learned to get the best tone out of your $500 guitar then you are ready to go shopping for a pro instrument. Start cheap. That is my take on why cheap. By the way, I have played $5000 classicals that sounded horrible in my opinion. Price of classicals is not as much an indicator of quality as it is with steel string guitars.
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Old 11-16-2012, 08:22 PM
RWG RWG is offline
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Some music stores don't sell lots of classical guitars and so the strings can be old on a nice guitar hanging on the wall. If the basses look old and discolored you really can't evaluate the instrument. Then you have to talk to the shop and see if they will replace the strings and then come back in a couple of days after they have settled.
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Old 11-16-2012, 08:45 PM
BuleriaChk BuleriaChk is offline
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If you play Flamenco, you know you're going to get your first ding within a week.....:-)
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  #14  
Old 11-30-2012, 09:28 AM
Caddy Caddy is offline
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You can say all you want about, they don't know better, don't know what to look for, and that it is just a side line guitar, but really it has to do with budget in most cases. Not everyone can afford or justify a $1,000 plus guitar, especially just to play at home.

On another note, most people that are the listeners (audience) can't really tell the differences between an expensive guitar and a lower cost (but still decent sounding) guitar.

I am retired and on a fixed income, my gigging days are way behind me. There is no way I can justify, based on my budget and just playing at home for my own enjoyment, an expensive guitar, be it, nylon, steel or electric.

As far as that goes, I've never paid close to half of the $1,000 mentioned for any new guitar (including the new Fender Jazzmaster I bought new in early 1965), and I have a room full of instruments. Rather have the variety of types than only one expensive guitar of any type.

If I was making the majority of my income playing I could see the justification in having the best tools available, like in any job.

The same argument could be applied to other things, like cars. Why doesn't everyone buy a Ferrari, or Mercedes instead of a Chevy, or Subaru, etc? Is it only because they don't know what to look for and aren't good judges of cars? The question could be, 'Why do so many people look for lower cost cars instead of luxury cars?'

Last edited by Caddy; 11-30-2012 at 09:35 AM.
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  #15  
Old 11-30-2012, 10:24 AM
mtdmind mtdmind is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paikon View Post
Thats what it is. I have expensive classical guitars , acoustic and electric but i paid 120$ for a used bass which i still own and 100$ for my first used flute. You get better and you upgrade
I agree. Some people looking for cheap nylon stringers have very costly steel string instruments. A concert level nylon string guitar is truly in a very different league.
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