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  #1  
Old 08-09-2018, 05:21 AM
pfizer pfizer is offline
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Default Can anyone tell me about crossover guitars?

Hi folks, haven't been here in a while.

I'm trying to get back into learning fingerstyle and while I love my Taylor 314ce, I was thinking of getting a nylon-stringed guitar.

I was pointed to "crossover" guitars which apparently are nylon-stringed acoustics that have slimmer necks more similar to steel string guitars than the chunkier classical or flamenco guitars.

While I'm looking at nylon-stringed Taylors, are there any other brands that make good crossover guitars?

Also, a general question -- how does a crossover compare to a steel string in terms of playability? How does a crossover compare with a classical guitar?
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Old 08-09-2018, 07:18 AM
Bikewer Bikewer is offline
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I play mostly chord-melody jazz stuff. I did not get along well with the standard classical guitar’s wide, flat neck.

So, after some searching, I bought a “Manuel Rodriguez” crossover from GC.

As noted, this has a slimmer neck, a somewhat-thinner body, and a slight radius to the neck.

I find this to be very compatible... I can finger my various jazz chords easily, and the general feel is very similar to your typical steel-string.

There is a tendency for the high “E” to pull downwards... Something you have to guard against. In terms of general playability, I like it a lot.

However.... It sure sounded good in GC’s little acoustic room, but now that I’ve had it for a while and playing under more open circumstances.... It’s not that stellar.
And... the Fishman pickup (supposedly tailored for classical guitars) is not very good. I fought with amp settings for weeks trying to get rid of the “quacks” sound on the bass strings.
Finally, (I have a Cube 40) I tried the “Acoustic emulation” setting on the “lead” channel... That works. I could not get an acceptable sound out of the “clean” channel.
I’m seriously thinking of going to one of the Yamaha models.. The NTX series. Known for good electronics... But alas, these Rodriguez guitars are not well-known and I fear I’ll have to take a bath getting rid of it.
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Old 08-09-2018, 07:24 AM
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M19 M19 is offline
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I have a maple Córdoba Fusion 12 fret cutaway that I like a lot. About $700 IIRC.
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Old 08-09-2018, 07:33 AM
sirwhale sirwhale is offline
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This comes up a lot. My advice would to at least try some classicals and flamencas in a shop before going for a crossover. When transitioning from steel-strings I had a crossover for a couple of months before realising I much prefer flamenco guitars and I prefer the neck.

My personal opinion is that you can get much more out of a classical or flamenca than with a crossover.

For crossovers, Cordoba C9 crossover is a good place begin, good guitars and stocked in many places.
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Last edited by sirwhale; 08-09-2018 at 07:40 AM.
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Old 08-09-2018, 01:03 PM
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I am mostly a steel string player and indulge with my Strat once in a while but I am tempted by one of the Furch crossovers

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  #6  
Old 08-09-2018, 01:38 PM
lkjjr lkjjr is offline
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Default Cordoba crossover

Another vote for the Cordoba Fusion Orchestra.

Seems I’m having a pretty common issue in that, with age, I’m having more challenges playing my steel strings (Martin D35s and Larrivee LV05) for extended stretches. So I’m looking for a nylon string guitar with cutaway and a narrower than standard classical size neck.

I found the sound I was looking for (given the $$$ I could dedicate to the effort). I was able to “test drive” the Alvarez AC65HCE, Yamaha NTX700, La Patrie Etude, Cordoba C5CE and the Cordoba GK Studio Negra (which I was “gasing” for). The unplugged sound was most important, since I’d be using this mainly for extended practice and to compose with.

When I tried out the Cordoba Fusion Orchestra at a local GC the search was over. It had the best tone of all I had tried (with the surprising La Patrie Etude coming in a close second). The aesthetics were really nice too- solid cedar top, laminated rosewood B&S, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and rosewood bridge. Beyond the tone playability was my most important consideration. The Fusion has a 1 7/8” nut and a 12 fret neck with arched fretboard, like my D35S. It has a cutaway and dual pickup system (I’ll use for recording some) like my Larrivee

There is a lot of criticism of mid-range Cordoba’s online regarding their fret work, so I was cautious about that knowing my guitar tech could address it if needed. But, there is no need because the frets are in very good shape. As the Fusion acclimated to its new home I’ve done some minor tweaking to the truss rod and the 12th fret action is about 1/8” with a minimal amount of neck relief and very good intonation.

All in all I’m very pleased to have found a guitar that meets my needs for less stress on my aging fingers, hands and arms, but is also a pleasure to play and hear. My Larrivee and my Martin will still get regular play because they are such wonderful instruments, but now I can indulge in longer sessions without the need for as much down time to recover in between.
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  #7  
Old 08-23-2018, 12:49 PM
Rapido Eduwardo Rapido Eduwardo is offline
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Default Crossover guitars

As I understand it, the 'standard' classical fret width at the nut is 50 or 52 mm. The crossovers are not as wide (47 to 48 mm I think) and are an attempt to make steel string players crossing over to nylon feel more at home. There may be more to this story but that is what I understand.
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Old 08-24-2018, 01:59 PM
SBalderrama SBalderrama is offline
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there is a reason classicals/flamencos have the neck width they do. You may have some issues with some techniques on a narrower fretboard. As someone who has been studying flamenco for a few years, I find it difficult to play on a some very narrow crossover necks.

I do have a GK studio though and that isn't bad, although at 50mm most steel string players arnt going to call that narrow.

