Hi all! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and good holiday!
For Christmas I received a DVD of the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over"
and absolutely love the new acoustic version of Hotel California!
I love the sound of the classical guitars in the song so I've been
looking for a classical guitar for home recording mostly.
I'm hoping someone can recommend a good classical guitar.
My budget is around $500-$700.
Thanks!
Yamaha offers a fairly wide range of classicals, and several fall in that range. You will get the best bang for your buck if you:
- Buy without built-in pickups/electronics. You will want to use a mic for best recorded sound anyway. Onboard electronics are great for performing, but are not wonderful for recording, esp in this price range. Make every dollar go toward the quality of the guitar.
- Avoid cutaway body styles. There is a tonal compromise, and it's especially noticable on a classical.
- Play and compare before you buy. If you are not sure about the sound ("I guess it's okay"), then it's not. There is a wide variation in the quality of classical tone, just as for other instruments. Some have it, some don't, and this become obvious upon comparison. Have someone else play it for you to hear how it sounds from the audience's (and recorded!) perspective.
- Check the intonation. This one area where even expensive classicals can really suck -- surprisingly so. Few classicals are perfect, but you want to get something that is reasonably in tune up to the 12th fret.
Good luck -- Greg
-=tension & release=-
Why do classicals have intonation problems?
I'd look into Ovations.
The king of rock, some say lives
the lizard king, is surely dead
the king of France, lost his head
the King of Kings... bled
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I'm guessing because you can't adjust each string individually on the bridge, but it could be something else.
Why do classicals have intonation problems?
I'd look into Ovations.
Many are not compensated at the bridge in any way, and even some that are compensated still have problems. It may also relate to questionable bridge placement, as if that's even a little off, there is no hope. My observations are from playing a lot of classicals before buying one.
-=tension & release=-
Thanks for the good advice. Have you ever heard of
Amelio Burguet classical guitars? I found one at my
local guitar shop and it shounds great! Only problem
is a small crack in the top which has been braced.
It's a model 2a and they're asking $650.
