Nylon vs steel string

thomasross20

Interested to hear thoughts on decent nylon string guitars. I see Taylor does a whole range with fret markers. I used to have a Yamaha flamenco which was good.
Interested in ones with cutaway and electrics built in. Might be a phase I'm going through..

axisus

I rather enjoy playing dead cheap nylon strung guitars, as long as you can set a reasonable action if necessary. I don't think I'd ever buy an expensive one personally. I'm currently scouring local junk shops as I quite fancy one, they sometimes turn up for 30-40 quid and usually look like they could be made playable.

thomasross20

Dear God... I just played two Taylornylons. 214 was OK but the 514 was VERY well put together, sounded amazing and played like butter. Problem is, it's £2070! I'm sure there are others I need to try. If I go down the flamenco route I might want to consider a proper flamenco guitar. £2k seeks expensive but wow... It was amazing. Almost religious - and MUCH easier to play than the surely string guitars.
So tempted..

mellowsun

The Yamaha NCX1200 is very nice. Still quite pricey though. As is the wonderful Cordoba GK Negra

https://www.cordobaguitars.com/p/gk-pro-negra

ArchtopDave

Godin are always worth considering, especially as you're looking for a cutaway and electrics. There are versions with electric style fretboards with a radius, or with a flat wider classical style fretboard.

thomasross20

Well, after trying GG Edinburgh I tried the same store in Glasgow and also Kenny's Music (I know there are other stores but I got there late and I know where those two are). 

Yamaha NTX700 - didn't play as good as I thought it might. Action got higher as you went up the frets. Maybe a set-up would have helped but it was enough to put me off. I tried a few other "cheap" guitars and it was the same story.

Godin ACS guitars - played well (wide fingerboard, though) and good option to plug into Roland Synth etc but think I prefer something with a soundhole. Very good though and would check out Godin again, for sure. 

Taylor nylon series. I tried one AMAZING (no-cut) £2800 (!!) 814 series. Looked stunning and felt absolutely perfect. Very well set up and great sound. The 214 was ok but nothing to write home about. Tried the single-cut version of the 814 - similar price but didn't play as well. Goes to show just how individual guitars can be!! The 514 I tried in the Edinburgh store was inspirational. 

Had a chat with the guys and they agree Larrivee are pretty damn good - I'm going to go to a lower string gauge because I'm not able to do the fancy stuff like I was able to on the nylon strung guitars. At the end of the day, I would love the 514 or the 814 but at over £1k (and near £3k!!) for something that might be a passing fancy, I think I'll give the whole thing a miss (for now?). 

The Taylor ones were really good, I must say. I saw a Martin one but it didn't have fret markers (I like the look of those on the Taylor series). These nylon strung guitars that play like electrics are great, but if I wanted it for some flamenco, the bracing is different, those guitars don't have the double scratchplate, and wont have the projection like a flamenco guitar does. 

So - it was a good experience and I'll probably follow up again at some point but I wouldn't buy unless it was one of those special ones, and they cost more than I'm willing to part with. An interesting point I made above... I tried a few versions of the same guitar and slight differences I could pick up on... another reason why I'm loathe to buy a guitar without having played it. So - off to give the Larrivee a low string gauge... Maybe I'll revisit the 514 with my Christmas bonus but I don't know if it's justifiable. You can tell I want to, though

thomasross20

The Godin website really highlights just how many different types of guitars they do!! It's almost overwhelming!

(Carvin is another of those brands I hear is good but have never tried)

thomasross20

Woooah, just checked out that pro negra guitar, looks amazing!

BigMonka

A Godin is the only 'proper' nylon guitar I've played, and it was just beautiful - so easy to play and a really lovely tone through a decent acoustic amp or unplugged. Personally I can't think of a situation where I'd need one over a steely though, so it wouldn't be a justifiable cost.