How to tell a good classical guitar?

[whiskey02]

I play both jazz and bossa nova. These days I rarely play my ES335 since I'd rather play my classical. I have a Cordoba GK Studio, which I am getting more and more frustrated with. I will be going to both Tokyo and Osaka in the spring and am thinking about buying a decent Japanese classical guitar. BTW, I am in NYC so there might be some good vendors right here? But how do I tell a good one? On an electric I can tell.

I don't think anyone has attempted to answer the OP's question.
A good classical has what can only be described as an amazingly fantastic rich full midrange. This midrange extends down to about the sixth or seventh fret on the low E string where a firm but not overpowering or booming bass kicks in, and it extends up to the same 6,7th fret on the high e string where the treble starts to distinguish itself again without overpowering the notes below. The first thing to test for is to simply play each open string with exactly even force and you will often find the g string puts out a little less volume than the others. Put this guitar right back on the rack and walk away. Strum some 6 note closely voiced chords at the bottom of the fretboard, very single note should be distinct and clearly heard simultaneously, it should not be just a wash of sound. This is extremely important. When you pluck a note, the guitar should respond instantly, listen for a delay for the note to "bloom" and again walk away if you don't get an instant response. Where you play with your right hand effects the timber you'll draw from the guitar, a really good classic will be very responsive to right hand placement, moving your hand just an inch will change the timber. On a poor guitar you will have to make large right hand position changes to evoke a change. It should also respond to minute changes of plucking force with changes in volume. As a broad and general rule, good spruce is more expensive than good cedar, so you can score a "better" cedar top at the same $ than spruce.

[pima1234]

^ Absolutely agree.

Good reply.

By the way, those string tieblocks work very well.

[mississippi]

Thanks Flat. No I didn't know about Ochanomizu. I have never actually been to Tokyo. I spent a year in Osaka and Kyoto about 30 years ago and this is my first time back. It is something I always said I would do but my wife never wanted to go. So I decided that it is "now or never" so I booked a fight into Tokyo for Cherry Blossom festival and plan on getting a japan rail pass. I plan to pretty much skip Kyoto and Osaka (and Kobe and Himeji) and Okinawa since I have been to those places many times (albiet not in a long time). My plan it to do Hiroshima, Tokyo, and then Sapporo, but mostly to hang out under the cherry blossoms. I will be going it alone since my wife doesn't want to go and my sister only wants to go on a guided tour (ie big $). I will definately check out Ochanomizu.

Just wondering, did you ever get to Ochanomizu?
Next time I'm in Tokyo I intend to visit the area.