I Predict Classical Guitars

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by wcap

If you think a classical guitar has a plink plink sound you either aren't playing a good one, or don't have good nails or good right hand technique.

...or all of the above.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by wcap

If you think a classical guitar has a plink plink sound you either aren't playing a good one, or don't have good nails or good right hand technique.

One doesn't need to have nails to obtain a good tone from a classical guitar. For example, the great composer/guitarists Francisco Tárrega, Agustín Barrios and Fernando Sor didn't use their nails.

[Placida]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

One doesn't need to have nails to obtain a good tone from a classical guitar. For example, the great composer/guitarists Francisco Tárrega, Agustín Barrios and Fernando Sor didn't use their nails.

Speaking of nails, or finger tips, or finger picks - what determines which is used in playing nylon, classical, Spanish etc. guitars? I'm not fond of long fingernails so I hope I can make it work with just my fingertips and the side of my thumb. Thanks.

[Odie1974]

You don't need extra long fingernails. Scott Tennant says in his book "Pumping Nylon" that the nails just need to protrude slightly over the top of the finger.

Try to play so that the string slides off your flesh and nail.

I tried that advice and I like the results - warm, round tone with enough edge to it, so that it does not get dull or muddy.

And shortish fingernails are not that cumbersome really

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Placida

Speaking of nails, or finger tips, or finger picks - what determines which is used in playing nylon, classical, Spanish etc. guitars? I'm not fond of long fingernails so I hope I can make it work with just my fingertips and the side of my thumb. Thanks.

As far as I'm concerned the guitarist decides what is best for him. There are acoustic, steel-string players, classical players and electric guitarists who use the flesh of their fingers or plectrums or thumb picks or finger picks.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

One doesn't need to have nails to obtain a good tone from a classical guitar. For example, the great composer/guitarists Francisco Tárrega, Agustín Barrios and Fernando Sor didn't use their nails.

i'm pretty sure 2 of these have never made recordings. did barrios? did someone besides aguado comment on sor? i'm interested in comments on any of their tone. what's out there?

[bluesbassdad]

As of a few weeks ago I am without a classical guitar for the first time since 1974.

I'd always had conflict between playing electric bass and classical: no fingernails, or very little, for the former; beyond finger tips for the latter.

Then over the past five years my nails developed soft areas. (Dermatologist: "Well as you get older....")

I sold my Esteve for a ridiculously low price, right here on this forum. I'll never have another unless I quit playing bass for some reason, and even then I'll need to go artificial.

[corbetta]

did barrios?

He did. In all likelihood, he also strung his guitars with wire (steel) strings, at least partially.

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

One doesn't need to have nails to obtain a good tone from a classical guitar. For example, the great composer/guitarists Francisco Tárrega, Agustín Barrios and Fernando Sor didn't use their nails.

Can you direct me to some of their recordings?

Thanks.

[sneaky]

I discovered the old Yamaha Dynamic nylon strings several years ago and haven`t stopped buying them since...don`t know if they`ll ever become popular, don`t care... they sound great to me and thats why I buy em. They are still cheap, almost ridiculously so considering how much some FG`s sell for these days. Haven`t used a pick in years and that goes for nylon strings, steels and electrics...I have tough nails and keep em almost even with my finger tips, works for me.

[corbetta]

Can you direct me to some of their recordings?

The only player who recorded something among those listed is Agustin Barrios:


http://www.amazon.com/Agustin-Barrio.../dp/B0028OLVH2

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by corbetta

The only player who recorded something among those listed is Agustin Barrios:


http://www.amazon.com/Agustin-Barrio.../dp/B0028OLVH2

One by Pujol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=nHPmeIGW-jU

[TBman]

When I bought my classical, I couldn't tell the difference between it (a $99 guitar) and others costing up to $500. When I played the $800 and above models, then I could tell the difference. Maybe the $300 to $500 range in this particular store had dead strings on them, but it was odd. Then again, the store was Guitar Center, LOL.

[wcap]

Originally Posted by TBman

When I bought my classical, I couldn't tell the difference between it (a $99 guitar) and others costing up to $500. When I played the $800 and above models, then I could tell the difference. Maybe the $300 to $500 range in this particular store had dead strings on them, but it was odd. Then again, the store was Guitar Center, LOL.

When I bought my good classical about 6 or 7 years ago (I forget now) I concluded that there was a big difference in quality when I got about to the $1000 point (similar to your $800 figure). And I found some of the roughly $1000 ones (Burguet classical guitars) to be as good or better than any of the $3000 ones (e.g. Loriente, Bernabe, etc) The Podium had at that time period. I was down to a decision between a 1K Burguet vs. a 3K Loriente. A guy in the store who was a good classical player played them both for me with my eyes closed. I liked the Burguet better!

In the lower price range (e.g. up to about $600 or so) there were some appealing ones. I recall a Hoffner that was nice, and the LaPatrie classicals are nice. But they just don't sing out anything like the higher quality ones.

I hear people praising Yamaha classicals frequently. I've played a few inexpensive Yamaha steel strings that were pretty nice, but none of the Yamaha classicals I've played have seemed at all worth playing to me. Maybe I just have not encountered any of the good ones, but the ones I have played were just awful.

If a guitar player is not used to and a little experienced with playing classicals though they all are probably going to sound bad. Anyone can strum a good quality steel string and get an impressive sound (not as nice as an experienced player could get, but still an appealing sound), but it takes good right hand technique to get an impressive sound out of a classical guitar.

[wcap]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

One doesn't need to have nails to obtain a good tone from a classical guitar. For example, the great composer/guitarists Francisco Tárrega, Agustín Barrios and Fernando Sor didn't use their nails.

This is not my experience. Perhaps others can get good results without nails (I doubt it, but I will admit to not knowing everything) but the sounds I can get out of a classical guitar with good nails are MUCH better than without nails (or than with bad nails). Ditto for my tone with steel string guitars, though not to quite the same degree.

I agree with some others above that the nails don't have to be super long, and personally, if I try to keep my nails too long it ends up being counterproductive since they get to be far too prone to having disastrous breaks. For me they have to be at least just past the finger, but my tone is dramatically better if I let them get a bit longer (just about to the point where they are too fragile and prone to breakage in my everyday activities, unfortunately). Think about the difference in tone one gets on a steel string guitar with just the flesh of your fingers vs a really good pick (e.g. a Wegen or something like that) - the difference in tone on a steel string is dramatically different under those two conditions, and no nails (or bad nails) vs. good nails can result in a similar difference in tone on a classical.