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  #1  
Old 05-30-2018, 01:38 PM
SouthpawJeff SouthpawJeff is offline
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Default Entry level classical guitar ???s

So I’ve been leaning more and more towards fingerpicking pieces lately and have been considering picking up a classical guitar. Then I remembered I had been given a guitar many, many years ago and its been collecting dust in the basement all this time. Anyway I dug it out over the weekend, cleaned it up, flipped the saddle, (righty guitar... I play lefty), and put new strings on it and.... it’s still playable after all these years!

The guitar is labeled “Garcia” made in 1970 and through some internet browsing I found a bit of history on them. Seems like an inexpensive student guitar. So my questions.... for those who may be familiar with these what’s an honest assessment of their quality?

If I were to buy a new guitar it would be something along the lines of a Cordoba C-5 which seem to get really high praise for student guitars. Being lefty means it’s highly unlikely I’ll be able to find very much to play before I buy. So I guess I’m looking for general advice on what advantage a new or possibly higher guitar might offer?

Also a consideration for me is this guitar seems to not want to stay in tune over the few days I’ve had it strung. If it is well regarded I may swap the tuners out,. Also need to work on the nut a bit, if not replace it, but again want an honest assessment if it will be worth the time and expense.

Thanks for any insight you can offer!
Jeff
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Old 05-30-2018, 02:02 PM
zhunter zhunter is offline
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It takes tuning on nylon strings a long time to settle. A week would not be unusual at all. When strings are first changed, it will go seriously out of tune on the bottom by the time you get to the top. Several times. If I am in a hurry to get one to stay in tune, I change strings and retune very frequently for several hours. I might get gig ready in a day or two like this. So a week of picking it up every day and tuning? Not unusual at all.

Can't help you with the guitar specifics.

hunter
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Old 05-31-2018, 08:31 AM
SouthpawJeff SouthpawJeff is offline
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So it’s a nylon string issue more than the tuners themselves? I guess that’s good to know as it’s one less thing to tinker with. I was constantly tuning on Sunday when I put the new strings on. I did find last night I tuned it once and was able to get though a 1/2 hour practice without retuning.

I also found, being able to play for a little bit without constantly retuning, that I’m liking the sound of this old instrument. I’ve got it tuned down a half step as I don’t want to overtax the neck, (which hasnt been under tension in decades), and the volume and projection is better than I expected.

Still tempted to try out a new guitar, but going to spend a bit more time on this one before making any decisions.

Thanks,
Jeff
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  #4  
Old 05-31-2018, 12:34 PM
Red_Label Red_Label is offline
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Yup... nylon strings will take far longer to stretch than steel strings do. I usually change my nylons a few days before a gig, so they're bright and fresh. So to facilitate them staying in tune, I pull up on each string one or two dozen times and retune a couple of times. That gets the guitar staying in tune within a day or two. But you must be confident in your string tying abilities at the tie block before you do that. It works very well for me, but use this technique at your own peril!
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