I want to buy my first classical guitar...need some help?

[BernardAlbrecht]

OK guys, here goes. I'm teaching myself classical guitar and so I really want a decent, dedicated classical guitar to hand. Currently learning on a cheap steel-string acoustic and it's not particularly the best for set-up or intonation.

 

So, what is available (if anything) for 250 or so dollars? I don't want to spend too much until I've covered the basics.

[GuitarVlog]

Yamaha, a used instrument, Cordoba, and LaPatrie ... in that order.

 

If I had to start all over again, I'd buy the all-laminate Yamaha C40 for $150 and mod it the way I did (bone nut & saddle, Savarez 540ARJ strings, action adjustment) and then I'd just use that for the first 2-3 years. Of course, you'll catch a lot of flack from the cork-sniffers with this guitar but all my teachers and friends gave it a big thumbs-up.

 

Yamaha has some nice new 2010 solid-top models in a matte finish in your price range but I haven't played them.

 

$250 can get you a good used classical with a solid-top but you need experience to evaluate which ones are in good shape and won't give you grief. If you have someone to help, that would be great. I got a used all-solid for $210 that originally sold for $1100. That was at the height of the recession.

 

The Cordoba C5 can be a perceptible step-up from the Yamahas but it starts at $299. GC will sell it for $249 without the gig-bag. A 15% sale will take it down to $254. Cordoba has greater variability in their quality so this is one brand that I'd want to play first before buying. Check the necks. Check the fret-dressing.

 

Cordoba now has a less-expensive C3 available but I haven't played it. The CP110 pack is also a possibility but examine the guitar well (it had a reputation for the bridge pulling off).

 

IMHO, LaPatrie has quality control that is close to Yamaha but their guitars lack a brightness that I prefer. Still, the Etude ($349) is worth considering and might be found at a discount close to your price.

[kbar422]

I would strongly recommend checking out the NS series that Taylor offers. They play more like a steel string but use nylon strings. The bodies arent a small "parlor classical" body either. Try to find one and check it out. The NS24ce has taylor electronics and a cutaway, and you should be able to pick one up for fairly cheep. Shoot me an email I have some great deals and im sure well be able to find you a great guitar for a great price.

[GuitarVlog]

 

I would strongly recommend checking out the NS series that Taylor offers.

 

These are hybrids and they start at $900 new. They sound best plugged-in. Acoustically, I prefer my Yamaha C40 to a Taylor NS.

 

If you do want a hybrid, I'm sure others will chime-in with recommendations in the $250 range.

[TN.Frank]

Here's a whole page full in the $200-$300 range.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/acoustic-classical-nylon-guitars?N=100001+330619+9&Ns=P_Price%7c0&rpp=20

If I were going to buy one I'd give this one a serious look. I had a guitar with Bubinga wood and it was beautiful.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Manuel-Rodriguez-Caballero-11-Cedar-Top-Classical-Guitar?sku=514319

[steamo]

Its great to see somebody looking for advice on their first guitar without including the 'i want something top quality dirt cheap' sort of sentence. As for the guitars, I've had nothing but good experiences with the yamaha classical guitars at various price levels including budget models.

[garthman]

Its great to see somebody looking for advice on their first guitar without including the 'i want something top quality dirt cheap' sort of sentence. As for the guitars, I've had nothing but good experiences with the yamaha classical guitars at various price levels including budget models.

 

Hello & Welcome

 

I completely agree

[Misha]

I like the La Patrie Concert. http://www.nantelmusique.ca/product796_9/la-patrie-concert.aspx

[sixgunner455]

A used Yamaha will do just fine to start. A hybrid, while it may be a great instrument for certain purposes, isn't the instrument to use to learn classical guitar, because it isn't really a classical guitar.

 

I played a Cordoba C5 that just made me cry, it was so beautiful. Should have bought it.

 

In your price range, get a Yamaha or Cordoba.

[10ae1203]

I played a C5 today when getting some books. It was pretty nice. Robust.

