Why Classical Guitars look alike

Rllink, wonder what was wrong with Sears guitars? I remember the solid body electric that had an amp built in the case (Danelectro?). Lots of garage bands used those Silvertone 2 x 12” piggyback amps cuz they couldn’t afford Fenders.

That Yamaha silent guitar has to win the prize for most unusual classical guitar!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.
 
I think that the classical guitar has evolved into it's almost "final shape" over several hundred years. And the players are not influenced by whatever fancy "news" the manufacturers invent.
Look at the western/ steelstring market where the manufacturers make copies of their own earlier models, they make "signature models", and patinized/roadworn models and electric guitars are "upgraded/modified" more than they are played. The next thing will be copies of the copies they made 20 years ago.
Classical players look for sound and playability but know that in the end, you can't buy excellence in music, it can only be achieved by a lot of practice
 
You don't need an amplifier to hear the sound properly and they are often available at a lower price than electric guitars.
The typical nylon string guitar is not any louder than the typical steel string; in fact the opposite is usually true.
As far as the price, you usually get what you pay for.
 
I have a friend who lives and breaths classical guitar and when I retired he got me interested in playing the guitar. But I had no idea. I hung out for a week at the bar with him and his classical guitar friends and they talked classical guitar. They were always walking around with their guitars in cases, so my wife had this old Sears and Robuck steel string dreadnought guitar and I dug it out. I showed up at the bar with that thing and I kid you not, I thought that they were going to take me out in the alley, blindfold me, put me up a against the wall, shoot me, and call it justifiable homicide. They did not want to even be in the same bar as that Sears and Robuck guitar. So then I was a bit embarrassed and went looking for a righteous classical guitar. About that same time a series of events resulted in me buying a ukulele instead. That ended my soiree into the world of classical guitar.
That's a great story! I don't think ukulele players are quite that snobbish!
 
Rllink said:
I have a friend who lives and breaths classical guitar and when I retired he got me interested in playing the guitar. But I had no idea. I hung out for a week at the bar with him and his classical guitar friends and they talked classical guitar. They were always walking around with their guitars in cases, so my wife had this old Sears and Robuck steel string dreadnought guitar and I dug it out. I showed up at the bar with that thing and I kid you not, I thought that they were going to take me out in the alley, blindfold me, put me up a against the wall, shoot me, and call it justifiable homicide. They did not want to even be in the same bar as that Sears and Robuck guitar. So then I was a bit embarrassed and went looking for a righteous classical guitar. About that same time a series of events resulted in me buying a ukulele instead. That ended my soiree into the world of classical guitar.

But why choose one or the other?
I have classical, classical with built in reverb etc., flamenco, Baroque replica, 150 years old parlour, 12 string steel, western steel dreadnought, western steel parlor, 5 string banjo, several mandolins, banjolin, electrical Les Paul, 8 ukuleles, 3 Guitaleles, mandola, Octave mandolin.

I can't/don't play them all but if I feel so inclined, the opportunity is there. :cool::cool:
 
Rllink said:


But why choose one or the other?
I have classical, classical with built in reverb etc., flamenco, Baroque replica, 150 years old parlour, 12 string steel, western steel dreadnought, western steel parlor, 5 string banjo, several mandolins, banjolin, electrical Les Paul, 8 ukuleles, 3 Guitaleles, mandola, Octave mandolin.

I can't/don't play them all but if I feel so inclined, the opportunity is there. :cool::cool:
I do play guitar now but I just find classical guitar unapealing. I have two ukuleles and two guitars. That keeps me busy enough.
 
I've run into a few snobbish ukulele players. I don't think they are immune to it.
I didn't realize that!
I hope I'm not a snob....I have chosen to pretty much not be involved with TBUS anymore except I am still the official greeter of new members, and have agreed to teach beginners for them again this year.
I have not been to a club function in months....and I'm not a recruiter now....
Is there a vaccine for snobbishness?
 
I didn't realize that!
I hope I'm not a snob....I have chosen to pretty much not be involved with TBUS anymore except I am still the official greeter of new members, and have agreed to teach beginners for them again this year.
I have not been to a club function in months....and I'm not a recruiter now....
Is there a vaccine for snobbishness?
I think they are few and far between. I think that there are a lot of good people who play the ukulele, but playing the ukulele does not make a person good. Of course, that goes for just about every group of people you run into.
 
I didn't realize that!
I hope I'm not a snob....I have chosen to pretty much not be involved with TBUS anymore except I am still the official greeter of new members, and have agreed to teach beginners for them again this year.
I have not been to a club function in months....and I'm not a recruiter now....
Is there a vaccine for snobbishness?
TBUS?
 
I didn't realize that!
I hope I'm not a snob....I have chosen to pretty much not be involved with TBUS anymore except I am still the official greeter of new members, and have agreed to teach beginners for them again this year.
I have not been to a club function in months....and I'm not a recruiter now....
Is there a vaccine for snobbishness?
TBUS?
 
Speaking of classical guitars, what's up with the strings? I've always heard them referred to as "nylon strings" but I've seen a lot of classical guitars lately with wound bass strings. Is that a matter of personal preference for the guitarist or has string technology evolved now that they're better?
 
Speaking of classical guitars, what's up with the strings? I've always heard them referred to as "nylon strings" but I've seen a lot of classical guitars lately with wound bass strings. Is that a matter of personal preference for the guitarist or has string technology evolved now that they're better?
"Nylon strings" is the generic term for the strings used on classical type guitars, they can be made from nylon, fluorocarbon, etc. Prior to the development of plastics, they were traditionally made from animal intestines.
Wound bass strings have probably been around for as long as lower pitched strings have been in use. A single strand of "nylon" would be to thick to be manageable on these lower strings, so, to achieve the density and flexibility required a multi filament core of thinner strands is enclosed in wound metal wire. Similarly, all metal lower pitch guitar strings have a thin steel core wound with steel or brass wire.

Vintage
 
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