In search of “classical” (?) guitar

[TBman]

Take a look at Cordoba's Fusion 12 crossover. 48mm nut. Solid cedar top, laminate rosewood back and sides. It has two strap buttons so you can wear a strap to get the guitar pretty close to a classical position.

There may be all solid wood crossovers available by other builders. Look into those as well.

[markwallace1966]

Originally Posted by TBman

Take a look at Cordoba's Fusion 12 crossover. 48mm nut. Solid cedar top, laminate rosewood back and sides. It has two strap buttons so you can wear a strap to get the guitar pretty close to a classical position.

An interesting notion. My current thinking is spruce top though, since I already have the mellow cedar S6 and mahogany 000-15SM. I see that Cordoba has a Fusion 14 Maple/Spruce though. Hmm.

There may be all solid wood crossovers available by other builders. Look into those as well.

I'll keep checking around. Thanks!

Mark

[markwallace1966]

Never one to be the most patient person in the world, and with a whole evening to myself and lots of research under my belt, last night I went out and picked up a brand new cedar Cordoba C9.

Today I got started on going through some of Bradford Werner’s stuff, ordered his first book, and am already learning a lot and having a good time.

Wish me luck!

Thanks to all of you for your help!

Mark

[TBman]

Originally Posted by markwallace1966

Never one to be the most patient person in the world, and with a whole evening to myself and lots of research under my belt, last night I went out and picked up a brand new cedar Cordoba C9.

Today I got started on going through some of Bradford Werner’s stuff, ordered his first book, and am already learning a lot and having a good time.

Wish me luck!

Thanks to all of you for your help!

Mark

Congrats Mark! Here's a link to some free stuff (grade 1 to 3) with tab too! There's a video too, but he has all of the tunes in one video. Easy to find them on Youtube though. I think Brad might have videos of them too. I have a lot of Brad's stuff.

https://www.classicalguitarcorner.com/easy/

[markwallace1966]

Originally Posted by TBman

Congrats Mark! Here's a link to some free stuff (grade 1 to 3) with tab too! There's a video too, but he has all of the tunes in one video. Easy to find them on Youtube though. I think Brad might have videos of them too. I have a lot of Brad's stuff.

https://www.classicalguitarcorner.com/easy/

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the pointer.

Mark

[CoastStrings]

I have a Yamaha CG-TA. Love the effects for classical, jazz, and folk!

I've read how some folks find the effects (room reverb, hall reverb, and chorus) to be gimmicky.

Of course, I can understand a traditional classical guitarist's disdain for the chorus effect. I personally find it wonderful for simulating the sound of steel.

But many of my fellow CG'ers also very much enjoy performing in venues that will generate a natural reverb (like a hall or a church). So why would anyone disapprove when Yamaha builds excellent reverb effects into a guitar and brings a grand hall into your practice room?

[markwallace1966]

Originally Posted by CoastStrings

I have a Yamaha CG-TA. Love the effects for classical, jazz, and folk!

I tried a CG-TA at my local GC and found it to be pretty cool. The only one they had was a little dinged-up though, plus I decided that for my first classical I wanted to get something pretty straight-up traditional.

So that’s when the C9 at a different shop came into the picture. It sounded and played pretty great to me, plus the experience with the salesman and the shop in general was really good.

Still, that doesn’t mean I won’t go back out in search of a CG-TA sometime down the road. With this being my first classical guitar though, I want to get lots of time under my belt with it before ever considering a second one.

Mark

[Norsepicker]

Good that you that you have something to start with. If you get bit you can look for something else, although you may keep your first one. I'd look for something made by and individual luthier as there are some masterpieces out there for less money than you'd think. I have 5 nylon string guitars, all by individual builders. One flamenco by the famous Madrid school of the 60s that was given to me just because friends knew I played and got it out of there attic, and one for $400 and one for $800, the latter was from a guy who had given up after going to a conservatory and had bought it from a Bulgarian builder. It's as good as my signed Kenny Hill that I got an auction for $1600. I recognize I may have an addiction, but getting a guitar built by an individual luthier gets you an individual voice. You may have to have work done it, but I have someone who does that for me at a ridiculously low price. When I made my first purchases it was before the ascendance of Reverb, but there is great stuff on there.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by CoastStrings

So why would anyone disapprove when Yamaha builds excellent reverb effects into a guitar and brings a grand hall into your practice room?

