Subject: Is this a 3/4 I see before me?
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 22:23:59 -0500

Hi there.

Greetings Anne,


The joy of the internet is that one can surf for hours and yet learn very little.  But time and again this evening I have been brought back to your website in my quest. I have a Classical Giaminni circa 1976 solid top with a wonderful tone and quality. But here is the problem: I bought it when I was 9 and have only recently taken it out of its case again after almost 20 years of being stowed.  It measures 8, 9, and 13 inches over the body. Is this a &Mac178; guitar? Can I get much bigger? I popped into Guitar Center today and the salesman there assured me that all classical guitars are small.

Guitar Center is correct in their estimation...classical guitars are smaller than steel string acoustics. However, there are also smaller bodied classical guitars...of which we also sell. If you brought to the Guitar Center, they can confirm this for you...I used to own a Classical Gianini (not sure about the spelling)...and it was quite nice...it had an odd shape to it...more of a teardrop with a cutaway...a nice quality guitar just the same...

Mickey

Your help would be appreciated!

Kind regards,

Anne Kaese  

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Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 21:01:57 -0400
Subject: Classical Guitar

Hi;

I have a guitar question, either for Mickey or anyone else who may have some insight. I have been playing for two years, and started out on an Ibanez classical guitar, but changed to steel and recently upgraded to a Takamine EAN40C that I love. I still play the Ibanez because I enjoy the mellow sound of the nylon strings, but the neck I find is just too wide for me to play comfortably. Essentially, I am wondering if there is a quality guitar--or line of guitars--that not only has nylon strings but a narrower neck than classical designs, so that someone like myself can make the swap more easily. Thanks in advance for the help!


Lauren Coggins

Greetings Lauren,

Glad to assist if I can...

Most all classical guitars do have the wider neck which is the standard set by tradition. If I recall, I believe that you might have two options that will vary from the tradition: the Gibson Chet Atkins Classical Electric and/or the Ovation Classical models...I could be wrong; I do remember both of these as having narrow classical guitar necks...similar width to steel strings.

It would be great if you could use nylon string on a steel string frame; unfortunately, steel string guitars have heavier bracing...and, the nylon strings sound too quiet and non-responsive. A classical guitar has very light bracing which allows nylon strings to come alive.

Hope this helps...Mickey

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