Nylon Electrics - what's worth looking at

joeW · May 6

I have been playing a fair bit of latin on my L5 which is fine as it's in a Jazz context but am also thinking about trying to get a decent amp'ed classical sound for this. I have a classical and its not got a chance of keeping with with drums and sax / trumpets so will need something amplified.

I am aware of the Godin Multiacs but know little about the midi compatibility (and if its at all worth having) and even less about others makers.

Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of guitars - any do and don't are most appreciated as there doesnt seem to be a lot of stock in the retailers near me.
Tku

elstoof · May 6

I’ve got an Ibanez TOD10N which is probably the most electric player friendly of that sort of guitar - nut width, fretboard radius etc won’t take much adjusting to. The sound from the Fishman piezo isn’t the most authentically classical though, not sure if the cheaper FRH10N pickup is better suited in that regard. Mine is incredibly well made for the price point, hopefully I didn’t just get lucky

guitars4you · May 6

Not seen one yet to try but fancy giving the Godin G Tour Nylon a try - less width on the fingerboard so more Strat than Classical - More Dominic Miller than John Williams but think it will suit me

elstoof · May 6

The Cordoba Stage is a more traditional classical nylon electric option

CavemanGrogg · May 6

Coming from a classically trained guitarist who almost went to the London Royal College of Music on a partial scholarship to study classical guitar and who is currently in their second year at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland,easily hands down a Godin. Personally I swear by them, and I truly believe Godin's electric nylons are what keeps them in business. I personally have lots of experience gigging with the old - from the 90's to around 2001, versions of these models , and have quite a lot of experience gigging with their A6 and A7 - exact same guitars except the A6 is 6 strings and the A7 is 7 strings, models. In my opinion these are truly the best sounding electric nylons I've ever used that have piratically zero feedback issues, even better than Ovation ever where at the best of their heyday both sound wise and feedback wise - not to mention build quality.

guitars4you said:

Not seen one yet to try but fancy giving the Godin G Tour Nylon a try - less width on the fingerboard so more Strat than Classical - More Dominic Miller than John Williams but think it will suit me

I've tried one of them quite recently, and to be honest I was shocked that Godin would put their name on it, especially when you compare it to their Multiac and A series of guitars. Though I will say you are bang on about them feeling and a to a lot of extent like an electric guitar,especially the neck width, radius and carve, the Multiac and A series while you can still play them easily like electric guitars - not just bends but 4 step bends tapping and most of the other electric specific techniques, they have a far far more traditional classical guitar feel to them, especially their necks, the neck width, radius and carve - nylons have wider 2'' nuts for a reason the strings move/vibrate a hell of a lot more than electrics and steel string acoustics.

I personally think the only reason why Godin released their G Tour is to compete, or rather attract the people looking at or considering buying one of those truly nasty Fender Acoustasonics things.

Grangousier · May 6

The Godin is great but it's an outlier - it plays a lot more like an electric (which might be what you want). You definitely don't need the 13-pin connector. Since you're in London, maybe go to the London Guitar Studio - https://www.londonguitarstudio.com/c/guitars/by-type/electro-classical-and-crossover-guitars - and try some. I've recommended the place before - I don't know if I particularly like them, but they do have a bunch of classical and flamenco guitars, some of which are electro-acoustic, to try.

(My own personal preference is for Ovation nylon strings, like this one - https://www.thomann.de/gb/ovation_1773lx4.htm - which is definitely another outlier.)

joeW · May 6

guitars4you said:

Not seen one yet to try but fancy giving the Godin G Tour Nylon a try - less width on the fingerboard so more Strat than Classical - More Dominic Miller than John Williams but think it will suit me

Sometimes the chord voicing for bossa can get a bit cramped for a normal nut width but maybe using a pick on a classical width might present a whole set of new issues.

joeW · May 6

elstoof said:

The Cordoba Stage is a more traditional classical nylon electric option

Thanks - I’ll check them out

ToneControl · May 6

I had a Godin multiac years ago, and the same as the XTSA electric, I didn't bond with it

I did have a crossover Avalon nylon, that's a £4k model I think.
I disliked it, although it was made perfectly. I had thought I would like a narrower, radiused neck, but it turned out I preferred the old flat 2 inch neck.

If you play classicals anyway, and enjoy it, I'd stick with a 2 inch nut

My real classicals are upmarket, Pro level stuff, but I've recently bought a silent Yamaha (the £800 ones), and a cheap harley benton with an Ovation-style body.
I'd actually say the £130 Harley Benton is good enough to try out just to see how a nylon works for you.
You can send it back after all.
They have some conventional shape ones too, I haven't tried one.

Also I had a thin cutaway Ramirez once, that would be nice for live work

ToneControl · May 6

If you're in London, try out the crossover models at London Guitar studio:

Electro-Classical and Crossover Guitars - A Fabulous Range of Electro-Classical and Crossover Guitars From London Guitar Studio

it's a brilliant shop, they know their stuff. the manager Steph is an excellent player.

I would make sure you have looked at these as well as the solid bodies stuff like the Godins. I think you get more acoustic tone with real hollowbodies

ToneControl · May 6

Maks in London has some to look at

the (out of stock) Cordoba stage sounds interesting, 48mm radiused neck, £600 ish
Cordoba Stage Natural Amber – Mak's Guitars (maksguitars.co.uk)

on the same street, Hobgoblin seem to have a few cheap cutaway/thinline models

ToneControl · May 6

maybe try this
https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_custom_line_nashville_nylon.htm

guitars4you · May 7

CavemanGrogg said:

guitars4you said:

Not seen one yet to try but fancy giving the Godin G Tour Nylon a try - less width on the fingerboard so more Strat than Classical - More Dominic Miller than John Williams but think it will suit me

I've tried one of them quite recently, and to be honest I was shocked that Godin would put their name on it, especially when you compare it to their Multiac and A series of guitars. Though I will say you are bang on about them feeling and a to a lot of extent like an electric guitar,especially the neck width, radius and carve, the Multiac and A series while you can still play them easily like electric guitars - not just bends but 4 step bends tapping and most of the other electric specific techniques, they have a far far more traditional classical guitar feel to them, especially their necks, the neck width, radius and carve - nylons have wider 2'' nuts for a reason the strings move/vibrate a hell of a lot more than electrics and steel string acoustics.

I personally think the only reason why Godin released their G Tour is to compete, or rather attract the people looking at or considering buying one of those truly nasty Fender Acoustasonics things.

Thanks for the heads up on that - I've not seen one yet and won't be needing to hunt one down but the idea of such a guitar, with a feel/playability more similar to what I'm use to, but with the tone of nylon strung guitar appealed to me

guitars4you · May 7

joeW said:

guitars4you said:

Not seen one yet to try but fancy giving the Godin G Tour Nylon a try - less width on the fingerboard so more Strat than Classical - More Dominic Miller than John Williams but think it will suit me

Sometimes the chord voicing for bossa can get a bit cramped for a normal nut width but maybe using a pick on a classical width might present a whole set of new issues.

Back of my mind, the idea of such a guitar was not to learn/play a new style as such - Just a different 'classical' voice' with a feel/playability more akin to what I know - In a way I'm probably better buying a steel strung Fender-esq style electro, fitting nylon strings, re-cut the nut and see how it works - It was only an idea for 'bumming' around in the house

Greatape · May 7

The Godin stuff is available without the midi connector. It's excellent, and I've seen them used widely by Brazilian and African musicians.

Otherwise, Taylor? My nylon is by them, and it's a good choice if you don't want to dive into the full classical neck experience