Manfred Klose wrote
Don't know what to look or listen for.
you know, i'm a classical/flamenco guitar junkie and pro musician, but i'm not hung up on technical specs.... i think we all buy guitars for our own purposes.... and if i play a nylon and it sound great to me i don't care if it's a pawn shop special with no name or manufacturer's label...or says made in indonesia/china.... or made of ply wood.... i resently played a classical made by a very famous south african luthier that was made from wood he collected fron cigar box's.... it was super light and sounded awesome.... but was not made from rare wood....
so all i'm saying if if you like the guild and the neck feels good....the sound is great..buy the thing if it suits your budget...who cares what the others say... i have seen too many musicians buy guitars cos of the hype or the fender/gibson label and in reality the cheaper range ibanez or cort will be way superior in tone and feel....
the only thing i would be fussy on with a nylon classical/flamenco is if you wand to amplify it.... i found few of the makers including taylor and cort and ibanez do not get the nylon pickup system right...(their steel string ranges are all perfect but the nylons do not sound natural) thing with a nylon is you won't put effects on it not even chorus... maybe a hint and only a hint of reverb....so the plugged in sound must sound like the unplugged sound as closely as possible.....
and the big BUT is if the guitar is cheap and sound great you can always fit a better nylon pickup.... which ussually results in a dual system cos just one under saddle pickup for a nylon is seldom enough you need a condenser mic either built into the guitar or externally that you mix in with a natural sounding under saddle pick up.... i have found for under saddle B band make very natural sounding nylon pickups...think hey swedish orf norwegian designed and built .... but i can get my classical to sound natural and as close to the unplugged sound with that B band and a condenser mic built into guitar.... also LR baggs makes some very natural and inconspicuous nylon pickups...which i highly recommend...
so thats the opinion... F@$k names and labels...if the guitar feels good.... and sounds good and suits your wallet and ultimately your needs BUY IT.... and you can always retrofit a natural sounding pick up after....
i know most will prefer to buy a name and check the technical specs but some of us are rebels and anti establishment.... as in guitar establishment of buying the ramirez or taylor or fender or else your guitar is not good enough.... yeah thats al marketing and there are some rubbish guitars out there and some gems in all the price brackets.... have fun .... finding your gem
peace and light
Keira
