Advice needed

jed1894 · #1 03-15-2017, 08:05 AM

Good morning guys I was hoping I could get some friendly advice on my guitar playing endeavor . I asked a similar question over in a different thread but now that I have advanced a little more and understand what I want to do, I was hoping for a little further advice from the classical side of thinking .

I've been playing since Christmas on mostly steel string guitar's but I do have a 30-year-old classical guitar with a warped neck that I've been using as well. I do appreciate and like the tone of the classical guitar a little better but my style of music probably fits a steel string guitar better. I like country, classic rock, easy listening rock and a little bit a Jimmy Buffett. However I've also come to realize that my rhythm and overall playing it's much better when I simply use my index finger instead of a pic. Occasionally using my thumb as well helps. But overall it just seems unnatural when I use a pick and harder for me to play the guitar. I also like the extra room on the neck because I seem to be able to get to the next court quicker although the neck of wider. Sounds odd but that's the way it is.

So I'm in the process of buying another guitar to try (a cheap one) and considering classical instead of steel. I'm buying cheap in case my experiment does not work. The classical guitar that I'm using has a 2+ neck and I was thinking of getting one around 2 inches or maybe just a tad bit less so I can switch back-and-forth to the steel string guitar that much trouble.

I guess I'm looking for advice from you guys who play my type of music on the classical guitar. That's it. I'm not sure if I can play my type of music on the classical with without using a pick. What are you guys think?

Thanks. Jed

cattzap · #2 03-15-2017, 08:47 AM

Trigger, Willie's guitar is a classical guitar. The best advice anyone can give you is....your limits are you. How you feel about it, how you decide to play it, is always right. Play from your heart. Play what makes you happy. Don't worry about what others think.

I've done all sorts of things. I've put wrong strings on guitar, tuned them wrong (alternate tuning). Right now I have one with a whittled down leg of a clothes pin for a nut. It's not right, but what I was doing with it when I saw the clothespin half laying on the ground by my chair sitting beside the river sounded kinda cool. Just a whim when I looked down and saw it. I even got comments that it was cool.

mr. beaumont · #3 03-15-2017, 08:57 AM

Go for it. I think nylons work for just about everything, save for maybe bluegrass and slide guitar...but hey...someone will prove me wrong some day.

Nylons are great. My one word of warning would be not to go too narrow with the nut width on your nylon string--the trebles are much thicker than steel string trebles, and things can get pretty clunky on some of the cheaper narrow nut "crossovers" I've seen.

Yamaha, Cordoba, and La Patrie all make really good quality budget nylon string guitars.

Ceabeceabe · #4 03-15-2017, 10:04 AM

Go for it! I play all kinds of styles on my classicals. They have a nice sound and feel, and you can coax a wide variety of different sounds and dynamics out of them.

gmr · #5 03-15-2017, 03:28 PM

I would not worry too much about going back and forth between a steel string and a nylon string guitar. The change is not too difficult to overcome and the extra space on a traditional classical style provides comfortable room. Those nylon treble strings are quite large. Cordoba makes the C5 in both a ful size and a very slightly smaller size with a nut width just under 2 inches and a scale length that is similar to what Gibson uses on many of their steel string acoustic guitars.

dkstott · #6 03-16-2017, 06:06 AM

I started looking into nylon stringed guitars a little more than 2 years ago.

The Cordoba GK Pro Negra has been my go to guitar for a while now...My steel string guitars collect dust these days. There's something about the sound on nylon strings that is both enticing and frustrating.

Playing nylon was a humbling experience for me. Quite a bit of my bad left and right hand habits were hidden when playing steel strings... But they jump out on the nylon strings guitars via sound and tone.

Moving to a nylon string guitar has made me a better guitar player.

jed1894 · #7 03-16-2017, 07:32 AM

Thanks for all the nice and helpful responses. I guess nothing is wrong with playing both until I work it out. I will probably pick up a classical in near future. Thanks again

jim777 · #8 03-16-2017, 02:46 PM

Eastman also has a line of classicals coming in April or May, possibly 2 of which will be available at or under $300 (https://www.eastmanguitars.com/classical). I stopped looking for one when I found that out, and am just waiting for Ted at LA Guitar Sales to let me know when they start coming in.

Frets100 · #9 03-24-2017, 10:10 PM

Hi, I play both classical and steel stringed guitars and can switch between both the guitars with no problems at all. The different sizes of the guitar necks will not be an issue as your fingers will adjust quickly to whichever guitars you are playing.

I am classically trained but I enjoyed modern pop music better than the classical music except for Tarrega, my favourite classical guitar music composer. But I can play lots of stuff because it is easy to learn the difficult songs if you can read music and tab as well.

Do get a teacher and you will progress much faster. When you are using a classical guitar, watch the left hand as the ball of your thumb should be behind the neck of the guitar and not the curve of your index and thumb. This will allow you to stretch your fingers as the fret board of the classical guitar will be larger. Just watch the left hand thumb placement of classical guitarists when they play and you will understand what I mean.

Happy playing.

sirwhale · #10 03-25-2017, 01:59 AM

I've just bought a crossover and can't put it down. Now when I pick up the steel string, it feels so difficult to play! and I head back to the crossover.

And I have the high tension carbon strings on it!

I play blues and folk and it all works well on the crossover. I need to use carbon strings though, to get some more brightness out of it.

jim777 · #11 03-30-2017, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirwhale

I've just bought a crossover and can't put it down. Now when I pick up the steel string, it feels so difficult to play! and I head back to the crossover.

And I have the high tension carbon strings on it!

I play blues and folk and it all works well on the crossover. I need to use carbon strings though, to get some more brightness out of it.

What guitar are you playing? I've been looking at Godin Multiacs lately wondering if I could get a Richard Smith sound out of one.