to buy a nylon string or not?

[sirwhale]

Here's about me:

1. I currently have two steel strings. I play fingerpicking, blues with monotonic basses and alternative basses, (West African stuff, just starting), I'd like to learn some stuff by John Fahey and maybe some Joseph Spence. I love Lightnin Hopkins. All this is associated with steel strings.

2. I live in Spain and nylon strings are very popular. I also like Spanish guitar music. We have a lot of nylon string guitars in my school (I'm a science teacher) and I play with them a lot. They are of bad quality and the trebles just don't do my songs justice.

3. I've just been around Andalucía and have visited a lutier - Hermanos Peña - nephews of Paco Peña. His guitars were so resonant I was shocked and so light. I hadn't played a guitar for a week but I really really liked their sound. I like warm sounds. My wife thought that it was strange to hear my songs played on Nylon strings. Especially as i beleive that my Blackbird has a lot of bluesy edge to it.

4. I know that Thomastik Infeld make thserope core strings that offer more sustain and a bit more brightness to the trebles. I know that I would needed a narrower nut width to be able to thumb over - To do a Lightnin style d7 at the 5th fret requires thumbing over two bass strings. The guitars I played had a 53mm width, which I had no problem with except for thumbing over. I find nylon strings so much easier to play than steel strings (and I use 11s 24.75inch scale). So much that it is a joy to play with so much ease. I am 29 and go to the gym alot so this isn't a muscular problem.

Is there anyone else there with my experience? My wife wouldn't like it if I forked out another 2k for that guitar I played!

Thanks for the help

[Mr. Scott]

Hello sirwhale,
it's good to hear that you've got a liking for nylon strung instruments, it's another string (!) to your bow. I play both, and with your experience playing fingerstyle already, you are well on the way to getting along with these guitars.
As we all know, there is a very different sound from these instruments and there is, of course, a lot of variety within the genre, but they are worth the effort.
As you have discovered, they have wide necks, typically 50mm so the one you tried was a bit wide. I find the wide, flat neck to be an advantage as there is so much room to get your fingers in. Also as you mentioned, most of them are very lightly constructed than steel strings: you hardly know you have an instrument.
When it comes to the actual playing of the instrument there are, as you have found, some things that are not easy to do. Of course, they were not meant to be played "thumb over" under normal circumstances but you may be able to adapt. It's not a generally accepted technique of the classical guitar for instance. But fingerstyle playing in general is much easier on a so-called "Classical" guitar. Now that is what they were designed for!
I wish you well in your quest. You are in the right place! Perhaps you could get someone to build you a guitar with a narrower neck. Money talks. But that's the problem; maybe spend some time re-arranging your repertoire.

[riffmeister]

Variety is the spice of life!

And heck, a nylon string guitar might even entice you to go in some new directions.....

[ewalling]

Nylon string guitars a pure delight for anyone who plays fingerstyle. The sound is gorgeous across a range of styles.

If you use the tips your nails (as I do) when you pick, you'll also find the added advantage of far less splintering and wear. I think this was the main reason that Jerry Reid played this kind of guitar.

[pf400]

My nylon string crossover Yamaha NTX 1200R is great for fingerstyle and blues, and chord melody with or without pick. Certain songs sound best with steel string but if I had to choose I'd keep the nylon string. I played steel strings for over 40 years before finally trying nylon. When I busk I get good comments about playing my tunes on a "classical" guitar. Bonus: I can play for 2 hours on nylon with much less fatique than I could on steel, even a Taylor or Martin steel string.

[rgregg48]

Why complicate your life?

[ewh2]

Originally Posted by sirwhale

Here's about me:

1. I currently have two steel strings. I play fingerpicking, blues with monotonic basses and alternative basses, (West African stuff, just starting), I'd like to learn some stuff by John Fahey and maybe some Joseph Spence. I love Lightnin Hopkins. All this is associated with steel strings.

2. I live in Spain and nylon strings are very popular. I also like Spanish guitar music. We have a lot of nylon string guitars in my school (I'm a science teacher) and I play with them a lot. They are of bad quality and the trebles just don't do my songs justice.

I would say yes to buying a nylon string. I'd recommend buying a flamenco guitar if possible (maybe you tried one in Hermanos Pena), and the Valeriano Prodigio is an excellent guitar and can be bought new for €800.

[TBman]

I bought a $100 Lucero LC-100 and it sounds good, better at the lower frets than the higher ones. I use medium tension strings. I installed a bone saddle.

I have a few steel strings, but I play the classical almost every day. I was trying out more expensive ones (one was $999) and they do not sound that much better given the increase in price.

You might want to consider buying an acoustic electric one for under $1,000, buy an amp and have a go at with that. You might get the sound you want plugged in.

[jerkathan]

I'm attempting to talk myself out of buying a used yamaha cg171sf off my local craigslist (the guy just came down in price too) I think I'm gonna shoot him an email that if he has it in a month I'm interested...so maybe sit with the decision a bit?

[Rondoraymundo]

Sirwhale,

There is no need to buy a $2000 guitar to get the sound you want. You should be able to find a great sounding nylon for half that or less.

I'd make a recommendation, but I'd sound like a broken record.

[sirwhale]

I'm almost certain that I would need a crossover or fusion or whatever you call it. Something with a limit of 46-48mm, as my blackbird has a 44.5mm nut width, and preferably a radius of some sort, to help with the thumb overs etc.

All I know of really are Cordoba's line of guitars. I know Furch do some crossovers but their nut width is only 45, seems a bit too little for me. I should look at Alhambra's stuff. I know their factor is in Alicante about an hour from my wife's home town. I wonder if they'd give me a better price if a payed them a visit.

Sirwhale;

I believe that contemporary hybrid nylon string guitars can work with all forms of music.

As far as nut width is concerned, the Rainsong Parlor nylon string guitar has a 1 6/8" width, the Emerald can be ordered in any nut width you would like. Most wooden hybrid guitars offer a nut width that is more narrow than found in traditional classical instruments.

Contemporary hybrid nylon guitars also offer a nice range of fret reach. With my Emerald X10N I can play up through the 16th fret with no problems.

The Infeld folk strings will give a nylon strung guitar a slight steel-string sound which is cool for blues.

I found that with wooden guitars the better the guitar the more fragile the guitar. I live in a harsh climate and after losing 2 hand-made classical guitars I started looking at carbon fiber instruments.

For a thorough look at cf nylon strings I recommend a few trips to the Carbon Fiber guitar Forum, using the search engine you will find extensive discussion of nylon string instruments.

Good luck in your search.

[sirwhale]

Thanks Evan, I've sent an email to Alistair at Emerald to see what the costs of building an x20 nylon string (opus) with all the crossover hallmarks, like a nut width of 48mm.

This could all still come down to GAS, but hey!

[franchelB]

My opinion: Every guitar player should have a nylon-strung guitar in their collection.

[Dikkie]

Originally Posted by sirwhale

I'm almost certain that I would need a crossover or fusion or whatever you call it. Something with a limit of 46-48mm, as my blackbird has a 44.5mm nut width, and preferably a radius of some sort, to help with the thumb overs etc.

I'm looking for the same thing aswel...

I listed up already a few guitars that would suit our needs, if it helps:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=393060