Recommend first nylon/classical guitar

[Bearitone]

Never owned a nylon/classical acoustic-electric guitar and I’m looking to get some suggestions because I am very unfamiliar with the acoustic market.

-Budget: $650
-Needs to have lower cutaway for upper fret access
-Thinner body preferred
-truss rod would be a bonus (not sure if that’s a standard thing)

If I have to ditch the electronics to get a better quality instrument, I’m fine with that too but, if finding a quality Acoustic-Electric is doable in my budget, I’d prefer that added flexibility.

Any suggestions?



Thanks all!

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Cordoba GK studio. Has a thinner neck, lower cutaway, fishman electronics. Cordoba makes good stuff ime.

Ibanez or Yamaha are usually pretty good as well, but I'm not up to snuff on their nylon string offerings anymore. Both offer more of a crossover nylon string (which is what it sounds like you want) where the necks are smaller and they tend to have lower cutaways with electronics. The more traditional classical guitars generally don't have any of those features.


Or just go to your local music stores and try as many as possible to see what feels good.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Get something really cheap, almost disposable, and see if you stick to it. It's a very different playing experience, and chances are it's going to take a long while until you develop the chops that would help you discern something really cheap and something more enthusiast grade.

The instruments themselves are very, very ry simple and so long as it's not falling apart you'll be set. Nylon strings are much more gentle and action will be higher than you're used.

Use a cheapo to get your technique down, the most important things being your right hand strum and roll patterns and overall playing position, which can be done on cheaper instruments.

Once you get better you'll probably figure out what style of music you want to play and then you can get a better instrument to suit.

 

[Bearitone]

Alrighty I'm just going to drop by my local store and see what feels/plays nice in my budget and go for it then.
Thanks guys

 

[Andromalia]

And please don't play Jobi Joba in the shop.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Max nailed it. I'm just a dabbler but I'm still playing the ancient Ibanez nylon string my dad bought me back in music school. It's "vintage" so it's worth a bit now, but it was entry level in the 60s.

I bought and immediately sold a higher end classical last year, it was nice but I realized right away that most of the quality was completely lost on my noobish self.

You can probably get a really sweet deal from a pawn shop. FWIW I've really liked the feel of Alvarez and Cordoba guitars when I've tried them in the shops.

 

[Salvador Ibanez]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and new to classical as well, having only played for a few months, I'm mostly an electric player. I agree with everything that's been said, plus:

I'd recommend a Yamaha classical guitar, they are great value no matter what the price range. If you consider used, some of those older Yamahas are equal to much more expensive hand built guitars from Spain or wherever.

The nut and the bridge saddle can be adjusted on classicals to make them easier to play- just sand 'em down.

There are no fret markers on many classical guitars, just get some stick on dots from a stationery store and stick them on the side of the neck.

As posted above, the technique - especially the right hand - is quite different. It's challenging but I think classical can improve your electric playing.

 

[Benzene]

Have you ever looked-up the Godin 6 or 7 string nylon string guitars? If you haven't, give it a try as they are used by a lot of great players live.

 

[SpaceDock]

I recommend vintage Yamaha. You won’t get a cut away or modern features, but I have a two 1960s Yamahas and they are amazing. Normally around 200 bucks, made in Japan, great tonewoods. I had one of them since I was a kid and went out looking for a more modern version, the sound just doesn’t compare until you get into the multi thousand dollar handmade ranges. I ended up getting a second one that I did the tuners, nut, saddle on and kept the other all original.

 

[HaloHat]

I've got an Ibanez 7 nylon string. It plays and sounds much better than I expected. Included a somewhat weak case however it does the job. It is a good value and you should be able to find one in your stated budget.

 

[bostjan]

I have a Takamine and a Yamaha. I've played some $30 classical guitars that felt 90% as nice as what I use, and one $30000 classical that played maybe 10% nicer and sounded 10% nicer, but I was too stressed out the entire time it was near me.

IMO, you get a lot less variation in quality versus price than you do with steel string acoustics, so unless it's something stupidly bad, it should get the job done.