I for one have a thing with "natural" vs. "fake" even if I recognise that the TA, Hyvibe and TWA systems all use the guitar itself to produce their effects.

Of course I have some experience with playing in places with "big" acoustics like the abovementioned churches, abbeys etc. (and playing an instrument probably more capable to "fill" the place than an acoustic guitar would be). I don't think that a reverb effect coming out of the guitar (so suggesting an internal rather than an external echo chamber) will be the same for the player.
In fact, I got rid of my jumbo in part because it sounded too much like it had all those sounds sloshing around inside like in a big cathedral.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by RJVB

I for one have a thing with "natural" vs. "fake" even if I recognise that the TA, Hyvibe and TWA systems all use the guitar itself to produce their effects.

Of course I have some experience with playing in places with "big" acoustics like the abovementioned churches, abbeys etc. (and playing an instrument probably more capable to "fill" the place than an acoustic guitar would be). I don't think that a reverb effect coming out of the guitar (so suggesting an internal rather than an external echo chamber) will be the same for the player.
In fact, I got rid of my jumbo in part because it sounded too much like it had all those sounds sloshing around inside like in a big cathedral.

I would agree it's a different thing for the player, definitely. There's really nothing quite like playing an instrument in a room with good acoustics...I'm lucky to have keys to the auditorium here where I teach, and if it's empty on my lunch break, you'll know where to find me!

I do really enjoy the CG-TA for practice though...and actually, I can see how it will be beneficial to be able to practice with an expansive reverb, as I'll be doing a wedding gig in May at a local church that has a TON of natural reverb...so playing with a similar sound at home and learning to control things that might be an issue in that big church is a cool benefit.

But our OP here has found a lovely Cordoba that I think will serve him well, so that's mission accomplished!

[markwallace1966]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

But our OP here has found a lovely Cordoba that I think will serve him well, so that's mission accomplished!

Thank you very much. I love the guitar already.

Learning to play in a classical method is interesting so far. I have found Bradford Werner's site and gotten started on the very basics already. It's almost like learning how to play the guitar all over again. Fun.

Mark

[JL_Guitar]

I had good luck with a Cordoba C10 a long time ago. It had quite a bit a volume but the base was a bit boomy. The cantinga creation strings sounded great on it (I’m a fan of the carbon G string). I preferred the Cordoba to a Yamaha GC32 I had.

As a side note for resources: Dr. Simon Powis has a great classical repertoire book (graded with tab). Cim Frode and Eduardo Diaz have some good intermediate pieces. Bill Piburn has some beautiful but challenging piece in his books.

[markwallace1966]

Originally Posted by JL_Guitar

I had good luck with a Cordoba C10 a long time ago. It had quite a bit a volume but the base was a bit boomy. The cantinga creation strings sounded great on it (I’m a fan of the carbon G string). I preferred the Cordoba to a Yamaha GC32 I had.

As a side note for resources: Dr. Simon Powis has a great classical repertoire book (graded with tab). Cim Frode and Eduardo Diaz have some good intermediate pieces. Bill Piburn has some beautiful but challenging piece in his books.

Thank you. I already have Dr. Powis's Cornerstone Method book on order.

Mark

[LAPlayer]

You've got plenty of equipment to keep you busy. Technique is important in all musical learning. The more technical you get in any instrument, the more technique is important - to imperative, for proper progression. If you are serious about wanting to learn classical guitar, I would suggest a local professional instructor to work with. Starting out you can fake it some but if you want to progress in classical, flamenco/Spanish guitar a good teacher to monitor your technique and teach you fundamentals that you will need further down the road is really important. That includes being able to sight-read classical charts - which won't come overnight, but will build on and with your playing progression. As stated above, it will be a long, slow journey whether you're learning true finger-style, classical, jazz or any technique-heavy style. Enjoy the journey.

[markwallace1966]

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

If you are serious about wanting to learn classical guitar, I would suggest a local professional instructor to work with.

Yup, am aware. My current instructor is trained in classical guitar and teaches it. That isn't what I'm having him teach ME right now, but I recognize that I could start that conversation with him if I want.

Thank you!

Mark