What shops have a good inventory of Nylon string guitars?

[815C]

What shops would you guys recommend for nylon string guitars? Seems most shops I visit have a token 1 or 2 good nylon string guitars.

Thanks!

[815C]

That's what I suspected - apparently the answer is none.

[Dogsnax]

The Classical Guitar Store in Philadelphia

Guitar Solo in San Francisco

Dream Guitars

Guitars International

[wcap]

My experience locally (the Minneapolis area) is that most shops have nothing past the level of, say LaPatrie or maybe Hoffner classicals, most of the time. When I was doing serious classical guitar shopping about 7 years ago I called pretty much all the shops and almost none of them had anything of great interest to me.

The one exception is The Podium, which always seems to have a nice assortment ranging from lower priced models, to nice Spanish-made classicals (and Flamenco guitars too sometimes), up to the likes of handbuilts like Kakos (a local builder of high end classicals in the Twin Cities area). Only some of the guitars that they have in stock seem to show up on their website, though the high end ones probably will be on the website, I suspect.

Classical guitars make up a small percentage of the guitars they stock though. This is particularly true upstairs in their high end (>$1000) guitar room, while in the lower price ranges there seems to usually be a wider selection of classical guitar choices (though still fewer than the steel strings in the same price range).

[bluesman3]

Rosewood Guitar Shop in SEattle. No Electric guitars and no steel string acoustic guitars. Nylon string classicals only.

http://www.rosewoodguitar.com/

[815C]

Ah, there is hope!

Thanks guys!

[TimberlineGuy]

Originally Posted by Dogsnax

The Classical Guitar Store in Philadelphia

Guitar Solo in San Francisco

Dream Guitars

Guitars International

I do like Dream Guitars!!!

[mattdaddy]

I prefer D'Adarrio EJ 45s, and buy mine in bulk from the *bay. Cheaper that way. Its a good string that plays well and lasts long. Elderly has a very good selection and shipping is free over $50.

[wcap]

Originally Posted by bluesman3

Rosewood Guitar Shop in SEattle. No Electric guitars and no steel string acoustic guitars. Nylon string classicals only.

http://www.rosewoodguitar.com/

Wow, looks like a cool place (I just browsed their website for a bit).

[WeddingGuy]

You're in TN? Gruhn guitars in Nashville has a nice inventory in the $1200 - $5000 range.
http://www.gruhn.com/

[royd]

In large degree, nylon strings, are a different market and have their own shops, many/most/nearly all of which do not sell steel string guitars. Additionally, the tradition for true classical players was that once you got past a student guitar, you purchased one from a luthier or searched out a used guitar built by a luthier. There just weren't the equivalent of a "higher end" factory built guitar that we know in steel string circles. That means a lot fewer guitars being built, a much smaller market, higher prices, and the requirement that a buyer have more trust in a dealer, perhaps a long distance away.

The few dealers mentioned here are the primary ones. In general, they carry some student level instruments and then a bunch of used guitars from individual luthiers, often at astronomical prices, and a small number of new instruments.

[wcap]

I suspect that one reason The Podium has a better than average classical guitar selection is that in addition to simply being an awesome shop, it is practically right on the campus of the University of Minnesota, which has lots of serious music students.

[googoobaby]

Originally Posted by wcap

Wow, looks like a cool place (I just browsed their website for a bit).

It is a cool place and they're very nice and helpful as well.

[corbetta]

Don't overlook Cotten Music in Nashville's Hillsboro village (up the street from Vandy). They don't have a huge stock, but they're likely to have 3-5 high level classicals on any given day. Plus Kim is just super cool.

Other stores (way out West): Guitar Salon Int'l (Santa Monica), and Trilogy Guitars (Playa del Rey). I just spent an afternoon at Trilogy last week playing a couple hundred thousand dollars' worth of guitars...great store with super great service. Call them up and talk to John or Ryan if you're in the market.

[BuleriaChk]

For online, I certainly would consider Ron Fernandez (http://www.fernandezmusic.com)
Ron is an old friend, a great guy, and extremely knowledgable.