[Barry Bohannon]

Morning everyone, I am contemplating buying a thin bodied Chet Atkins copy, nylon strung electro acoustic with a classical neck. Now I know these necks are wider and have flat fretboards, I have long thin fingers so reach won't be a problem.. is there anything else I should know ?

[allthumbs]

Sounds good. Try before you buy if you can.

[Barry Bohannon]

Scratch the above... new target aquired. Ibanez GA5TCE nylon string electro acoustic with slim neck .... anyone got any info to share ?

[Barry Bohannon]

Well to update this one .... I bought the Ibanez GA5TCE and it's beautiful. Thinline body is only 3" deep but it sounds nice and warm unplugged, amped it sounds even better ! The neck is narrower than a full tilt classical but wider than my eclectro acoustic steel string and my jazzer and the fingerboard is flat. The action is higher than the other two but my tutor says that is quite normal for nylon strung guitars as their strings need more room to vibrate because they are at a much lower tension than steel strings. It's a perfect stablemate to my other instruments and now my collection is complete.. zero to three guitars in as many months !!
Are there different nylon strings that can be had which would enable the action to be made lower ?

[Stratrat]

Sounds like a nice guitar, Barry - congrats!

[BlueyM]

I just went via the search function and found Barry's post on the Ibanez GA5TCE, the thin bodied classical guitar.
I like classical guitars and nylon strings, but I have small hands and have trouble with the standard wide neck on classicals.
I have found a local dealer who has one of these in stock at a reasonable price, and I really like the soft action and the relatively narrow neck. Very tempted, and will probably buy it next week.
The guitar seems a little fragile and very light, but I only play at home, so this doesn't fuss me too much. It will be looked after.
I play mostly gospel and folk with some old timey cowboy stuff occasionally. (Now you can see why I only play at home)
Just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on the Ibanez?

[Barry Bohannon]

Originally Posted by BlueyM

I just went via the search function and found Barry's post on the Ibanez GA5TCE, the thin bodied classical guitar.
I like classical guitars and nylon strings, but I have small hands and have trouble with the standard wide neck on classicals.
I have found a local dealer who has one of these in stock at a reasonable price, and I really like the soft action and the relatively narrow neck. Very tempted, and will probably buy it next week.
The guitar seems a little fragile and very light, but I only play at home, so this doesn't fuss me too much. It will be looked after.
I play mostly gospel and folk with some old timey cowboy stuff occasionally. (Now you can see why I only play at home)
Just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on the Ibanez?

Go here Bluey http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar and do a search by manufacturer, there are loads of good reviews for the GA5TCE on there... oh, and nothing wrong withold-timey cowboy stuff ! I've been re-listening and re-discovering tons of jazz since I started learning in January. Jazz on a nylon stringed guitar is just heaven, though how they play so fast on a guitar with strings so high you could almost limbo dance under 'em is beyond me !!

[BlueyM]

Thanks for the link, Barry. Some positive reviews there.
I went and had another session on the demo model at the guitar shop yesterday, and have pretty much convinced myself to buy it.
One thing I noticed is that the demo guitar went out of tune after about 10 minutes of fairly gentle flatpicking and chords and scales.
Might be because of cheap strings or maybe not being set up properly, but the G string went flat quite noticeably. A quick retune was all that was needed, not a deal breaker.
I really like the relatively narrow neck on a classical, fits my smallish hands well.
Now for the hard part, paying out the money!

[6string]

Originally Posted by Barry Bohannon

Well to update this one .... I bought the Ibanez GA5TCE and it's beautiful.....

You have a photo of said purchase?

[BlueyM]

Well, I bit the bullet and bought the Ibanez. I am pretty happy with it so far, although the strings haven't "bedded in" yet, and I am still playing with settings on the amp (Roland) trying to get a nice crisp sound. The on board EQ is adequate, but not outstanding.

It has a nice mellow sound played acoustically, a little thin, particularly on the higher notes, but not surprising from the small body and being only 3 inches deep.
It is a nice looking guitar, with flawless gloss finish and very nice contrasting darker stain on the body. The tuners are a bit disappointing, they look like like cheap gilt.

This is a "bottom end" guitar made in China, and I got it a really good price better than the RRP, so I figure it is good value for money and a good compromise between a "full on" classical and a standard steel string acoustic. It might struggle as a stage performer, but seems ideal for home use.

Early days yet, naturally, but I think I will enjoy playing this guitar.

Here's a photo.