In terms of a pure crossover, I did play a Martin 000c at a store the other day that was really nice.
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Old 08-24-2018, 02:58 PM
Gcunplugged Gcunplugged is offline
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I'm not sure if there is a Standard for Nut Width in the Nylon world, but I have 3, as follows:
- Yamaha Classical: 52mm neck width at nut
- Cordoba GK Studio (Flamenco): 50mm width at nut
- Cordoba Fusion Orchestra (crossover): 48mm width at nut

Of the 3, I like the 50mm neck on the GK Studio the best with the 48mm nut on the Fusion a close second. I like the sound of the Fusion Orchestra the best, although for certain songs, still prefer the GK Studio. Being a flamenco, the GK studio has a more rapid decay of the notes, which makes it less muddy and more easily amplified, at least that is my experience.

Also, the Fusion series come in 12-Fret and 14 Fret models, with and without cutaway.

If I could keep just one, it would be the Fusion.
Hope that helps,
Gary
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Old 08-25-2018, 01:01 AM
sirwhale sirwhale is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gcunplugged View Post
I'm not sure if there is a Standard for Nut Width in the Nylon world, but I have 3, as follows:
- Yamaha Classical: 52mm neck width at nut
- Cordoba GK Studio (Flamenco): 50mm width at nut
- Cordoba Fusion Orchestra (crossover): 48mm width at nut

Of the 3, I like the 50mm neck on the GK Studio the best with the 48mm nut on the Fusion a close second. I like the sound of the Fusion Orchestra the best, although for certain songs, still prefer the GK Studio. Being a flamenco, the GK studio has a more rapid decay of the notes, which makes it less muddy and more easily amplified, at least that is my experience.

Also, the Fusion series come in 12-Fret and 14 Fret models, with and without cutaway.

If I could keep just one, it would be the Fusion.
Hope that helps,
Gary
The majority of nylon strings have a 52mm nut, classicals and flamencas.
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Old 09-01-2018, 08:33 AM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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Yamaha NTX1200R has solid rosewood back and sides, ebony fretboard. I've played one for about 4 years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrZgvcBnEg4

It's best plugged in, where it excels. Its retail price has gone up considerably over the years.

There's lots of room on the neck to swap out the nut for a wider one if you wish. I play blues, classical, jazz, easylistening, and get good feedback.

As stated, there is a lot of variability among classic classical guitars. Some of those wide necks are quite playable and you get used to it. Nylon strings come in lots of varieties, but all feel "noodly" or "squirelly" at first. I do miss my steel string Martin, but have to say that my crossover is my favourite quitar with my electrics a close second.
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Old 09-01-2018, 09:50 AM
Mooh Mooh is offline
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Cervantes. I have one of these:

https://www.12fret.com/new-instrumen...-palo-escrito/

http://www.cervantesguitars.com/port...i-paloescrito/

It's been an awesome guitar, feels very natural, nice balanced tone, lots of room around the fretting fingers, little or no adjustment needed for right hand technique, came well set up from The 12th Fret.
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Old 09-16-2018, 02:04 AM
pfizer pfizer is offline
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Been a while since I've checked back, so sorry everyone.

Yes, I do keep hearing good things about Cordoba guitars, the Fusion series in particular, as well as Yamaha and Cervantes. I'll try to see if I can try one out locally but since I live in the Philippines, good guitars are a little hard to come by.

I should've mentioned in my first post that I don't really play classical or flamenco. I have nerve damage in my hands and I can't really play my old Taylor steel-string like I used to so I figured getting a nylon-string with a steel-string-like feel might be good. I also heard about the Martin 000C Nylon which is specifically aimed at steel-string players looking to experiment with a nylon string i.e. myself.

Also, I kinda want something loud and resonant even when unplugged and with a slim neck profile (which is different from neck width) -- I mostly play electric these days so I'm more used to slimmer neck profiles like Ibanez and Musicman.

Really appreciate the suggestions guys, keep em coming!
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Old 09-28-2018, 12:12 PM
JERZEY JERZEY is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pfizer View Post
Been a while since I've checked back, so sorry everyone.

Yes, I do keep hearing good things about Cordoba guitars, the Fusion series in particular, as well as Yamaha and Cervantes. I'll try to see if I can try one out locally but since I live in the Philippines, good guitars are a little hard to come by.

I should've mentioned in my first post that I don't really play classical or flamenco. I have nerve damage in my hands and I can't really play my old Taylor steel-string like I used to so I figured getting a nylon-string with a steel-string-like feel might be good. I also heard about the Martin 000C Nylon which is specifically aimed at steel-string players looking to experiment with a nylon string i.e. myself.

Also, I kinda want something loud and resonant even when unplugged and with a slim neck profile (which is different from neck width) -- I mostly play electric these days so I'm more used to slimmer neck profiles like Ibanez and Musicman.

Really appreciate the suggestions guys, keep em coming!
Cross overs are little more then the middle ground between steel and classical specs. You will find more often then not that 80+% of the cross overs have a radius cut board. If you want it flat then your options are few.

The Yamaha NTX series is probably the best build quality I have found so far. From the 500$ model all the way up to the 2000$ model you would have a hard time picking them apart other then the sound. The downfall is the guitar is over built and does not project as well as some but it has a sound all to is own and sounds insane plugged in. The NCX being a more classical/flamenco styled brother to the NTX has a slimmer neck then the traditional classical. The NCX while closer to a traditional classical is still very much a cross over. check them both out.
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  #15  
Old 09-28-2018, 06:33 PM
lkjjr lkjjr is offline
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If you need to buy online I had a great experience with Nashville Guitars (via Reverb). They have great reviews and I found them to have excellent customer service.
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