Inexpensive nylon string acoustic-electrics

**mr. beaumont** · 11-08-2022, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by mr quick

If I remember correctly, the NTX neck is surprisingly not -that- slim. It's a great "beater" nylon guitar!

Obviously, I'm biased as a (former) Altamria salesman and owner, but they make some great guitars for the money.

N100 E - Standard student-grade guitar with pickup
N200CE - Same but a step up aesthetically and with cutaway
N300CTS - My favorite slim-body nylon guitar. I love this model.

Altamira's are almost impossible to find in the wild around here...bummer, I played one of their gypsy jazz guitars a few years ago and it was awesome.

That's encouraging about the Yamaha neck though. If I like that I know he'll sell on the cheap

**Cavalier** · 11-08-2022, 11:20 PM

I'm pretty happy with my Ovations. The 1613 has a cedar top 12 fret 26" scale wide neck, deep bowl.

**Cunamara** · 11-09-2022, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by Encinitastubes

I have some really nice classicals, but for plugging in, my trusty Takamine EC-132 has never failed me. I bought it new around 1990. They came with both spruce and cedar tops. I’ve seen them all the time in the $600 range.

I have a Takamine EC132C which I've had for probably 10 years or so. This one has a laminate spruce top so it's a little less prone to feedback, although not much. Nate Najar recommended it to me when I was looking for an acoustic/electric classical. It does the job within the limits of piezo pickups but is very stable with an excellent neck and fretwork. Overall, it is a very well-made guitar. I committed sacrilege and added fret markers on the side of the fingerboard; never understood why classical guitars insist on not having those.

These were about $1300 new, $600-$650 seems to be about the going rate used. I don't use mine much anymore, I seem to be a steel stringer for the most part, and could be easily induced to sell it.

**Woody Sound** · 11-09-2022, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

I committed sacrilege and added fret markers on the side of the fingerboard; never understood why classical guitars insist on not having those.

AFAIK, pure snobbery. I put just one tiny one at the 7th fret, and my teacher was horrified.

**Woody Sound** · 11-09-2022, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by Cavalier

I'm pretty happy with my Ovations. The 1613 has a cedar top 12 fret 26" scale wide neck, deep bowl.

I had an Ovation with the controls on the lower bout. My problem was that my sleeve would occasionally brush against the volume knob and change it.

**Little Jay** · 11-09-2022, 01:56 PM

Check Baton Rouge. Chinese made, not too expensive but very nice and lots of guitar for your money.

**SierraTango** · 11-09-2022, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Altamira's are almost impossible to find in the wild around here...bummer, I played one of their gypsy jazz guitars a few years ago and it was awesome.

That's encouraging about the Yamaha neck though. If I like that I know he'll sell on the cheap

I have a Cordoba GK Studio that I acquired in a trade. It's never let me down when I've had a gig calling for nylon string. It sounds OK acoustically, however sounds great plugged in. On those occasions I run it through my Schertler Unico and have had many complements on the sound.

You are correct Mr.B, the Cordoba brand is well represented at the big box stores like GC, so easy to audition. I might add that if you are interested in the Altamira N300CE, contact Tommy Davey at Django Guitars. He's pretty connected with Altamira and might have some answers for you. A stellar player and a great guy too!

**mr. beaumont** · 11-09-2022, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by SierraTango

I have a Cordoba GK Studio that I acquired in a trade. It's never let me down when I've had a gig calling for nylon string. It sounds OK acoustically, however sounds great plugged in. On those occasions I run it through my Schertler Unico and have had many complements on the sound.

You are correct Mr.B, the Cordoba brand is well represented at the big box stores like GC, so easy to audition. I might add that if you are interested in the Altamira N300CE, contact Tommy Davey at Django Guitars. He's pretty connected with Altamira and might have some answers for you. A stellar player and a great guy too!

I was able to try out a few Cordoba models yesterday, and I think that's the route I'm going, unless I end up loving this Yamaha that's getting lent to me (Friday)

Cordoba has definitely done a good job with their modestly priced nylon strings.

**jzucker** · 11-09-2022, 03:24 PM

hi Jeff,

Not sure if this would suit you but my buddy who plays guitar with the national symphony as well as many broadway shows in DC uses a yamaha silent guitar for any gigs that need amplification. He has used a bunch of different axes including godin and cordoba and says the yamaha sounds and plays the best. hmu offline if you want more details.

**mr. beaumont** · 11-09-2022, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

hi Jeff,

Not sure if this would suit you but my buddy who plays guitar with the national symphony as well as many broadway shows in DC uses a yamaha silent guitar for any gigs that need amplification. He has used a bunch of different axes including godin and cordoba and says the yamaha sounds and plays the best. hmu offline if you want more details.

Thanks, I do have a Silent and I agree, it's pretty excellent. The electronics in mine have started to go a bit, unfortunately...I might need to open it up and try RP's suggestions...or find someone who'd do a better job for me

For the purposes here, I need the guitar to be able to be played unplugged as well as plugged in

**RJVB** · 11-09-2022, 04:11 PM

FSOT Taylor 312ce-N, Breedlove Pursuit Nylon

**Jonathan0996** · 11-09-2022, 09:38 PM

Once in a while you can find a used Takamine for around $1,000.
Ovations are another possibility. Diego Figueredo gets a beautiful sound with an Ovation Celebrity.
Of course, it helps to have Diego's hands, but your hands always sounded pretty good to me too.

Takamine TC132SC Classical Guitar - musical instruments - by owner -...

