3/4 Classical Options

stevebrum · September 2021

My 9 year old daughter is having guitar lessons at school this term. With zero guidance from the school I’ve done a bit of research and this looks a decent option.

https://www.peachguitars.com/guitars/classical-guitars/cordoba-c1m-3-4-size.htm

Should I be looking at anything else?

Budget is £150ish I know you can get cheaper but I don’t mind starting her with a better quality guitar.

Cheers

drofluf · September 2021

No experience of that model but Córdoba alongside Yamaha seem to come out well in “best beginner’s classical guitar” questions on discussion boards.

Mellish · September 2021

That looks a decent start-up guitar @Stevebrum. You may or may not need a setup tweak but that's no problem. Wishing your daughter well in her guitar-playing future.

stevebrum · September 2021

Thanks both - the advice from school was a 3/4 or full size classical depending on the age of the child.

I know my guitars are a bit big for her so 3/4 size will be right - that’s backed up by the online research I’ve done which says full size generally from 12/13 onwards…

stevebrum · September 2021

I did see this as well:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/epiphone-pro-1-classic-3-4-size-nylon-string-guitar-antique-natural-eac3anch1?

Epiphone aren’t known for classical guitars but it seems decent…

Gilly · September 2021

You could also have a look at Altamira and Paco Castillo, which get good reviews. They also do 7/8 size, which might might suit better than 3/4 depending on how tall your daughter is.

Mellish · September 2021

If it was MY daughter, I'd ask her which one she wanted. It would be even better if she could try them.

stevebrum · September 2021

Mellish said:

If it was MY daughter, I'd ask her which one she wanted. It would be even better if she could try them.

Thanks she’ll definitely get a say in it - just trying to narrow down the options. She’d probably choose on colour

so I’m drafting a shortlist of potentials.

Gilly said:

You could also have a look at Altamira and Paco Castillo, which get good reviews. They also do 7/8 size, which might might suit better than 3/4 depending on how tall your daughter is.

Thanks, I’d looked at 7/8ths but not those brands. Will check them out. I think she’s about average height for her age but very petite, small hands etc.

Mellish · September 2021

I'm sure you'll ensure she gets a good guitar, that's the main thing. If only MY dad had done the same for me!

ICBM · September 2021

A 3/4-size with at least a 24" scale and 45mm nut - which the Cordoba has - will be fine all the way up to adult size hands if you want, so if she can handle that size already it will be fine.

It will be a big quality step above the Lauren/Kapok/other also-ran type brands at about £60-£75, anyway.

guitarmangler · September 2021

Any 3/4 size to start. The parent in me would suggest cheap and budget for a better one later on (when/if they continue). Best thing you can do for any young beginner is get the hight of the nut down as low as possible.

sev112 · September 2021

guitarmangler said:

Any 3/4 size to start. The parent in me would suggest cheap and budget for a better one later on (when/if they continue). Best thing you can do for any young beginner is get the hight of the nut down as low as possible.

And some low tension strings. My daughter is 17 now and I think I bought her 3/4 classical when she was about 9. It was quite a cheapie, but it had a low action and easy to pick and fret the strings. I still pick it up and play occasionally - it’s like a big Uke and quite good fun.

question for OP : what do you imagine she is going to play ? Classical or simple strummed chords ? My daughter never took to the 6 string but she nicked my Uke a couple of years later , taught herself to play it via YouTube and then started writing songs, and moved onto my old fender dreadnaught which she had zero problems transitioning to overnight and which she is now always playing. But what really kick started her was picking up the Uke, as it was so much easier (and smaller) for her to learn.

Many of us are snobs about Ukes, but they can be a much easier stepping stone

stevebrum · September 2021

It’s small group lessons @sev112 so I’m unsure of the format but she has to get 6 strings, and they’ve asked for classical.

She’s had a Uke - used more as a toy and I’ve always ensured there’s a guitar lying around for them to play with. If she doesn’t take to it there’s the second born who might use it, and if she doesn’t there’s me and the dog!

