want a nylon string guitar..

[eyesore]

hi; i want to purchase a nylon string guitar but i have been a steel string player for 50 years. never owned one. i tried the Cordoba fusion model but i thoght the neck was NOT wide enough, but i don't want to go to a 2" neck yet. what else is out there? thanks.

[Dogsnax]

I was a steel string player for decades before transitioning to classical guitars about 10 years ago. During the transition I opted for the fusion/crossover models, but soon learned that nylon strings are substantially thicker than steel string, especially in the trebles. Give the wider 2" neck a try and you will adapt to the different feel. I love 52mm these days and can't imagine playing anything narrower.

Give a traditional classical guitar a fair try and you'll be glad you did.

[eyesore]

yeah thats what i was thinking too.i'm guessing there is a little learning curve for the fretting hand.

[rob2966]

I am also an electric/steel string acoustic player and have always preferred the 2" nut with flat fingerboard on my nylon string guitars. I tried the hybrid (Godin, etc) and it didn't quite work for me.

There will be some adapting required in the way it is played but that is part of the fun .

Later
Rob

[51 Relic]

Hi , I play mainly steel string but I own a Yamaha 1200R NTX and I find the change over quite painless. Great guitar all solid wood and brilliant pickup system , you should be able to get hold of one below £1,000. Also from the Yamaha line up check out the SLG200N again I own the steel string version and " plugged in " its probably the best sounding guitar I own. Yamaha offer this model with two nut widths and fingerboard radius
Good luck

[sirwhale]

Why not try a full classical Cordoba in the Iberia or Luthier series, which have a 52mm nut, but have a thinner neck (which I prefer).

[dkstott]

I'm admittedly a fan of Cordoba, but I'm not a fan of the 1 7/8" width at the nut on their Fusion or Crossover models

My suggestion is to check out the Cordoba GK Studio or GK Pro series. They're 1.96" wide neck at the nut and it's got a thinner neck than most standard classical guitars.

As Sirwhale suggested... try out the Cordoba classical line of guitars. Most of them only have a 2.06 inch width.

If you are planning to play strictly plugged in, the Yamaha's mentioned in this post are also great guitars. But I think their acoustic unplugged sound leaves a lot to be desired.

It is going to take some adjustment to transition from steel string to nylon.. the neck width is wider and your fretting has to be a bit more precise.

But if you play fingerstyle, the wider spacing between the strings is going make a lot of playing much easier.

[CEB]

Did you want one equipped with electronics? My background is 5 years of Classical lessons from age 18-23 after being an electric guitar guy. I'm 52 now. I have an Ovation steel string but I never had to transition so I may not have a frame of reference to help you out but .....

I have a Cordoba GK studio with the flamenco neck. The neck is slightly under 2" and I like the neck a lot. You get the spacing that I need for the stuff I do but it is a little more narrow at the nut than a typical classical guitar. The neck is a thin profile and plays really easy. The guitar is really bright and ridiculously light weight but the electronics give you a lot of tone shaping option. It is a thin body (3.5") guitar. I'm not a huge fan of how the guitar sounds acoustically but plugged in I like it.

The Cordoba F7 Paco is a guitar I'm interested in checking out. It is Cordoba's standard Classical neck which is still somewhat thin compared to my other Classical guitars. it is the thinner 3.5" body but has a Cedar Top and that should round out the tone a little. For my upcoming project I want one of these or a Cordoba C7 classical as a second gig guitar. I don't want to deal with condenser mics. The F7 Paco would need electronics installed.

The Cordoba guitars give you a full set of position markers. More traditional guitars may not have position markers or only give you one at the 7th fret.

Alhambra does some stuff I like. Very traditional look with a lot of internal innovation.

A Ramirez 2N CWE is still an option or if you can find a used 2CWE. Depending on the model you may find a guitar used from $850-$1600. These are crossover guitars from one of the world's most iconic builders.

New, out of the box I like cedar tops the best. Especially if just playing at home. Spruce when new can sound really tight and bright. But a Spruce guitar loosens up over time with use. My favorite guitar is 1970s spruce top I bought used in 1982. Spruce projects well if playing live. But I don't care for the souud of my GK studio unless I am using the electronics.