Ovation Ovation 1773AX-4 Professional Timeless Collection Mid | Reverb

**rpjazzguitar** · 11-09-2022, 09:45 PM

I have the original Silent nylon. Playability is very good. I'd say it sounds okay. Ricardo Vogt toured with Eliane Elias, iirc, playing one.; he sounded great, but he'd sound great with anything. When I play mine hard, it distorts. I think this is what has been called piezo quack.

There are a couple other negatives.

The jacks and switches are soldered into the board, which means that the solder joints get stressed and crack. You have to reheat them. P-i-the-a.

The upper bout cuts into your right arm.

The battery life is something like 10 or 12 hours. On my Godin, it's months. And, if you leave a cable plugged in, the guitar stays on and drains the battery.

On the positive side, playability, sounds okay if you don't hit it too hard, you can plug phones into it and practice almost silently, it packs up quite small and it doesn't weight much. Not that expensive.

**rpjazzguitar** · 11-09-2022, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Thanks, I do have a Silent and I agree, it's pretty excellent. The electronics in mine have started to go a bit, unfortunately...I might need to open it up and try RP's suggestions...or find someone who'd do a better job for me

For the purposes here, I need the guitar to be able to be played unplugged as well as plugged in

I hope I remembered to mention that it's more than possible to break something you can't fix if you try the repair I described.

**Cavalier** · 11-09-2022, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

I had an Ovation with the controls on the lower bout. My problem was that my sleeve would occasionally brush against the volume knob and change it.

This is one of the older Charlie Byrd ones. The controls are on the upper left bout top. Volume and tone with stereo split if you want it. 1.3,5 on one channel and 2,4,6 on the other. Needless to say I use the mono jack but the split can be fun with the amps on opposite sides of the room if the mood strikes. Great playing guitar.

**Woody Sound** · 11-09-2022, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

And, if you leave a cable plugged in, the guitar stays on and drains the battery.

Isn't that the case with all active instruments?

**jzucker** · 11-09-2022, 11:36 PM

At least you don't need to plug a usb cable into it like fishman equipped guitars

**kris** · 11-10-2022, 02:29 AM

Jeff,
I don't know what width of nut suits you ...?
There are a lot of nylon string guitars on the market today with different nut widths.
For me, nuts with a width of 48 mm work very well - I mean playing jazz music.I feel really comfortable with my Frameworks modern classic...but it is very expensive.

**Jabberwocky** · 11-10-2022, 09:06 AM

Find an MIC Yamaha, Ibanez, Cordoba or MIM nylon string guitar and install an acoustic pickup of your choice. I like the cheap and good Kremona NG-1/NG-2 and iRig Acoustic Stage. The Bartlett Audio Guitar Condenser Mike A/B is about $200 each and is fully deserving of a boutique guitar. You can have all that under $1000 in total.

**Jabberwocky** · 11-10-2022, 09:11 AM

Spanish made Classical Guitars For Sale, Flamenco, Left-handed, Cutaway, Rosewood, Electric Classical Guitars

Tom Prisloe's Pavan TP10 for $495. And pair that with a Kremona NG-1/NG-2.

Kremona make very nice nylon string guitars themselves in Bulgaria. Worth seeking out.

**mr. beaumont** · 11-10-2022, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by kris

Jeff,
I don't know what width of nut suits you ...?
There are a lot of nylon string guitars on the market today with different nut widths.
For me, nuts with a width of 48 mm work very well - I mean playing jazz music.I feel really comfortable with my Frameworks modern classic...but it is very expensive.

I'll find out tomorrow what 48mm feels like, then I can go from there.

Jabber-- those Pavan look great. I'll eventually be in the market for an all solid wood nylon, and I might start looking there.

I've also played several Kremona models over the years and thought they were really good. I haven't encountered any of their models with electronics.

**RJVB** · 11-10-2022, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Cordoba has definitely done a good job with their modestly priced nylon strings.

So I thought too, but it's not my personal experience with their Fusion models (1st one rejected by the dealer, the 2nd lemon should have been rejected by me but sadly I was too distracted in the shop to test it properly). Apparently I'm not the first to notice issues with their QC in recent times. It does look very nice (but I didn't see that in your list of requirements).

Re: Kremona: I've been attracted myself to their Lulu (or Kiano?) Reinhardt signature model. A cross-over between a grande-bouche and a classical, I'd say. Almost impossible to find videos of but the one acoustic recording I did hear sounded really nice.

I understand Breedlove do a QC verification in the States; that should make a difference. Actually, maybe Cordoba do too ... but have their instruments for other markets shipped there directly, excluding them from that extra safeguard?

**Cavalier** · 11-10-2022, 02:54 PM

I have played the Kremona electrics, they are a very good value, I like them better than Taylor. The Godin La Patrie nylon line is another worth checking out.

**mr. beaumont** · 11-10-2022, 08:48 PM

Well, my former student dropped off the NTX, just played it for about a half hour.

I actually love it for single note lines.

Chords feel clunky, like there's not enough space between strings.

Sounds ok. Pleasant, but kind of quiet.

I think I'll take him up on the "hang on to it through the holidays" and see if it grows on me chord wise. I love the neck shape and cutaway and 14 fret join...its just the chords...

Time to plug it in. We'll see.

**rpjazzguitar** · 11-11-2022, 03:56 AM

Originally Posted by kris

Jeff,
I don't know what width of nut suits you ...?
There are a lot of nylon string guitars on the market today with different nut widths.
For me, nuts with a width of 48 mm work very well - I mean playing jazz music.I feel really comfortable with my Frameworks modern classic...but it is very expensive.

I've heard the Frameworks. Chico Pinheiro performed with one some time back. It sounded terrific.

When I tried it, the neck felt too big for me. It's a matter of taste and physiology but worth considering if someone is thinking of buying one sight unseen.