[steveh]

Originally Posted by Wrighty

It's harder than I thought it would be given where I was at with a steel string

I did the same a few years ago and initially found nylon hugely frustrating, but soon got hooked by the fact that the more effort you put in, the more reward. Ultimately, I find myself more satisfied when I (almost) get it right.

Originally Posted by Wrighty

Strings - I am a gear nerd and I love the string journey although I am finding the differences more subtle than I found with different sets on my steel string

I find the two completely different. On steel-string, the differences between strings is obvious to me, and I also hear them go off quite quickly. On nylon, it's the reverse: Beyond the glaringly obvious (fluorocarbon vs. nylon) they all pretty much sound the same to me. That's great - no more GBP spent on trying zillions of different strings. AND to my ears they last a lifetime (...about as long as it takes to get the trebles in tune!).

Originally Posted by Wrighty

The breadth of music takes my breath away - starting with contemporary and the likes of Andrew York, moving to the Spanish and also into the classical (Bach etc) are places I never would have thought I would find myself, but here I am, loving it and wondering how it eluded me for so long..

I've always had bad GAS but, thankfully, at the end of the day it's ultimately been about the music. A friend of mine recorded "In Sorrow's Wake" by Andrew York a few years ago and that tune was a real "earworm" for me. I started to listen to Andrew's music and, inevitably, wanted to start playing it. Got myself a good nylon guitar, and that was it. Hooked. Never looked back. Ultimately, I wouldn't play nylon if there were no great tunes to learn.

Originally Posted by Wrighty

Lastly, the big question - is there ever going to be room for steel string in my life again? Honestly, if you asked me to choose one guitar to keep right now it would be my nylon string - the prospect is quite scary but I am already thinking about how much I could get for my steel string guitars to put towards a serious nylon..

I did exactly that: I was offered a "lifetime" guitar a few years back and decided to move on several of my steel-strings to get it, so that's what I did. Ultimately, I moved that guitar on because I never really felt comfortable with what it cost, although it was very reasonable compared to the Somogyis and Traugotts etc. you find around here. The great thing about nylon is that most "high-end" guitars are way more affordable than the equivalent steel-string. There are very, very few builders charging the prices asked by, for example, Somogyi apprentices, so a world class nylon is relatively affordable if you avoid the obvious Hauser, Smallman, Dammann, Friederich etc. (and dealers...).

You live in the UK right? Philip Woodfield, Christopher Dean, David Merrin, & Simon Ambridge have international reputations as do many others. A Stephen Eden will get you a great guitar for half the price of what's being asked for an "equivalent" steel string. There is a ton of choice.

What are you playing at the moment?

I do still play steel-string though, albeit much less than I did, and it has benefited tremendously from my learning nylon technique. It's all about the music: If I want to learn a steel-string piece, that's what I pick up. Same for nylon.

Cheers,
Steve