My nylons are killing me! (and ngd)

**Woody Sound** · 07-02-2021, 07:39 AM

No, not the kind on your legs, this kind. Latest acquisition is the Godin ACS slim neck. Really digging it, standard elec guitar neck with nylons.

Bottom row: Huipe traditional cypress body friction peg flamenco ; Godin (elec) ; anonymous 19th century guitar, flame maple body one-piece back ; Carvin CL450 koa (elec) ; Bartolex 10-string classical (elec). On top: vintage Kumalae soprano uke, koa ; Cordoba tenor uke, solid acacia (elec).

My nylons are killing me! (and ngd)-nylons-jpg

My nylons are killing me! (and ngd)-nylons-jpg

My nylons are killing me! (and ngd)-nylons2-jpg

**Shay** · 07-02-2021, 08:20 AM

Beautiful! Love the Benito Huipe. Is this the one that was listed a few months ago in Reverb? I was thinking of getting it...

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**Woody Sound** · 07-02-2021, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by Shay

Beautiful! Love the Benito Huipe. Is this the one that was listed a few months ago in Reverb? I was thinking of getting it...

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No, I bought it new around 35 years ago. It sounds incredible. And LOUD. I was thinking of installing those inner-geared pegs.

**Mark M.** · 07-02-2021, 08:28 AM

A nice collection!

**Shay** · 07-02-2021, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

No, I bought it new around 35 years ago. It sounds incredible. And LOUD. I was thinking of installing those inner-geared pegs.

I see what you're saying but I actually think that the friction pegs have their own vibe. Huipe is a fantastic guitar maker. There was a 2021 Cypress model just like this one on Reverb recently for around $500. Amazing find.

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**Woody Sound** · 07-02-2021, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by Shay

I see what you're saying but I actually think that the friction pegs have their own vibe. Huipe is a fantastic guitar maker. There was a 2021 Cypress model just like this one on Reverb recently for around $500. Amazing find.

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Oh s** that's an insane price!

**Woody Sound** · 07-02-2021, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Shay

I see what you're saying but I actually think that the friction pegs have their own vibe.

I was thinking of these:

Wittner Fine Tuning Peg Flamenco – Thomann United States

**Shay** · 07-02-2021, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

I was thinking of these:

Wittner Fine Tuning Peg Flamenco – Thomann United States

They're look really good. Please keep us posted about the differences if you'll decide to install them. One thing that comes to mind is that with friction pegs it probably takes longer to maintain stable tuning after restringing the guitar.

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**Shay** · 07-02-2021, 10:04 AM

This is the one I was talking about :

Benito Huipe Blanca/PegHeds Tuners Benito Huipe Blanca/PegHeds Tuners | Jack's Gear | Reverb

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**Woody Sound** · 07-02-2021, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by Shay

This is the one I was talking about :

Benito Huipe Blanca/PegHeds Tuners Benito Huipe Blanca/PegHeds Tuners | Jack's Gear | Reverb

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Oh man, I've have bought that! It already has the planetary tuners.

**Shay** · 07-02-2021, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

Oh man, I've have bought that! It already has the planetary tuners.

Thats what I was thinking as well.

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**jads57** · 07-02-2021, 11:30 AM

So do all of those guitars together equal the range of one big Harp? LOL!

Nice collection for sure. How do you like the Carvin Nylon as opposed to say your Godin Slim?

**Woody Sound** · 07-02-2021, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by jads57

Nice collection for sure. How do you like the Carvin Nylon as opposed to say your Godin Slim?

That's a great question jads, and that has really been clawing at me. My original thought was to replace the Carvin with the Godin, for really fast high-enegy latin tunes.

I've been longing for an electric nylon crossover at 1-3/4 nut. The Carvin is 1-7/8. It seems like everything in nylon crossovers are 1-7/8. So I'm giving a chance to the Godin, which is somewhere around 1-11/16, I don't know the exact spec. It's definitely easier to do quick-picking lines on the Godin, even sweep picking. AND it has a synth out. You can see the differece in string spacing in the pic below. It's more like solid-body with nylon strings and tone.

As far as sound/tone, the Carvin is better, especially if you want play quietly at home without plugging in. But amplified, with a little tweaking, on both the guitars' controls and the amp's, the Godin gets very close to the Carvin, but not quite, but close. *I* notice, but I don't think any casual listener would. The Carvin just sounds a bit more "authentic" to an acoustic git.

Of course my wife is saying "I THOUGHT ONE WOULD REPLACE THE OTHER, NOW YOU NEED BOTH???"

My nylons are killing me! (and ngd)-godin-vs-carvin-jpg

**citizenk74** · 07-02-2021, 01:18 PM

I'm beginning to see where you got your screen name, Woody! Congratulations on the Godin, and may you play it in good health!

**ronjazz** · 07-02-2021, 02:12 PM

What will your wife say when you buy a Roland GR-55?

**jads57** · 07-03-2021, 12:01 AM

Its what his wife says when he brings his girlfriend home that I'm worried about!

**Woody Sound** · 08-16-2021, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by ronjazz

What will your wife say when you buy a Roland GR-55?

