[douglas englund]

i am wondering what the advantages are with a classical guitar, i have noticed that Kirk uses them in several of the lessons? if there are any advantages in helping me play the guitar i would buy one. i am not a chord strum-mer, i play melody and am trying to learn finger style the plane talk System. also any suggestions on a brand. i am looking at a guild but don't know anything about classical guitars. any help will be appreciated. Thanks Doug

[starsailor]

Hi Douglas, I've got a Classical guitar not as good as a guild but I enjoy playing it, it has a whole different feel to a Steel string Acoustic because of the nylon strings and because of the wider fretboard and the tone is different more mellow, practicing on a Classical in my opinion also improves your stretching abilities so can aid barre chords on a Steel string with a narrower fretboard, I have a standard classical, a 3/4 size folk guitar, a steel string and a cheap electric that I've just bought, every guitar is different and presents it's own challenge and it is good to have a change rather than just playing one type of guitar all the time. I think Guild are a good make and in my opinion it's a good idea to get a Classical but it might be worth your while trying a few out if there's a store near you just to find one that suits you.

Best Wishes

Chris

[allthumbs]

It sounds prettier with the mellow tones. It teaches you to be extremely technical in your playing. Primarily a solo instrument so jamming over some styles is more difficult than others. It doesn't replace a steel string but, makes a good addition to your guitar collection.

[murphaph]

As above. I started on a classical and it never sounded great playing with my teacher and her steel strings but i started barre chords on it and it was difficult. Since getting the electric barres are relatively easy to me. I still pick up the classical every couple of days and try finger style on it (lovely for that as the wider string spacing makes plucking the right strings easier). I only use the electric for lessons now though.