Nylon strung guitars

JanekLubanski · April 2020

Need advice please. I've ditched the plectrum and started playing more acoustic fingerstyle. Like, a version of pima that classical players use. I would like to try it out on a nylon strung guitar. The problem in the past has been the wide nut width of the guitars that I managed to try prior to lockdown. So I'm after a nylon guitar....smaller nut (no more than 48/50mm).....hopefully with a slightly shorter scalelength than 650mm....don't particularly need pickup/amplification.....classical or crossover......new or s/h...budget £500.

Any suggestions?
Thank you.

ArchtopDave · April 2020

Yamaha NX series. A bit over budget new, but Godin make nice electric nylon strung guitars.

GTC · April 2020

You might like to try the LAG Tramontane Nylon range. They are nice guitars and great value for money - and have the benefit for a steel string player of having a 46mm nut width. Even the more expensive ones (e.g. the electro-acoustic with cutaway 270 model) would just fall within your budget new. There are some on eBay at the moment.

They have a 650mm scale length - but anything shorter and you are probably going to have to restrict your choice to 7/8 size guitars. I find that standard nylon string sets do not take as readily to scale length variations as steel strings.

I had one of LAG's cheaper nylon models - the TN70A - which I bought specifically to see what a 46mm felt like on a nylon-strung guitar and it was fine. I usually go for 45mm or 46mm on steel strung.

If you were to double (and a bit) your budget then I would strongly recommend the Furch Grand Nylon - which has a 45mm nut width and the most beautifully balanced acoustic sound I've come across on a nylon-strung guitar. I have the SW2 model (spruce / walnut).

domforr · April 2020

I was looking for something very similar and the Cordoba Dolce was the recommendation on this forum. The C9 or C10 parlours are nicer but a bit out of your price bracket unless you can find second hand. I ended up getting a 70's Matano Japanese classical which had the short scale and neck width. The old Japanese guitars seem to offer good value but meeting your specs might be an issue (I was lucky as it's a one off by the maker).

DulcetJones · April 2020

I recently bought a 3/4 size Fender "Classic Design" CN 60S classical guitar that has a 45mm nut. These are priced very reasonably, I bought it to have as a kind of living room guitar. Some days I pick it up just to noodle around quietly while watching TV and find myself an hour later still playing it and ignoring the TV.

Creed_Clicks · April 2020

DulcetJones said:

I recently bought a 3/4 size Fender "Classic Design" CN 60S classical guitar that has a 45mm nut. These are priced very reasonably, I bought it to have as a kind of living room guitar. Some days I pick it up just to noodle around quietly while watching TV and find myself an hour later still playing it and ignoring the TV.

Was thinking about that myself to have lying around to record basic ideas, but I suppose it's just as easy to buy a full size as it is a 3/4 size...

JanekLubanski · April 2020

Thanks for all the suggestions. Some of which are immediately not viable due to cost. (£500 is my very top price). I've got my eye on an Ortega with a 590mm scalelength, 45mm nut and a truss rod!
The Fender CN60S interests me also......the 643mm scalelength might be ok. Are you sure that the nut is 45mm DulcetJones?
All the specs that I can find suggests its 1.69 inches (43mm)......too narrow maybe for a nylon....even for me.

Creed_Clicks · April 2020

What would the main difference be between a 3/4 and 7/8 sized nylon guitars? Doesn't seem to be a whole lot just looking at the videos of them....

GTC · April 2020

Creed_Clicks said:

What would the main difference be between a 3/4 and 7/8 sized nylon guitars? Doesn't seem to be a whole lot just looking at the videos of them....

Generally, a larger body and a longer scale length - and, for Ortega, the nut width. The Ortega 3/4 size has a 590mm scale and a 45mm nut - the 7/8 size has a 615mm scale and also a larger nut (47mm). Prices are virtually identical.

The 3/4 option comes with a set of Savarez strings designed for nylon-strung guitars with a short scale length. I've tried using standard HT strings before on a 3/4 guitar and, to me, they didn't sound as good as a set specially made for a 3/4 guitar.

The 7/8 option with the longer scale comes with the same Savarez HT strings as the full-size equivalent (which Ortega do with both a 48mm and 52mm nut width).

DulcetJones · April 2020

JanekLubanski said:

Are you sure that the nut is 45mm DulcetJones?
All the specs that I can find suggests its 1.69 inches (43mm)......too narrow maybe for a nylon....even for me.

My eye sight might have missed a couple of mm's, I measured with an old ruler and got 1 3/4" and then converted it online. It is narrow for a nylon string considering my main classical is a full size with 2" nut that I played literally hundreds of gigs with a few years ago. I have been having some arthritis in the cold weather and playing that guitar was becoming a problem. So when I picked the CS up at the store and started noodling around on it I fell in love with it right away even though I struggled a bit with the string spacing. Now it's the only nylon string I play. I stopped gigging in that capacity a while back so it's fun to see what I can still remember from my old rep.

JanekLubanski · April 2020

Keep the suggestions coming folks. I've been looking online at Thoman. Maybe not to immediately purchase anything but the site does give specs on all of their guitars which makes it easier to compare between specs.

What I really need is a few hours in local guitar shops actually playing a few guitars!!

JanekLubanski · April 2020

I wouldn't mind having a play on this for size and sound.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/la_mancha_rubinito_lsm_63_cen.htm

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