Good Introductory Classical?

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by scottishrogue

Dang, I've been wanting a second classical to keep in open C - might have to check into one of those!!

[worshipvertical]

I'll keep it brief. I'm not saying they are not great guitars or great values for the money. However, their built quality, fit and finish, consistency and intonation are not to the same level. Models with electronics are further apart. I'm not bashing Hermosa. We stock them, sell them, like them. I purchased a Cordoba. Would have purchased a Hermosa if I thought it was equal but cheaper.

[scottishrogue]

Originally Posted by worshipvertical

...their built quality, fit and finish, consistency and intonation are not to the same level.

Chris, I suppose that working in a music store, you probably see more guitars with problems, but (based on the 2 models I own) I have not encountered any of these issues. I was so impressed by the tonal response of my AH-10 (solid cedar/mahogany), I decided to buy the AH-20 (solid cedar/rosewood). Flawless finish, perfectly bookmatched top, very even grain, nice cross-grain, trimmed with maple binding on the body & fingerboard, abalone purfling, high-quality tuners. IMO, a very solid build quality on both models that you don't often find with lower priced classical guitars. Since I do my own setups, if there was an intonation issue, I would know about it. I would suggest you try a set of Savarez rectified or LaBella 900 strings.

For guitars coming out of China, I find Antonio Hermosa guitars to be of exceptional quality & value. By comparison, Cordoba classicals from China are overpriced, IMO. I'm looking for a Cordoba Espana 45MR from Spain presently, for a decent price, around $400.

Glen

[MJScott]

+1 on the La Patrie Etude (or Collection or Presentation)

[Blueser100]

I am very happy with my La Patrie Concert.

[FloridaGull]

+2 to the La Patrie line - http://www.lapatrieguitars.com/guitars.html - and to Cordobas...

Yamaha produces a consistently good classical guitar - and I would check out the Walden classicals as well - http://www.waldenguitars.com/ - they have recently come out with the Sollana series, which is not on their website yet...

[Mikeleric]

I also started playing guitar on a typical steel-stringed acoustic guitar. This past august I bought a Washburn C5CE classical guitar at local small guitar store. I tried a cordoba model that costs just under $1,700 which sounded good but not necessarily perfect but I decided to be really cheap.

Awhile ago I posted a thread where I wrote that I wanted to try a nylon stringed guitar and I wanted one of the "best models" but I was wrong or I changed my mind and this Washburn guitar only cost 149 US dollars + tax + $80 for a hard shell classical guitar case and just under $10 for an extra set of strings and $25 for the kind of guitar strap that goes around your neck and has a hook that fits around the edge of the sound hole so I can practice standing because sitting for too long is bad for you. I put a folded up washcloth between my neck and the guitar strap.

This guitar does the job well and I bought it so I would have something to use to teach myself some classical guitar. For now I am too cheap to see a teacher. I am young enough that this might not be the last guitar I purchase. When I asked the store owner, "what's the difference between this model and the next most expensive model", he immediately just exclaimed, fifty bucks!

I am also new to guitar playing. I would say buy one of the cheapest classical guitars and then in the future if you have been practicing enough and you expect to perform something on a stage somewhere, you might choose to try out some higher end guitars and then buy a model you think sounds better to you. I say limit yourself to spending no more than approximately $150 to $300 on your first guitar. Remember you are not performing on a stage, you are just practicing in your home.

[wcap]

I don't recall whether I have played low priced Cordoba classicals (though I have played a Cordoba ukulele that did not impress me much in terms of sound), and I've never played a Hermosa, but I have played a variety of low priced Yamaha classicals. While I have liked some of the low priced Yamaha steel string guitars I have played, I have not liked the lower priced Yamaha classicals. Some of them have been fairly awful in my opinion.

The lower priced classical gutars that have consistently impressed me have been the LaPatire guitars.

[dosland]

Originally Posted by Mikeleric

I would say buy one of the cheapest classical guitars and then in the future if you have been practicing enough and you expect to perform something on a stage somewhere, you might choose to try out some higher end guitars and then buy a model you think sounds better to you. I say limit yourself to spending no more than approximately $150 to $300 on your first guitar. Remember you are not performing on a stage, you are just practicing in your home.

This is good advice, if you're not too concerned about some of the details that some people's ears pick up and others' don't. I grew up playing on bargain basement plywood glue jobs, and those were fine for what we were all doing, but the intonation was totally off on most or all of them. So when I first played a real guitar, I discovered how much easier it is to tune a guitar and then have the chords played farther up the neck still sound like the chords they're supposed to be. So I'd say the "cheapest guitar that has decent intonation" might be the way to go - this would alleviate a lot of my frustration with super inexpensive instruments. That's also why my budget has often nudged me in the direction of Yamaha - pretty consistent manufacturing technique, at least back in the 1990s, so I never felt like gouging my eardrums with crochet hooks during the settling-in period for new strings.

[Blueser100]

Heh heh I just bought a bottom barrel Yammie c40ii to keep at mom's house so I don't have to continue dragging my La Patrie from the desert to the ocean every week.

Note: just got the c40 yesterday. They've improved this model (satin neck, lower action). While it's not as great sounding as my La Patrie, it's a fine second classical that I will enjoy keeping at the beach and not have to worry about temp/humidity changes.