Buying a new classical guitar?

Hi
U'll have to mic it up when u perform whatever guitar u get, but if ur taking it seriously make sure u get a concert guitar, rather than just a high end student one cos aside from better tone and playability they're much LOUDER. Maybe have a look on ebay- something good often pops up!
Having said that i recently had to perform the rodrigo aranjuez on a borrowed (cracked neck) Tehrada, cos no one would hire a concert guitar and i certainly couldn't afford to buy one. Surprisingly, mic'ed nicely sounded lovely!
Hope that helps u

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I play/played classical to grade 8 (with flamenco too) and have a Tanglewood, the model etc I am not sure about as my guitar teacher purchased it for me, I think it was around £450 - £500, I would give you the model etc but I live in London now and my guitar is at my home up north

Good evening folks,
I'm in the market for a new classical guitar with a budget of £350-£650, full size classical, with nylon strings
I was wondering if any of you had some recommendations, or know any good stores in the cheshire region that i could check out.
I've been playing for 11 years now, at grade 7 standard, along with some flamenco.


Many thanks,

With classical guitars, unlike acoustics, its usually the obscure spanish instruments that are one offs in music shops etc rather than big names like Gibson and Taylor guitars. Your budget is ideal. To get a nice classical I'd say you need a minimum of 300 pounds so you may even be able to go a bit lower if you have to. I can't really help much as you have to check out the guitar, I wouldn't recommend buying one online

Wow, nice! I'll take a look at the tanglewood brand, as that is my price bracket. I think ebay is always worth looking at too. Many thanks

Yeah i don't think mic'ing it up would be a problem, i would much rather have an acoustic as opposed to an electro-acoustic, as i don't want to spend even more money that i haven't got on an amp. Thanks for your response!

With classical guitars, unlike acoustics, its usually the obscure spanish instruments that are one offs in music shops etc rather than big names like Gibson and Taylor guitars. Your budget is ideal. To get a nice classical I'd say you need a minimum of 300 pounds so you may even be able to go a bit lower if you have to. I can't really help much as you have to check out the guitar, I wouldn't recommend buying one online

Jose ferrer concert grande Around 300 great quality.

This too is true, I remember going into a shop and playing the most amazing sounding classical, and it was around the £300 mark. Such a nice guitar...




Called my Dad and he said he recalls it being £400 (his memory isn't that great), if anything i'd say pop into a guitar shop and just play them

No don't go near electro acoustics. Ever in fact- and i say that as a predominantly electric guitarist..
And mic goes straight to venue PA so no amp is involved either way i don't think. Oh yeah and i seem to remember that flamenco guitars r different to classicals so make sure u kno what style u want to pursue in greatest depth before u choose the right guitar. Happy strummin

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Thanks for the advice, yeah i'll steer clear of Electro acoustics, although i am taken by the cut-away feature
Indeed, flamenco guitars are different, however i'm not doing much flamenco, but i am learning a new piece at the moment, (not enough flamenco to justify a flamenco guitar, though)
Thanks again

Oh yeah i liked the cut away idea too, but u won't need it cos even the highest parts of the rodrigo don't go as high as rock solos and stuff. And they supposedly detract from the sound. Best of luck (i love talking about guitars so if there's anything else feel free to ask!)

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Good evening folks,
I'm in the market for a new classical guitar with a budget of £350-£650, full size classical, with nylon strings
I was wondering if any of you had some recommendations, or know any good stores in the cheshire region that i could check out.
I've been playing for 11 years now, at grade 7 standard, along with some flamenco.


Many thanks,

Hi
U'll have to mic it up when u perform whatever guitar u get, but if ur taking it seriously make sure u get a concert guitar, rather than just a high end student one cos aside from better tone and playability they're much LOUDER. Maybe have a look on ebay- something good often pops up!
Having said that i recently had to perform the rodrigo aranjuez on a borrowed (cracked neck) Tehrada, cos no one would hire a concert guitar and i certainly couldn't afford to buy one. Surprisingly, mic'ed nicely sounded lovely!
Hope that helps u

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

Hi, I play classical guitar too and have had several instruments over the years. I'm sorry to say but the upper end of you budget will only get you a nice student standard guitar, not that they're bad instruments (they'll easily take you through grade 8 and a bit beyond). When you're looking for a guitar in this price region though, pay attention to the materials it is made out of, you want to get a guitar that has its back and sides made out of solid wood (usually Indian rosewood) as opposed to wood veneers (where slices of wood are glued together). Solid wood *massively* improves the tone and projection of your instrument!




Don't be silly, you do not need to mic up a classical guitar -a well played guitar will fill most concert halls, so you don't need to make it any louder! Mic-ing up an instrument also ruins the quality of sound. When you play, the sound you make reverberates around whatever room you're in and 'evolves...' i.e. the overtones are more distinct, creating a richer sound... HOWEVER, putting a mic in-front of your instrument and blowing the audience's heads off like a pop musician, doesn't allow this to happen.

Hello schenker
Apologies but u really r wrong in so many ways-

Firstly u can pick up concert guitars for £400-500 if u kno where to look.

If u want to be a serious performer, a student guitar is pointless because it just will not give the same output of sound as a concert guitar. Though concert guitars are louder they are still not powerful to be heard prominently over an orchestra.

Guitars are not orchestral instruments simply because they are not loud enough. This is why when played with orchestras they are ALWAYS mic'ed. U can ask any professional performer this.

This technique will not "blow" anyone's head off.

I did say i was a predominantly electric guitarist, but i am a very able classical player too and i know a considerable amount about guitars if nothing else, so please do not contradict my advice!

(And ur comment about pop guitarists seemed rather derogatory, especially after u have named urself after a particularly famous one..)

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Hi, I play classical guitar too and have had several instruments over the years. I'm sorry to say but the upper end of you budget will only get you a nice student standard guitar, not that they're bad instruments (they'll easily take you through grade 8 and a bit beyond). When you're looking for a guitar in this price region though, pay attention to the materials it is made out of, you want to get a guitar that has its back and sides made out of solid wood (usually Indian rosewood) as opposed to wood veneers (where slices of wood are glued together). Solid wood *massively* improves the tone and projection of your instrument!

Hi here Schenker, thanks for the advice. As i'm only a student and spent almost all my savings on a mac, i don't have much more left to exceed by budget, however i do not want a 'student' guitar, as i am beginning to do performances. This is why i would be interested in getting a Second hand indian rosewood solid top guitar, which sound better with age.

Additionally, i've been performing Vivaldi's concerto in D, as per John Williams lately, have you seen the 10 minute clip on youtube? If not, i would advise you to watch it, it's beautiful.
here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBJ8BmFPt3U

Thanks again for the advice

Hmm well fair dos, but i stand by what i said about mic'ing. When i performed the rodrigo there was no way it could have been done without a mic (the conductor just couldn't hear me on my own). And it did sound nice once the EQ was nicely set, and it was in a church so mo prob with reverb!

And thru experience it's almost always better value for money to buy things second hand. Guitars get better with age! -i kno that if i had £600 i wouldn't waste it on a new student guitar i'd search around for something better that was pre-owned.

Bit about harps was interesting- tho disappointing. I think i hate harps almost as much as u hate pop. See infuriating sweeping generalisations r?

And by grade 7 JLXP will certainly be starting to consider more advanced performing with with either ensembles piano or orchestra so i definitely wouldn't rule out the mic factor now

Anyway i'm sure ur probably a really great player and best of luck with it, sorry to have rattled u

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