I quite fancy messsing with a classical tbh, I can get all Oh Well Part 2 with it…

BillDL · September 2021

For £150 these days you can get a much better guitar without many compromises than when I started out, or even 15 years ago. Guitarists are now becoming accustomed to guitars that use alternative types of wood in their construction rather than the more expensive and harder to source cedar, close-grained spruce, good proper mahogany, and rosewood that were making guitars much more expensive for many years. Even "engineered wood" is now commonplace for fingerboards on budget to medium price guitars. It's cheaper, more stable (I think), and feels fine to me. I have a couple of acoustics with man-made composite material for fretboards and I like the feel and look of them.

From a personal viewpoint I have always advocated a steel strung guitar as the first guitar, but that has been for children a couple of years older than your daughter. My reasoning is that classical strings take ages to stretch in before the tuning stabilises. In general they don't go any more out of tune after this as a steel string as long as they are kept in a case or bag (something else you need to factor into the cost) and not bumped, but my experience is that beginners find it harder to fine-tune and hear dissonance on the less strident and more muted ring of nylon strings. I also tend to find that young beginners quickly grow tired of playing single notes and chord fragments and want to strum, and inexpert strumming of a classical guitar is seldom as rewarding as the same on a steel string.

Obviously you have to bear in mind that steel strings are harder on the fingers and feel like a hard-boiled egg slicer, but I have strung up steel strung acoustics with much lighter gauge strings than usually found on such guitars (example 10s rather than 12s) or with silk and steel type "folk" strings and younger people managed quite well on them. I have never taught anybody as young as 9 though.

As far as brand is concerned, the Cordoba C1M is a good choice and I believe is a much better choice than the ever popular Yamaha CS40 and C40 that are probably the most commonly sold "starter classicals" in 3/4 and full size respectively. Cordoba also have truss rods in their classical guitars. Purists shun this, but it can be useful if you ever change from normal tension to high tension strings or need to correct a bow that has developed in the guitar neck. I have an old classical that I wish had a truss rod because it would mean the difference between getting a sore hand and putting it away in frustration and carrying on playing and enjoying it.

Most acoustic guitars at this price point are made from laminated woods, as is the Cordoba C1M. There's nothing wrong with that, and it will be more resilient to being bumped around a bit than the softer and weaker solid wood guitars. You would generally have to go up past £200 to start getting solid wooden tops that may or may not sound better.

stevebrum · September 2021

Thanks @BillDL ;

They have the Cordoba locally so we will check it out as it seems a good spec/price and we can compare to the Yamaha offering.

Re. steel strings there’s a Taylor Big Baby waiting for her when she’s older if she wants to keep playing, and she’ll have access to all my electric guitars.

Her favourite at the moment is Dano ‘63 which I think is a 3/4 or at least short scale.

Mellish · September 2021

@stevebrum. That's good mate. Nice to know she's got a dad like you.

stevebrum · September 2021

Mellish said:s

@stevebrum. That's good mate. Nice to know she's got a dad like you.

Thanks. I’m far from a perfect parent, but I strive to give them both opportunities. If they take them that’s up to them. I’m also conscious of not being a pushy parent - it’s a fine line which I hope I haven’t crossed.

The Daughter in question is very stubborn and I don’t think we could force her to do anything she didn’t want to. We will have to see how guitar goes - there’s no pressure.

All things being equal she’ll be a black belt in karate and have grade 1 piano by the age 10. Nothing remarkable lots of kids achieve the same and younger, but in comparison to her old man she’ll have achieved more on paper (recreationally) than I’ve done in a lifetime!

I’m a proud Dad but equally try not to be a Dad bore; all kids do great things in different ways.

Mellish · September 2021

Well if she finds guitar playing is not for her, you'll have another in your collection - a different set of skills to learn. Either way you'll be happy.

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3/4 Classical Options

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