I personally would suggest going with a traditional neck design. I would expect you would adapt fine. Especially if you want to use traditional pick techniques like tremolo or picado etc.... To me Nylon plays easier and is more forgiving on your hands. My old 80's Ovation has an awesome low setup action and plays great but the steel strings just tear my hands up. I can play nylon all the time. If you want to buy online you need to make sure if the guitar has the number of position markers you want or you may need to make some markers. If you love a guitar but it has no position markers having fret dots installed is no big deal or you can always get a bottle of White Out. Wood types on nylon IMO have a bigger effect on tone than steel strings ... in my opinion.

Good luck

[vinnie1971]

I am going to recommend Raimundo 130. Or Alhambra in that price range.
I had a Ramirez AE - same as 4E but spruce and Ramirez 4E. Both excellent but overpriced- the Raimundo 130 is just as good and a lot cheaper.
I don't like electro acoustics, the cutaway compromises tone.
In my opinion you are best off getting a good classical or if you are interested in flamenco get a flamenco negra which is good crossover for flamenco and classical ( I actually use a Raimundo 128 for this as it's spruce top rosewood back and sides but shallow for a classical and tone responses close to a flamenco negra)
To gig with use the iRig stage clip on condenser mic and preamp system
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/mobile/p...acousticstage/

and optionally combine this with classical / flamenco pickup that can plug into the iRig aux in jack socket
KNA Pickups KNA NG-1 Classical/Flamenco Acoustic Guitar Pickup https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LTL0K..._8L5ezb2B9BNG5

The iRig stage makes the more mainstream products like soundhole pickups, fishman, LR Baggs obsolete. They can't compare for the natural sound.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eyesore]

yes i definitely need electronics!!

[Earwitness]

For steel strings, I am equally happy with 1 3/4" or 1 11/16" .
For nylon, I have been equally happy with 1 7/8" and 2".

I think you'll want more width on nylon. You reach a little farther but it takes such less force to fret that it's fine.

[vinnie1971]

Originally Posted by eyesore

yes i definitely need electronics!!

I think you are better off getting a decent classical and using IRig stage. I had an electro classical once but as a classical guitar that cutaway kills tone and the fishman piezo system sounded very piezo like.
Nothing beats the actual sound of a classical guitars natural sound coming out the speaker. And iRig is amazing.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dave T]

For those of us who live under a rock (smile) what on earth is a IRig, or maybe it's iRig?

Dave

[Red_Label]

Originally Posted by vinnie1971

I think you are better off getting a decent classical and using IRig stage. I had an electro classical once but as a classical guitar that cutaway kills tone and the fishman piezo system sounded very piezo like.
Nothing beats the actual sound of a classical guitars natural sound coming out the speaker. And iRig is amazing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have no experience with iRig, but strongly disagree with you on the cutaway and Fishman electronics. I majored in classical guitar performance at a program run by Parkening in the 80s and have gigged classical, nuevo flamenco, rock and country music for 33 years.

I've owned 12 Cordobas and the 4 GK Pros have played and sounded better than the full-bodied models that I've owned (including my C12 and F10). I've also owned other brands of traditional classicals and crossovers up to $4K. The GK Pros are my favorite nylon strung guitars period. We all have different preferences... But I cannot ecpress how much I enjoy playing my GK Pros and listening to their Fishman electronics. They sound very natural and inspire me every time I plug in. I will add that the lower end Fishman electronics in the GK Studio aren't very good. I've had those in other guitars as well and they're long gone. If it's got a built-in tuner... it's the cheaper version and not natural sounding or balanced across strings in my experience.

[vinnie1971]

Originally Posted by Dave T

For those of us who live under a rock (smile) what on earth is a IRig, or maybe it's iRig?



Dave

It's iRig. Sorry, my bad.

It's a recording and performance interface with all kinds of applications.

iRig acoustic is an interface with clip on digital MEMS condenser mic.

iRig stage is as above with a fancy preamp that has 3 EQ presets, select nylon or steel string profile and calibration to balance the tone for your guitar. It also has feedback cancellation- if after you set everything up you experience feedback, you hit the button and it cancels only feedback - no detriment to volume or tone.

In my 30 years + of playing, gigging and recording I have not found anything better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk