Which Crossover to buy?

benderman57 · #1 08-01-2013, 05:22 AM

Looking for a little advice on what out there people really like.

I'm mostly a Steel String Player but have owned a few Nylon Godin's in the past. In a full band these worked well and really I don't have any real complaints about them for how I was using them.

Now days I play in a more acoustic set-up and sit on a stool for the gigs so I'd rather have a more real sized guitar for this. This guitar would need to sound great plugged in for the most part.

What I have played in stores mostly is the Taylor stuff but I sure was not blown away with the ES system plugged into a Fishman amp. I mean my Godin had it all over it. The one complaint I do have about most of them is output volume. I know that a Nylon strung guitar is not going to have the same volume as a steel string but some of what I've played has had pretty low output.

Things I've been curious about are the Martin oooc, Takamine, Breedlove, Yamaha etc. And crossover sized necks not true classical.

I would just like to be able to use this on a few songs throughout the night for a different voice.

Any help would be great for what to go look at.

As always thanks for your input!

Red_Label · #2 08-01-2013, 06:48 AM

I've owned and played Takamine, Breedlove, and Cordoba crossovers. All have been excellent and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them -- for plugged-in or unplugged work. Been long enough now that I don't remember the width of the Takamine neck, but the Breedloves have very comfortable necks -- much closer to steel string necks than most other nylons. Of my current Cordobas, two seem to have necks closer to regular classicals (the thin-bodied FWCE and 55FCE models), and two of their necks seem slightly smaller (GK Pro, and GK Studio) -- closer to the Breedlove crossovers' necks.

blue · #3 08-01-2013, 09:29 AM

depends on how much you want to spend, what neck width you want, and your definition of "sounding great".

Bang for the buck it's still hard to beat an older, used, upper end Ovation nylon. You can often find them absolutely dirt cheap at GCs, and craiglist. 1 7/8th neck. I often hesitate to mention Ovation here due to biases for all wood guitars, but looking at your list of composites, I figured you wouldn't snort derisively when you read the name

benderman57 · #4 08-01-2013, 09:59 AM

Sounds like some good suggestions.

I'm mostly looking for a nice plugged in tone with good even output and some onboard EQ.

Thanks!

scottishrogue · #5 08-01-2013, 01:48 PM

I own a Martin 000C Nylon, and was really impressed with the volume unplugged, right out of the case. When I run it through a small practice amp (Marshall MG15 DFX) plenty of volume to spare with the onboard EQ. 1 7/8" (48mm) nut. If I ever played it through my Marshall MG100 DFX, I'm sure most of my neighbors would enjoy it, too!

Glen

fitness1 · #6 08-01-2013, 01:54 PM

from what you are telling I'd give consideration to the Cervantes PE crossover and have a K and K classical installed (using the external K and K pure XLR preamp)

Probably can't do much better for the money.

http://gryphonstrings.com/instpix/40534/

To enhance that an external small diaphragm condenser would help out as well.

drcmusic7 · #7 08-01-2013, 02:29 PM

Bender,

May I recommend one our sponsors here, Mark Hatcher. He built my crossover and I LOVE it. His website is www.hatcherguitars.com

Here's a photo of mine.

Kindly,
Danny

blue · #8 08-01-2013, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drcmusic7

Bender,

May I recommend one our sponsors here, Mark Hatcher. He built my crossover and I LOVE it. His website is www.hatcherguitars.com

Here's a photo of mine.

Kindly,
Danny

Well I guess that'll do if you have to settle

What a gorgeous guitar! Headstock shape... Pegs... Nothing falls short! And what a magnificent photograph!

bohemian · #9 08-01-2013, 03:47 PM

Plus 1 on the cervantes PE crossover. Plus 1 on Gryphon.

Dogsnax · #10 08-01-2013, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drcmusic7

Bender,

May I recommend one our sponsors here, Mark Hatcher. He built my crossover and I LOVE it. His website is www.hatcherguitars.com

Hey Danny....quick sidebar question for you. Can't help but notice the headstock pegs and I'm wondering if those are the PegHed pegs? If so, how do you like them? (I just put a deposit down on a Hippner flamenco and it has a tradational headstock). Thanks in advance?

Fred

benderman57 · #11 08-01-2013, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drcmusic7

Bender,

May I recommend one our sponsors here, Mark Hatcher. He built my crossover and I LOVE it. His website is www.hatcherguitars.com

Here's a photo of mine.

Kindly,
Danny

That is truly a work of art!

aknow · #12 08-01-2013, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benderman57

That is truly a work of art!

That is gorgeous!!!

prickards · #13 08-01-2013, 10:36 PM

I have a two year old Cervantes Crossover 1 with Cedar/EIR which I listed 2 days ago on the classifieds. I'm not getting any action so I'm motivated. Send me a hollar if you have any interest. This guitar sounds incredible. It is mature and is a workhorse. I just got a much pricier crossover which really doesnt sound better, just looks prettier. You will not find a better sounding crossover period. They just dont look fancy but they play as well as anything out there.

Eric_M · #14 08-02-2013, 04:30 AM

Hi benderman,

I had very similar requirements as far as a nylon crossover and ended up with the Yamaha NTX700. Plugged-in sound is great, and the onboard controls offer a lot of flexibility. I've read that some find the string spacing at the bridge a little cramped for fingerpicking, but it's comfortable for me.

Here's mine, plugged into a Zoom handheld recorder:

https://soundcloud.com/eric_m/chet-merle-etc

benderman57 · #15 08-02-2013, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prickards

I have a two year old Cervantes Crossover 1 with Cedar/EIR which I listed 2 days ago on the classifieds. I'm not getting any action so I'm motivated. Send me a hollar if you have any interest. This guitar sounds incredible. It is mature and is a workhorse. I just got a much pricier crossover which really doesnt sound better, just looks prettier. You will not find a better sounding crossover period. They just dont look fancy but they play as well as anything out there.

Looks like a nice guitar, I don't see in the listing if it has a pickup? Probably more than I want to spend on this guitar and If in fact it does not have a pickup I don't want to get into installing one. I just want something that sounds nice plugged in and it ready to go at least this time around.

Thanks!