 

I don't have the 43 bucks I spent on books. I had no business playing guitars. Just the same, It was nice.

[blue2blue]

OK guys, here goes. I'm teaching myself classical guitar and so I really want a decent, dedicated classical guitar to hand. Currently learning on a cheap steel-string acoustic and it's not particularly the best for set-up or intonation. So, what is available (if anything) for 250 or so dollars? I don't want to spend too much until I've covered the basics.

My primary classical is an old Yamaha G130a that I bought used in '74 for a pittance.

 

Along the way I bought a pretty little classical that I initially liked but just never played and it's been sitting in the back of a closet pretty much.

 

Recently I ended up with a credit at an online music store and picked up a Rodriguez & Hijos classical. It's an affordable model (Caballero 11) with lam S&B but a solid top -- but very well user reviewed. The surfaces of the S&B are bubinga and its quite beautiful. (The sound really needs to open up but I suspect in a few years it will be very nice.) The neck is beautiful, super clean, intonation great.

 

What's the gotchya, I can feel you asking.

 

The neck is 5 milimeters wider (that's like not much at all) than my Yamaha. And the shape of the neck is not as rounded as my Yamaha.

 

When I first got it, I really enjoyed playing it... played it for hours.

 

And ended up with really nasty left thumb tendinitis. I thought it was just that first session and I put the guitar aside until the pain subsided. After a couple weeks, I picked it back up and played for 45 minutes or an hour. I could feel the pain returning -- even as I was still playing.

 

This time, the tendinitis lasted for like 10 days and only then really started subsiding.

 

So I restrung my old Yammie (the Saverez Rouge on it were lookin' and feelin' pretty over) and spent a half hour with it. No pain. I played another hour. Next day, everything was about as it had been the previous, just the faintest pain left over from the Rodriquez. Nothing extra.

 

It's only 5 millimeters and a fairly subtle neck shape difference -- and most of the people who bought the Rodriguezes really liked them. But there's gonna be a barely used one on the market any day now, I'm afraid.

 

(I was reluctant to buy a guitar unplayed. I actually bought two that day, the other a Silver Creek [MF house brand] auditorium that I really like, so, you know, 1 for 2, eh? )

 

 

Mind you, while I noticed the neck diff right away, I didn't think it would be a problem and thought I might enjoy the tiny extra bit of wiggle room on the fretboard.

 

But, turned out, it was a real issue.

 

For that reason, I would suggest really shopping around and playing as many different classicals as you can.

[GuitarVlog]

 

It's only 5 millimeters and a fairly subtle neck shape difference -- and most of the people who bought the Rodriguezes really liked them. But there's gonna be a barely used one on the market any day now, I'm afraid.

 

blue2blue's experience is not uncommon and it's good that he brought it up. Neck profile and subtle width differences can be problems for some folks. The Spanish labels prefer their necks to be a bit wider with a D-profile. Yamaha is just a little narrower (actually the classical standard) with a shallow D-profile. Cordoba and LaPatrie have more of a C-profile.

 

I know that I like a shallow C-profile that I encountered on a luthier's signature guitar; but I haven't encountered problems (yet) with any of the different necks that I've played.

 

BTW, I think the Caballero 11 is still made in Spain but I believe all the lower models are now made in China. Rodriguez y Hijos got some bad trade press in Spain when they decided to outsource their low-end production.

 

You'll note that I did not recommend the guitars from Rodriguez y Hijos. That's because I think they're a bit overpriced for what you get unless you value a "Made in Spain" label over performance.

