looking for ideas—new instrument

[KarenB]

I suggest you try out a nylon string guitar. You can get a Taylor Academy 12E-N for around $650 and it has a nut that is 1.75. https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitar...my-12e-n#specs
In your price range, you could also get one of their 312ce-N

There are other guitar companies that are making what is called "crossover" nylon string guitars.

You can also try as suggested, ukes if you're looking to try something new. Having an instrument you never played can lead you in a new direction.

I hope you have a speedy return to playing music.

[zztush]

Small nylon string guitars.

[chrislongAgain]

hi again.

i love karenB's suggestion of the Taylor Academy 12E-N nylon string "crossover" guitar. sadly, it does not have a 1.75" nut, but a 1-7/8" nut, which is likely too big for my small hands and stubby fingers.

does anyone know of a nylon string guitar with an actual 1.75" nut? i've looked, and come up with nothing.

i thank you ALL for your time and the fact that you care enough to even bother addressing my requests. i appreciate, very much indeed!

--

also, a new question:

when i played steel string, i used a fair number of string bends in tunes. this is near impossible (at least for me!) with a nylon string guitar, since the strings are so smooth and slippery.

does anyone know of a 'textured' nylon string manufacturer where the unwound strings aren't so glossy?

thank you all, again!
you folks ROCK!

c

[Birdbrain]

One fun instrument that's a an easy player is my Ibanez Mikro bass. It's just like the big Ibanez solidbodies, but reduced to a 28" scale, like a baritone guitar. My small hands can get around on it. Before, I had never even tried to play a fullsized bass. Entry to the Mikro club is cheap, under $200, but some owners spend multiples of that on upgraded pickups, bridges and tuners.

[guitarwebguy]

I’ll second the idea of a ukelele. Something to consider is a baritone 6 string ukelele which would get you close to a guitar like sound ...

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by chrislongAgain

hi again.


--

also, a new question:

when i played steel string, i used a fair number of string bends in tunes. this is near impossible (at least for me!) with a nylon string guitar, since the strings are so smooth and slippery.

does anyone know of a 'textured' nylon string manufacturer where the unwound strings aren't so glossy?

thank you all, again!
you folks ROCK!

c

I started learning guitar on a nylon string. I'm no where near an authority n the instrument or a player with classical guitar chops.

However, from my experience bends on a nylon string are more difficult to use in steel-string guitar manner not because of slippery strings, but because they don't change pitch when bent like a steel string. Yes, you can get slight vibrato or you can resort the extreme bend-past-the-next-string bends to get enough pitch change, but it was awkward.

What I came to do on nylon string guitars is to do a alternate "vertical" not "horizontal" vibrato where I'd slide up or down one fret. You can't do the microtones of a conventional bending string vibrato, but you can get some of the same effects, and in this case the large diameter of the nylon strings helps execute this technique.

[MakingMusic]

Some good suggestions here. I like the idea of a lap steel guitar. You can use a slide and, although it's a steel string instrument, the other hand can use thumbpicks and fingerpicks or even a normal flat pick as some blues players do. I think it's a pretty cool and versatile instrument.

[oldduc]

I have an Ibanez AE450 nylon stringed "classical" that has a regular steel string acoustic width and shaped neck. It is very easy to play and sounds pretty good. It also has a built-in pickup if you wish to plug it in. No longer made, but I see them on Reverb for about $450, or so, from time-to-time.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

Slide. Lap steel or not, you can do a lot with it. It probably helps if you finger pick and can still tolerate finger picks or use of your bare picking hand. I'm a hack on lap steel even more than I am on guitar, and I play it cross-picking with a flatpick just as I play slide guitar on a conventional acoustic guitar. Obviously a complete solution for finger joint or tip issues left-hand-wise as lap steel doesn't use the left hand other than to hold the steel. And while conventional acoustic guitar slide players oven use the slide with fretted notes, you can avoid that and still get a lot of music out of it. And another slide choice would be Dobro, playing lap-style on a purely acoustic instrument.

Dobro. Also Weissenborn. If you still have a steel 6-string you can do an inexpensive tryout of acoustic lap steel by using a nut riser to raise the strings. Around $10 for the nut riser and around $20 for a steel (and some fingerpicks, if you want to further protect your fingertips). Kelly Jo Phelps played a lot of great lap steel blues using a nut riser on a Dread. Blues, Folk, Country, Bluegrass, Old Time are all possible.

[Dave Hicks]

Maybe a guitalele? Six nylon strings, short scale - Lanikai, Kala, Cordoba, Gretsch, and probably other uke manufacturers make them.

D.H.

[birdsong]

Originally Posted by Dave Hicks

Maybe a guitalele? Six nylon strings, short scale - Lanikai, Kala, Cordoba, Gretsch, and probably other uke manufacturers make them.

D.H.

Good idea. I just checked and Cordoba lists theirs at 1 3/4 (which you indicated you want to stick with..... so, this might work).

https://www.cordobaguitars.com/guitars/guilele-ce/

Related, I have 2 baritone ukes, which I enjoy from time to time.

Finally, if you get a chance you might want to try a 48mm nut (the "hybrid" nylon stringed guitars). It's not as much effort as you might think. It's not only nut width but also the neck shape (and, subsequently, string spacing). I go back and forth between 44, 46, and 48mm nut guitars. I have moderate hand/finger issues from chemo some years ago and now some arthritis. But still I am ok with the 48mm. But again depending on the shape of a given neck, that 1/8" may not matter to you.

John

[chrislongAgain]

THANK YOU to all who have responded.
some great ideas in here!
i'm determined to get playing ... something ... again.
psoriasis, neuritis, arthritis. the hat trick of pain and misery. yuk.

appreciate you all!

[Earl49]

Chris, consider the new-to-market Outdoor Ukulele Company small guitar. It is a short-scale nylon six string about the same size as a baritone ukulele. I have not played one so cannot vouch for the tone. There is some recent discussion in the Carbon Fiber room. It lists a 1.75" / 45 mm nut and 20" scale length.
https://www.outdoorukulele.com/colle...-carbon-nickel

My other suggestion is a U-bass. Those big rubbery urethane strings are very easy on the fingers, and most jam groups benefit from a good steady bassist.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by guitarwebguy

I’ll second the idea of a ukelele. Something to consider is a baritone 6 string ukelele which would get you close to a guitar like sound ...

One more vote for a baritone uke. Check out both 4 and 6 string versions.

[Les Young]

Steel finger picks & either a plastic or steel thumb pick & a lot less tention then guitar therefor way easier to fret, do slides, hammer on, pull offs etc.