 

[thorgan]

You'll be fine without a truss rod on nylon strings, they don't exert enough tension to make that an issue. Realize that you may sacrifice sound quality if you go for a thinner body/lower cutaway, the general quality tiers are going to be related to if solid woods or laminates are used: cheapest will have laminate top and back/sides, middle of the road will have solid top and laminate back/sides, serious guitars will have solid back/sides as well as a solid top. In the 650$ new bracket you're probably going to be looking at laminate back/sides with a solid top; which can certainly serve your needs well. If you're just wanting the nylon string sound with standard playability, a crossover guitar is a good option as a previous poster mentioned; these will have the same string spacing and neck dimensions as a typical electric or steel string acoustic. If you're looking to actually get in to the classical world (specifically the right hand technique) do NOT buy a crossover, as a traditional classical has the wider string spacing needed (or at least desired) to facilitates the finger picking. Also be aware that guitars marketed as "flamenco" will have lower actions, but for the sake of getting the borderline buzzy, percussive sound that the style is associated with, and this may not be to your taste.

LaPatrie/Godin consistently impress me for their price point, and I have students whose Cordobas are also impressive, I'll echo that Yamaha is a very solid brand, as well as considering looking at used options local to you; you may be able to get something that is in the retail bracket of above 1k for your stated price range.

 

[mongey]

I have a LaPatrie , and for the money its a great guitar. Its my most played guitar by far at the moment

I don't play conventual classical technique on it though. Mostly Jazz standards and finger pick classical-esque stuff like goodbye blue sky. and my technique is a mongrel

 

[CovertSovietBear]

Slightly above your budget but been eyeing this:

ESP LTD TL-7 Acoustic-electric Guitar - Black

7-string Acoustic-electric Guitar with Spruce Top, Mahogany Back and Sides, Mahogany Neck, and Jatoba Fingerboard - Black

www.sweetwater.com

Edit: Nevermind, you are asking for a nylon guitar - still a cool option to explore?

 

[LordCashew]

Super late to the party, but as a classical guitar teacher I see a lot of entry-level classicals.

The Cordoba GK studio is decent and also checks your thin body and cutaway boxes. I have one I got as a beater but it's now my main nylon for plugged-in situations. I find the unplugged sound pretty mediocre though to be honest.

But if you're willing to give up the cutaway and thin body, the Cordoba C5 sounds much better unplugged and is less expensive. It's honestly a great sounding guitar for the price. You can still play on the upper frets, you'd just need to learn the classical technique of moving your thumb to the edge of the fretboard.

Kremona also makes some good stuff in your price range, but the thin line/cutaway stuff might be a little more expensive than the stuff my students are using.

 

[spudmunkey]

10-ish years ago I picked up a $300 Alvarez on a whim, after playing guitars from about $200-$2000 and not really being able to tell much difference. Every few months, I'll have a week or two where it's (by far) my most-played guitar.

 

[Emperor Guillotine]

Look into Altamira. They are a lesser-known brand that have some really solid offerings that nail the price vs. quality ratio as far as things go for classical guitars of all price-points for beginner players up through advanced, professional players.

One thing to take into consideration here since this is your first foray is to ask yourself if you want an actual "classical" guitar with the wider classical nut width, wider string spacing, and flat fretboard radius, or if you simply want a "nylon-string" guitar with a more traditional nut width, standardized fretboard radius, and narrower string spacing. Some companies like Godin offer "Slim" variations of some of their nylon-string models for those of us modern players who are more used to standard acoustic guitars and electric guitars.

 

[Suho]

Here's my input:
My only classical training was a few months of lessons while in college, which was about 30 years ago. Back then I restrung my dad's old Suzuki folk guitar with ball end nylon strings. I played that for years and it sounded decent. It was cheap, at any rate, but good to practice with.

About 8 or 9 years ago I bought a new Cordoba Fusion 12 Rose, which has an all rosewood body (solid top). It is acoustic/ electric with a cutaway and a narrower neck than full classical. Only box it doesn't check from your list is it isn't thin bodied. Every time I play it I am blown away by how amazing it sounds. Full, clear, smooth, and incredibly loud acoustically. [I researched it first and all the reviews I read mentioned the rosewood model had noticeably louder bass projection. ]
I never plug it in, so can't really comment on the plugged in sound. This would be in your budget, I think it was about $800 new back then. The "12" means the neck connects around the 12th fret. They also make a "14" model. I don't play super high up on the neck, but if you do the 14 might be better. I am a big Cordoba fan after this purchase, and the fusion specs serve my needs better than a true classical. I feel like it makes he sound better.