Gigging advice - practical difference between amplified western and classical guitar

[diego]

So far, I've been gigging solely with western guitar, amplified with a piezzo pre-amp. Lately, I've been thinking about amplified classical guitar - any info as what should I expect? I like the tone of the classical guitar, I played a lot of (non-amplified) classical guitars and I have no problem with the neck being wider than on the western counterpart, and I've also tried a few in the music store on the PA system, and it sounded pretty OK. Now, I'm looking for a more experienced advice, as to what can I expect if I start gigging with classical instead of a western guitar? What will I lose, what is to gain? I believe the strumming will be less effective (?), but the nylon strings will give some warmness to the sound. What about the feedback in those guitars, string volume balance etc.... ? All info appreciated.

[Brent Hahn]

Saying this more as a FOH mixer than a performer...

Piezos, to me, sound better and more natural on a nylon-string than they do on a steel string, especially the plain nylon strings (and ukes sound terrific!). Combo approaches with a blended internal mic are usually a little better, but certainly more susceptible to feedback of the low, steamship-horn variety. Best I've heard is the little clip-on DPA exterior mic blended with a piezo, but it'll also feedback easily in the squeal range and it's a total no-go if you sing (but great for doing the intro to the next song.)

Also, you've probably seen a lot on AGF just lately about the Tonedexter. My on-site take on those is mixed -- they seem to work better for solo artists than in combos and groups, and they need to be skillfully set up. I have yet to encounter anyone with that skill. But it's new, and the hive-mind knowledge base on it it is still pretty small. You'd probably find it interesting to look into.

[guitarman68]

Brent Hahn said it all, I will add just a little bit:

I play in a trion setting for 23 years now, where the singer plays nylon string while I play steelstring. We never had reason to work on his amplified tone (Takamine classical from the 90s) while I went a long way to optimize. I am really picky about my sound and therefore once installed a SBT in my classical guitar ( which I seldom use- by the way).
The pressure on the saddle in a classical guitar is far less compared to a steel string. That produces less piezo quack and makes the sound much more acceptable than a UST in a steelstring, which drives us AGF-SBT users nuts and let us walk the extra mile.
So IMHO in a classical guitar UST is more than acceptable, as long as you do not perform classical music.
If you want to upgrade, Tone Dexter or an external mic would be my choice. But the improvement will be less dramatic as with a steelstring UST.

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

.... and ukes sound terrific! ....

This is so true!