What do you play on your crossover guitar?

[domhooper]

Hi folks,

Having played only steel strings in recent years, I am new to crossovers: I'll be having a preowned Cervantes 1 PE delivered in the next few days though.

I am really interested to hear what range of material other crossover players play on their instruments. I play exclusively fingerstyle and play a pretty broad spectrum of different styles: African fingerstyle; blues; jazz, a bit of classical; ragtime; Celtic; Mexican folk tunes; bluegrass; contemporary fingerstyle and instrumental covers of popular songs.

While some of these styles (classical/jazz/Latin) are an obvious fit with a nylon string crossover, others, like bluegrass/blues/ragtime/covers of popular songs, are clearly more associated with steel strings.

Maybe I'm trying to work out which of these less obvious styles I will be able to "get way with" playing on a nylon string crossover. I know that this is ultimately up to me to try out and decide, but I would love to hear other players' perception of which styles do or don't "work" on their crossovers.

Looking forward to any thoughts on this.

Cheers, Dom

[dkstott]

Here's a sample of what I regularly play on my Cordoba GK Pro;

Beatles- Here, There & Everywhere, In My Life

Jazz standards - What A Wonderful World, My Funny Valentine, Nearness of You

Pop- Vincent (arr by John Knowles), Aerosmith, Dream on (arr by Glenn Roth) My Cherie Amour ( arr by Pete Huttlinger) and host of other songs

Semi classical pieces by Roger Hudson, Per Olav Kindgren

A few true classical pieces such as Adelita, Lagrima

[domhooper]

Thank you for taking the time to reply - that's helpful: gives me some sense of possibilities. It's reassuring to me that you're clearly comfortable playing a range of popular covers, much as I might. As I'm about to transition into the world of crossover playing, I guess I'm trying to work out which parts of my repertoire are/are not going to successfully translate on to nylon strings. I'm planning to go out busking and can only take one guitar with me (!) (a nylon string crossover) so I'm trying to work out whether I can get away with playing blues/ragtime/bluegrass on it (the more obviously steel string-associated styles) or whether it's just gonna sound "wrong" on nylon strings.

Any of you out there who are happy playing blues/ragtime/even bluegrass on nylon strings?

Cheers, Dom

[k_russell]

I use my crossover to play songs that most people would play by finger picking a steel string guitar. This approach saves some wear and tear on my finger nails. I save my classical guitar for music written specifically for that instrument.

[domhooper]

Yes, good point about saving your nails by using the crossover. Crossovers seem to be pretty versatile - I guess I'll just have to experiment to find the limits of which styles do or don't sound acceptable to me on the nylon strings. Nylon string bluegrass anyone?!!

I wear fingerpicks when playing steel string, so preserving my nails for classical is not too difficult.

[MinorKey]

What exactly is a crossover guitar? I saw one on Instagram today but with no explanation I could understand.

They are nylon string guitars that are different from classical guitars. Many crossovers differ from classical guitars because they have thinner bodies, electronics, narrower nut widths, lower profile necks, radiused fretboards, etc., though they do not all share all of these characteristics. They are generally designed for steel string players who want the nylon string sound.

[domhooper]

In fact, since starting this thread I've been looking on Youtube (why didn't I think to do that in the first place?!) and of course found Muriel Anderson playing bluegrass style on her classical, and some very competent guitarists using nylon strings for ragtime and blues. Certainly it sounds different to the same material played on steel strings but to me, no less enjoyable.

I guess it's only because "tradition" or convention would say that you play classical on nylon strings and blues on steel strings that I got myself tangled in a knot about this subject. That seems clearer to me now. I just needed to free up my thinking a bit!

[Bikewer]

Chord-melody arrangements of (mostly) standards.. Fingerstyle.

All of me, Blue Skies, Wave, Street Where You Live... that sort of thing.

[domhooper]

Thanks to all of you for chipping in - it is helpful to get a sense of what other players are mainly using their crossovers for. Keep 'em coming! Cheers,

Dom

[lodi_55]

I play spanish guitar on my Taylor 712 12-fret Nylon.

check out the songs on my site for a better idea of the kind of stuff i play:

www.montaramusic.com

[Alter]

mostly i play jazz and brazilian on mine (usually fingerstyle), but it can do classical fine too. I have strictly classical playing friends that prefer crossover necks.

I think the big wide necks in classical guitars are more a thing of tradition than necessity

Originally Posted by Alter

mostly i play jazz and brazilian on mine (usually fingerstyle), but it can do classical fine too. I have strictly classical playing friends that prefer crossover necks.

I think the big wide necks in classical guitars are more a thing of tradition than necessity

I strongly prefer a full 52mm nut width/42mm string spacing for classical playing. I think there is good reason for the tradition.

[MinorKey]

When you say crossover do you mean hybrid,a nylon strung guitar with a narrower fingerboard, like on a steel string?