[Galabar]

This might be a good one for $329.99:

 

http://www.amazon.com/La-Patrie-Guitar-Presentation-QI/dp/B001QOGLSO

[blue2blue]

blue2blue's experience is not uncommon and it's good that he brought it up. Neck profile and subtle width differences can be problems for some folks. The Spanish labels prefer their necks to be a bit wider with a D-profile. Yamaha is just a little narrower (actually the classical standard) with a shallow D-profile. Cordoba and LaPatrie have more of a C-profile. I know that I like a shallow C-profile that I encountered on a luthier's signature guitar; but I haven't encountered problems (yet) with any of the different necks that I've played. BTW, I think the Caballero 11 is still made in Spain but I believe all the lower models are now made in China. Rodriguez y Hijos got some bad trade press in Spain when they decided to outsource their low-end production. You'll note that I did not recommend the guitars from Rodriguez y Hijos . That's because I think they're a bit overpriced for what you get unless you value a "Made in Spain" label over performance.

Yeah, the Cab 11 is Spanish-made. I'll be frank, as pretty as the thing is, I don't think I would have bought it in a store.

 

As it was, it was an impulse buy as I was putting in the order for the Silver Creek T160 steel auditorium I mentioned above (which I'm really lovin')... the write-up on the Rodriguez and Sons was so nice, the user reviews so glowing...

 

At the time the Cab 11 was $50 more than the Silver Creek, but the SC has now gone up from $200 [i think that was a special, special deal, normal sale price seems to be $250] to $300.

 

My particular T160 has beautiful work and fit from the factory and now that I have some proper Martin Light/Medium .0125's on it, I love the sound.

 

But beneath the evenly applied finish, the underlyihng wood, both the top and back, has milling marks, pretty noticeable ones. I don't buy guitars for looks, though, especially not cheap ones, and I'm otherwise delighted, so I didn't even consider taking MF up on their no-questions return policy for a new copy. I mean, how'd you like to send back something you love the sound and play of based on looks and then get something that looks good but just isn't up to the other's sound? [i sort of imagined the QC guy at the factory going, "Gee, this doesn't look so good but it plays great. It'd be a shame to trash it." And I'm glad he didn't. ] And, really, I'd already bonded with it. When I bond with a guitar, it's pretty chemical.

 

Mail order guitars, what can you say? Kind of a crap shoot.

[bigald18]

Yamaha makes well built decent sounding inexpensive classicals.

 

BigAl

[Pascal]

What's your budget in British Pounds? While $250 is about 150 GBP, 150 GBP rarely gets you a $250 guitar. More often than not, what you get is a $150 guitar...

 

This said, I would agree that around this budget, Yamaha might be your safest bet. Check out the Thomann website, they usually have so good prices and are trustworthy: http://www.thomann.de/gb/cat_PG_1.html?gf=4-4_size_classical_guitars&oa=pra

[fatback]

 

What's your budget in British Pounds? While $250 is about 150 GBP, 150 GBP rarely gets you a $250 guitar. More often than not, what you get is a $150 guitar... This said, I would agree that around this budget, Yamaha might be your safest bet. Check out the Thomann website, they usually have so good prices and are trustworthy: http://www.thomann.de/gb/cat_PG_1.html?gf=4-4_size_classical_guitars&oa=pra

 

 

Agree - as rule of thumb I would expect a $250 guitar to cost

[Pascal]

The $250-300 Cordoba C5 seems to be available in the UK for just under 300GBP ($480)

 

The $250 Rodriguez guitar recommended above goes for 200GBP at Thomann (i.e., $320 excl. shipping, I guess)... and they usually have the most competitive prices in Europe.

 

The La Patrie Etude seems to go for 370GBP in the UK, i.e. $600.

[ccasey]

+1 for Yamaha for entry level. I was able to spring for the cheapest solid top they make, which I think was more than you're talking about spending, but I was very happy with it, and my teacher was quite impressed (he played a Ramirez or something). Doubt you'd go wrong with a Yammie.

Chris

[thankyou]

Another vote for Yamaha. My wife bought me a really nice one for an anniversary several years ago. Rosewood body, cedar top with the peizo/mic setup. It has a really long model number that I can't remember, and was almost four times the price you are seeking. It's my go-to acoustic. I have played the lower end Yammies and they are all of good quality. They don't make junk.