Second hand guitar advice please... Yamaha C80

rikus

My mother in law bought herself a nasty cheap laminate body steel string guitar a while back to learn guitar on. He's been having some trouble with the guitar (not staying in tune, she's struggling with the thin neck and she can't get used to the steel strings).

I've been on the lookout for a good second had deal for her. I've come across an ad on gumtree for a Yamaha C80 for R895.

Seems like a very good price (the guitar is apparently like new and comes with a softcase).

Is this a good deal and a suitable guitar for a beginner? My knowledge of classicals are very limited, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Bob-Dubery

rikus wrote: My mother in law bought herself a nasty cheap laminate body steel string guitar a while back to learn guitar on. He's been having some trouble with the guitar (not staying in tune, she's struggling with the thin neck and she can't get used to the steel strings).

The first thing that occurs to me is that is a badly set up guitar. A good setup should cost you less than R895. I'd have a chat with my friendly local guitar tech.

I think bad setups are the reason a lot of people quit playing early on. It's less of an issue with classical guitars because there's much less tension in the strings and so you can cope better.

rikus

X-rated Bob wrote: The first thing that occurs to me is that is a badly set up guitar. A good setup should cost you less than R895. I'd have a chat with my friendly local guitar tech.

Thanks Bob. That was my first thought too, but when I say cheap and nasty I mean one of the cash crusader Chinese jobbies with no truss rod. I would rather spend money and have a proper guitar, and this deal seems like it's a good one, but like I say, I don't really have enough experience with classicals...

AlanRatcliffe

First thing I'd do is see if Keira has a cheapie she might be willing to part with.

Otherwise the low-end Yamahas are decent. The C80 sells for R3K retail (R2.2K street), so it's a good price...