I already have the GR-20 , and she actually likes that stuff, she thinks the guitar synth is cool. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to plug her electric violin into it. I don't think it can be done with the 1/4" out.

I recently made a little pedalboard for her with some chorus and rev/delay efx, and it makes her single violin sound like a full string section. Very cool for small budget theater pit jobs where they only hire one violin.

**zdub** · 08-16-2021, 08:03 AM

Missed this thread when you posted it last month. Curious about the Bartolex 10-string classical. How often do you play it? Do you just noodle around or adapt tunes you know or play composed music for the 10-string? Always loved Vincenzo Macaluso's 10-string guitar album.

**Woody Sound** · 08-16-2021, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by zdub

Missed this thread when you posted it last month. Curious about the Bartolex 10-string classical. How often do you play it? Do you just noodle around or adapt tunes you know or play composed music for the 10-string? Always loved Vincenzo Macaluso's 10-string guitar album.

I don't really do 10-string guitar pieces. My wife is a violinist, so I adapt/arrange piano or orchestral accompaniments for violin sonatas or concertos. From low E, I usually tune the last 4 down in whole steps. D, C, Bb, Ab, but I will change them slightly for a given arrangement. Not the usual 10 string tuning, it works for my arrangements. I haven't done much recently but we've have done things like Thais Meditation, The Swan, etc. Maybe I have done about a dozen. Makes for great wedding ceremony work, people rave. Took a back burner to our new focus on our music theater work, my big band, and she has her own string quartet and three orchestras. We still do them for weddings, our church, etc, but I haven't had the time to work out any more in years.

Would love to more of them when I retire in a couple of years.

ps The guy who distributes Bartolex here in the US wants me to publish these things, but I just don't have the time. I still have a full time job in acad visual media.

Thanks for your interest.

**nevershouldhavesoldit** · 08-16-2021, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

I already have the GR-20 , and she actually likes that stuff, she thinks the guitar synth is cool. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to plug her electric violin into it. I don't think it can be done with the 1/4" out.

I’ve been using Roland synths since the ‘90s and have the GI20/XV2020 in my studio setup and a GR20 for live performance. If you’re up for the effort (or the cost to pay a luthier), you could make a violin bridge with 4 Ghost or similar individual saddles and add a MIDI module and drive MIDI synths, samplers etc directly. Since you already have a GR20, you could also use a Ghost module to get a Roland output directly from the violin to drive a Roland synth.

Some electric violins have room to rout a small cavity for the Ghost electronics. If hers doesn’t, you can stick the entire system in a small project box and Velcro it to an open spot on the body, hang it over her shoulder on a tiny strap, or clip it to her collar on a wireless mic clip.

**Cavalier** · 08-16-2021, 10:56 PM

Or you could buy a nice Zeta or several others already made. Violins have been synth ready since the 80s.

**Christian Miller** · 08-17-2021, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

That's a great question jads, and that has really been clawing at me. My original thought was to replace the Carvin with the Godin, for really fast high-enegy latin tunes.

I've been longing for an electric nylon crossover at 1-3/4 nut. The Carvin is 1-7/8. It seems like everything in nylon crossovers are 1-7/8. So I'm giving a chance to the Godin, which is somewhere around 1-11/16, I don't know the exact spec. It's definitely easier to do quick-picking lines on the Godin, even sweep picking. AND it has a synth out. You can see the differece in string spacing in the pic below. It's more like solid-body with nylon strings and tone.

As far as sound/tone, the Carvin is better, especially if you want play quietly at home without plugging in. But amplified, with a little tweaking, on both the guitars' controls and the amp's, the Godin gets very close to the Carvin, but not quite, but close. *I* notice, but I don't think any casual listener would. The Carvin just sounds a bit more "authentic" to an acoustic git.

Of course my wife is saying "I THOUGHT ONE WOULD REPLACE THE OTHER, NOW YOU NEED BOTH???"

id love to try one of these Godin’s through a Tonedexter. They have demos with a Yamaha silent guitar that are very impressive.

**Marinero** · 08-17-2021, 11:18 AM

Hi, W,
Any info on the anonymous 19th Century guitar? Tone woods, construction? I see someone has installed tuners vs the original pegs. Play live . . . Marinero

**ronjazz** · 08-17-2021, 12:11 PM

Take a look at the Zoom A3 acoustic processor, it ,makes all my classical with pickups sounds really good. Af course, it you're playing through a guitar amp, you will always have tone problems with nylon-strung instruments, although the Zoom would be very helpful there as well.

**Woody Sound** · 08-17-2021, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Marinero

Hi, W,
Any info on the anonymous 19th Century guitar? Tone woods, construction? I see someone has installed tuners vs the original pegs. Play live . . . Marinero

Great eye M, I did them myself, and the neck, unfortunately the originals were gears, but were useless. I reluctantly replaced them. I've been looking for something more authentic, at least black posts, since then. An interesting aside:

Immediately after acquiring the guitar, I was poking around the inside feeling for bracing, and pulled out a big bag of pot that was taped to the underside of the top. Who knows how long it was there.

At one point I found a pic of the same guitar in an early film pic, but I never saved it, and I regret that.

WS