Acoustic Advice

chunkmonk

As an electric player, I’m currently considering buying an acoustic-electric  guitar but have limited knowledge.  Ideally  I’m after something with a slim neck profile and thinner body compared to a ‘traditional’ nylon string guitar, but apart from that open to any advice you have as to what options are out there…..

robinbowes

I went with a Yamaha NTX900FM, and I was really pleased with it.

It has a slimmer neck than a "classical" guitar, and the stock electrics sound excellent.

It's discontinued, but you should be able to get one second-hand (mine was s/h).

[removed Reverb link - it's a different model] Note: you want the NTX, not the NCX

HTH,

R.

drofluf

What’s your budget?

It might be worth playing a few to see what body size you prefer. I prefer smaller instruments and find larger bodies very uncomfortable to play. 

Why the electro part? Whilst a pickup is often a standard feature in many ranges they’re usually a cheap piezo and don’t sound great. 

chunkmonk

Thanks for the advice so far, I’m not 100% on the electric part (except for the idea these ‘normally’ are a half way point between electrics and acoustics) but the slim neck is must

Budget wise I’m really only looking to spend a couple of hundred at most if possible 

MartinB

Taylor are often a good shout for players coming from electric and wanting to keep that neck feel, but not so many models used will come into your budget, even used.

Tannin

It sounds as if you are after something with nylon strings. If that is the case, then you'll really struggle with a standard nylon-string guitar's huge 50mm or 52mm nut, flat fretboard, and (from an electric player's point of view) very high action. 

The magic word you are looking for is "crossover". A number of companies make nylon-string guitars especially for electric players. These have thinner necks, some fretboard curvature, and a lower action. Usually they also have a thinner body and some kind of pickup system. I won't recommend any particular make as I lack experience with them.

Gassage

You might want to look at the Godin hybrids- they're awesome....sort of loosely based upon the Chet Atkins nylon, but telecaster shaped.

chunkmonk

So from a hybrid/crossover  perspective what do people on here play, aside the Godins?  

ToneControl

chunkmonk said:

Thanks for the advice so far, I’m not 100% on the electric part (except for the idea these ‘normally’ are a half way point between electrics and acoustics) but the slim neck is must

Budget wise I’m really only looking to spend a couple of hundred at most if possible 

Did you decide on nylon strings?

chunkmonk

ToneControl said:

chunkmonk said:

Thanks for the advice so far, I’m not 100% on the electric part (except for the idea these ‘normally’ are a half way point between electrics and acoustics) but the slim neck is must

Budget wise I’m really only looking to spend a couple of hundred at most if possible 

Did you decide on nylon strings?

Yes 

ToneControl

I just bought one of these
Harley Benton Nashville Nylon NT – Thomann UK
They are £255 and play very well. Much more like an electric in feel than a normal classical, but make sure you get the bridge lowered and the nut tweaked whichever one you buy.
You can get a B-stock one for a little less, but sometimes they have a fault, like the one I just returned, but happily they had another so I've ordered that instead.

Tannin

I see that Furch make nylon string crossovers. Worth a look.

Soupman

What about a Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200N I believe is their nylon strung one, a few on fleabay for around the £300 mark.

chunkmonk

Soupman said:

What about a Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200N I believe is their nylon strung one, a few on fleabay for around the £300 mark.

I’m intrigued having never come across these ‘silent guitars’ before….does anyone have one and what are their thoughts? 

drofluf

chunkmonk said:

Soupman said:

What about a Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200N I believe is their nylon strung one, a few on fleabay for around the £300 mark.

I’m intrigued having never come across these ‘silent guitars’ before….does anyone have one and what are their thoughts? 

Here’s a sample of one being played https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CapMNos2zfo

ToneControl

chunkmonk said:

Soupman said:

What about a Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200N I believe is their nylon strung one, a few on fleabay for around the £300 mark.

I’m intrigued having never come across these ‘silent guitars’ before….does anyone have one and what are their thoughts? 

I have one
They are very well made, but more suited to listening on headphones to practice I think.

Not suitable for @chunkmonk anyway, since nut is 50mm wide, and fingerboard is flat, basically proper classical guitar style

Most I have seen used are £400-£600

guitarjack66

chunkmonk said:

Soupman said:

What about a Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200N I believe is their nylon strung one, a few on fleabay for around the £300 mark.

I’m intrigued having never come across these ‘silent guitars’ before….does anyone have one and what are their thoughts? 

They aren't very silent! They don't sound bad at all to my ears from those I've seen.

chunkmonk

So in a slight twist, would an archtop also be worthwhile option? Intrigued as to how these fit into the picture?  

Tannin

Almost certainly not. 

* Cheap archtops are truly awful things. I don't think anybody makes them anymore but they were rotten new and have not aged well. 

* Even a good archtop is deliberately designed not to have GOOD  tone but to have the SAME tone everywhere on the neck. This works well for certain jazz styles, for anything else ... not so much. Basically, what you get with an archtop is a guitar designed to give a dull plink-plink however you play it. 

(I want one, of course. I'm not sure what I'd find to do on it, but  since when has lack of suitability or lack of need ever stopped me in the past?)

chunkmonk

sir_strumalot

Tannin said:

Almost certainly not. 

* Cheap archtops are truly awful things. I don't think anybody makes them anymore but they were rotten new and have not aged well. 

* Even a good archtop is deliberately designed not to have GOOD  tone but to have the SAME tone everywhere on the neck. This works well for certain jazz styles, for anything else ... not so much. Basically, what you get with an archtop is a guitar designed to give a dull plink-plink however you play it. 

(I want one, of course. I'm not sure what I'd find to do on it, but  since when has lack of suitability or lack of need ever stopped me in the past?)

I think Ibanez sell some good budget archtops. Archtops were originally designed to cut through orchestras as rhythm instruments. You can get all kinds of tones out of them - if you use both pickups and don't have the treble dialled right down. I'm not sure if I'd be looking at one as a nylon string alternative though, they are very different beasts.