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Acoustic guitars

Tony L said:
Am I right in thinking ‘parlour’ is a standard scale length/neck width with a smaller body and a ‘travel guitar’ is often a shorter scale/narrower width?

The wider neck of a classical isn’t necessarily an issue - I’d likely spend most of my noodling time trying to find interesting open jazz chords up the neck etc rather than rock barre chords etc. I’m also a bass player so the wider string spacing may even be a bonus in some respects. I’m assuming there is a point in the range that Yanaha classical guitars are still made in Japan rather than outsourced, and those would be a genuinely good guitar. Other than Yamaha I’d not know where to start with classical guitars!

I’ve not played a classical guitar since a friend had one back at school so I’ve really no idea here, but I rather like the idea of a proper one and spending the rest of my life gradually growing into it. Something very honest and unpretentious about it as an instrument, and volume-wise far more what I’m after.
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The one thing with nylon string guitars is that you can't bend notes if that's your thing, the string just rolls under your finger.

If you couldn't care less about bending then that sounds like just the ticket. Otherwise you'd need to look for an 0 or 00-sized Martin, or a copy of one.
 
As you can probably imagine, if you bought the La Patrie Collection, you'd be spending money on the best guitar they make whereas if you spend the same money on a classical guitar from one of the bigger companies, you'd be buying a deliberately compromised guitar in order for the company to retain credibility of their pricing structure. This wasn't the main reason why I bought my La Patrie - its playability and warm tone sealed the deal - but it helped to know that the Concert was the very best guitar La Patrie's made at the time.

I also meant to say I use these D'Addario composite strings on my classical and they last for ages and ages and ages :)
 
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Yank said:
The one thing with nylon string guitars is that you can't bend notes if that's your thing, the string just rolls under your finger.
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Ah, I didn’t realise that! I’m no lead player by any measure, but I certainly bend notes on the electric. By saying that I only think of note bending in a really distorted rock way, I’d be trying to fake-up some jazz on an acoustic.

PS Talking about fake jazz this is fun:


I learnt it earlier after searching for ‘nylon string jazz guitar’ on YouTube just to see what it sounded like.
 
Yank said:
The one thing with nylon string guitars is that you can't bend notes if that's your thing, the string just rolls under your finger.
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not the case at all. it's not the most appealing sound and maybe not the easiest thing to do, but eminently doable. if in doubt, listen to some jose feliciano
 
another lovely maker and one whose guitars i would love to have an example of, esp the martin simpson, is stefan sobell. they are bell-like in tone yet project so so well. this is in contrast to lowdens i've played which have a lovely tonality but which really don't project well. but as always, you should play, play and play again, lots of different guitars
 
Whaleblue said:
Don’t buy before you can test that theory!
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+1.

And by testing, I mean 6+ months. Let's see what your tendons say.

Paco de Lucia did a fairly acceptable job holding a classical guitar like a steelstrung. But then I suppose he started practicing quite early in life, so his body found its way. Not sure it is easy at 50+. But good luck !
 
I know many didn’t like my Carbon Fibre Emerald, but they’re hand-made by one man in Ireland, to your own neck specifications (if you need that, and are prepared to pay extra) and are truly comfortable to play due to the body shaping possible with carbon fibre.

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Apologies for a repeat from the other guitar thread but does anyone know if you can buy a solid body nylon electro-acoustic nowadays, like a Gibson Chet Atkins?
 
Whaleblue said:
Don’t buy before you can test that theory!
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Trust me, it is the right hand that will be the issue here! I’m sure I’d cope with the neck given a little time, but the right will be a total mess! Basically I do not know how to finger pick *at all*, so that will be right back to ground zero. The only times I’ve picked up (very cheap) classical guitars in the past I don’t recall the neck being too weird, and I’d have played them with a pick!

PS I’m not remotely aiming to be Segovia or Joe Pass, I’ll never be ‘good’ in a million years, but I love noodling about for pure fun. Its always been how I’ve approached musucal instruments. The little jazz chord video upthread is exactly the type of thing I like doing, e.g. finding a couple of new chords or patterns and playing around with them to see if anything interesting pops up.
 
Seeker_UK said:
If you're used to using your thumb to bar a chord, you'll have to relearn a lot.
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I’m used to having my thumb in the ‘wrong’ place, i.e. around the neck rather than flat on the back, but I don’t use it to fret anything. I move it to a more correct position on the back for barre chords (which probably slows me down rather a lot in the grand scheme of things as its clearly poor technique).
 
Thanks - I'd forgotten about the Godins. Nice guitars but a pity they're plug ugly.

But the Epiphone SST is more like it.
 
I was in Manchester earlier so popped into Forsyths and had a very quick go on a random classical acoustic. I explained I just wanted to try a typical one just to see what the flat wide fretboard and string tension felt like. I found it comfortable and think I could adapt quite easily, plus, despite being a budget model (can’t remember the make, but under £300 with a built-in pickup), it sounded very nice just noodling out a few fairly jazzy chords and just strumming with my thumb. The volume was what I’m after too (i.e. pretty quiet). I found the action high, but the string tension is so low it isn’t really an issue, or wouldn’t be with some practice. It just feels a little odd as I’m used to very low action on both electric guitars and bass. Regardless I could hold barre chords easy enough. I really liked it - the form totally makes sense given the function, I really understood why they are the way they are given the sort of music they are designed for. I’m certain learning to finger pick on one of these will be a heck of a lot easier than on a steel string or electric as there is a larger gap between the strings.

I think I like a fairly wide neck. One reason my lovely US Fender Jazz Bass is currently up for grabs is that I just prefer the chunky baseball bat neck of my Shergolds (far more like a Precision). All very odd as I don’t have especially large hands or long fingers, so I’d have expected to really love the ultra thin nut of the Jazz, but it just feels cramped to me. Likely just familiarity/habit. I suspect if I do buy a classical acoustic, which is now looking very likely, I’ll end up far preferring it to my electric after a while! The right hand is the big issue though, I really will need to learn that right from scratch...

PS I didn’t try bending a string in case I was thrown out the shop!
 
Tony, out of interest, did you support it in classical style (body on left thigh), or as you would a steel strung guitar (body typically against the right thigh)?
 
Whaleblue said:
Tony, out of interest, did you support it in classical style (body on left thigh), or as you would a steel strung guitar (body typically against the right thigh)?
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Like a normal guitar. I am such a pleb. Didn’t even occur to me to try a ‘classical stance’! I tend to play guitar sitting cross-legged on the floor like a hippy as that’s where my little Roland MicroCube amp is, though I can obviously play an acoustic anywhere. I really hate straps and playing bass/guitar standing up, so I’m half way there!

PS Anyone got any feelings about matt vs. gloss finish? I’m a little worried a matt finish would wear and look tatty a lot faster, i.e. go shiny in places. I’ve kind of got my eye on a Hanika 56PC which is gloss body, matt top. I’d prefer fully gloss, but they seem a lot dearer.
 
You might find that matt vs. gloss has an impact on the sound, as well as looks/durability. Worth checking out.

Anyway, I’m waaaay too precious about my guitars. I’d be a better player if I just got on and played them, rather than fussing over whether they’ll get any minor scratches or the like...
 
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