Classical Guitar

[cisamcgu]

I have an urge to learn how to play the guitar. I rather fancy a classical/Spanish guitar, but really know nothing about them. My guitar playing skills are virtually nil, so I would be starting from scratch. I plan on visiting a local music shop over the weekend and was wondering ...

1) What to look out for in a sub £100 - £150 guitar
2) What to avoid
3) Any brands that are particulary good/bad
4) Any other advice about acoustic guitars in general and classical in particular

Many thanks
Andrew

 

[Globalti]

Start by deciding who you want to play like and take it from there.

 

[Night Train]

Personally I would get a reallycheap one to start with probably second hand, or borrow one, with the view to replace with quality when you know if it is for you.
That is what I did. I still have a cheap guitar, a friend gave me, sitting near the sofa which I pick up every now and again. It wasn't for me so I have saved spending out.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I'm a lapsed learner I'm afraid to say, but I'd advise you to spend a 3-figure amount to get a more playable guitar - I think really cheap is false economy as it will likely be a pig to play.

I went with a Cort from Richard's guitars in Leamington - nice bloke, free with advice, too.

 

[GM]

Start by speaking to a guitar tutor for advise on having lessons, and what guitar to buy. Generally anything under £100 will be very basic, to get a good acoustic you will need to spend at least £300 +. You can get some good deals on eBay. Good luck, it's a lovely hobby.

 

[ColinJ]

I would spend more if you can afford it, or shop around for a good deal on a used guitar.

The most important advice that I can give you is to have lessons and practice regularly. I've had guitars for 45 years but have never learned to play properly and I regret that. I did 2 hours classical guitar practice a night for 6 weeks and was making progress as a teenager but then a bad dose of the 'flu knocked the stuffing out of me for a fortnight and after that I never really got back into it (Distracted by O-levels, A-levels, women, work ...)

This is the kind of music that I wanted to play!

 

[RedRider]

The best indication of a decent guitar is how it sounds to you. If you don't feel confident to play in the shop ask the assistant to play a few and listen to the difference.

Another thing you might wanna consider is ease of playing. I don't have much experience of classical guitars but on steel-stringed acoustic at least, the lower the 'action' the easier it is to play. The 'action' is how far the string is from the fretboard and the closer it is, the easier it is to press down and get a clean, in tune sounding note.

As with bikes you often get better value second-hand, so ask around cos there's probably loads leaning around houses that are never played.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I actually forgot how to play the guitar, amongst other things, as a result of a head injury. Took up bass instead a few years later/ago.

I can recommend the lovely people at Hobgoblin music to you if you want a decent student acoustic guitar. They sell cheap(ish) ones which are well set up with nice low actions and thus don't require you to be able to crack nuts with your hands to fret a string.

 

[the snail]

If you can, check out the Spanish Guitar Centre in Bristol, they sell excellent guitars at all prices. My first guitar from there cost £50, and it was hand-made (by apprentice luthier). A cheap one makes sense to start on, just make sure the neck isn't warped, and put some decent strings on it - e.g. Savarez or Augustine.

http://www.spanish-guitar-bristol.co.uk/

 

[ColinJ]

Whether you have lessons or not, you'll need a copy of 'Solo guitar playing' by Frederick Noad. You should be able to play simple yet stunningly beautiful pieces of music within six months if you follow the instructions contained therein.

Wow - that's the book that I was learning from 40-odd years ago and I'm sure that I still have it in a box somewhere ...

I found it! It's a little the worse for wear - it is grubby, dog-eared and half the cover has fallen off, but all the pages are still there.

My guitar is a Yamaha G-245S. One of these ...



I'm going to give it a good clean, put some new strings on it and have another go at learning to play!

 

[brockers]

This thread's got me going again too! Have just spent the last two hours murdering ancient classics such as Robert de Visee's Sarabande, Tarrega's E Minor study and a bunch of stuff by Fernando Sor. Sore bloody fingers being the end result.

Fred Noad also compiled another book called 100 Graded Classical Guitar Studies, Colinj for when you get tired of banging out Romanza and Adelita. A lot of the pieces north of no. 30 take quite a lot of working on though, and I think I called it a day at around that point and started getting obsessed about bikes again. But the best thing is that there are so many demos, tutorials, and idiot's guides uploaded onto YouTube nowadays that you get to hear and see how the pieces are meant to be played.

 

[Globalti]

I have my late elder sister's Spanish guitar that a friend brought back from Zaragoza about 35 years ago. Unfortunately when she became ill it got neglected and left in its case in the window and overheated in the sun. Now the back is cracked and the neck is warped so it's almost impossible to get in tune. Still got a lovely warm mellow tone though.

 

[Aperitif]

Kerrang! thread on beginners guitar here

 

[cisamcgu]

Many thanks for all your advice

The ones I am considering, after scouring the net for a few hours are ..

Yamaha C70
Stagg C546
Santos Martinez SM80

(I would add links, but haven't worked out how to do that yet in the new software)

but I really am a novice, so all advice on makes etc.. is more than welcome.

 

[Melonfish]

Do NOT buy a cheap guitar, it'll be horrible to play and likely go out of tune within seconds.

The yammy isn't bad, i'm not a fan of staggs they're mostly cheap material.
don't really know santos martinez.
Tanglewood do a nice range of classical acoustics, TBH tho you want to be looking on somewhere with large amounts of choice and if possible you want to head into a shop and see how it sounds.
Gak.co.uk is a good choice to get an idea, in fact they have a very nice ibby for sale: http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-g100/18852

i do love the sound of a classical, but i'm a steel string man myself, however if you're into classical might i suggest the artists Rodrigo Y Gabriela: