I have a 1970's Yamaha G55-A classical.
The problem with it, ever since I bought it (used, for next to nothing) is that it just doesn't sound too good.
The action is decent on it... the neck seems straight and there are no visible cracks, breaks, bows or anything else. It is beat up (scratches, etc), but nothing that doesn't seem cosmetic. I seem to have to tweak the tuning pretty much every time I play it.
It is hard to describe, but I play it, it sound "dull". The top 3 (E A D) strings sound pretty good, but the G,B, and E are muddy with little volume and clarity unless I really pluck them hard.
I have tried a few new guitars in the store and they sound fine compared to mine.
My coworker who is a player with about 25 years experience, but no experience with a classical seems to feel the same as I do - that the sound is not good.
I recently changed the strings (forget brand, but they were "good" ones), but that did not fix the problem... the sound is exactly the same. However, while changing the strings I did find one (big?) problem. The bridge saddle is broken in two.
So, can anyone offer any advice to me? What are some troubleshooting steps I can take to determine what the problem may be? If I take the saddle out (temporarily) and leave the strings resting just on the bridge, will that determine if that is one of the problems? I know the saddle should be fixed, but that alone can't be causing all the problems, can it?
Or, is it just not a good guitar and I shouldn't really expect anything more from it?
Or, is that the way classicals are? Should I be getting used to playing/plucking with more strength?
Thank you for any advice...
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The classical guitar does require some "oomph" to get a sound with a decent volume level. Over the years luthiers have made structural changes to the bracing inside the box to get a louder sound, but ultimately there's only so much you can do.
I'm a huge fan of Yamaha kit, having a Yamaha keyboard, drum synth and bass guitar here, but although I know their current classical guitars are very good, I don't know about the quality of their 1970's models. If you didn't pay a lot for it then you've probably still got a reasonable deal.
Strings? It's worth paying a little bit extra for decent strings but again there's only so far you're going to be able to go. As there seems to be nothing wrong with it apart from the broken saddle, try a set of high tension strings on it next time. Otherwise, if you've got a spruce top then the bass definition is sometimes cleaner than a cedar top, and if you've got walnut sides and back (I tried one like this made in eastern Europe a few months ago and it was superb) then the sound will be very crisp compared to the warm booming bass you get from rosewood. The guitar you have is made from lower-quality-but-still-good woods and has a laminate top so the sound is unlikely to mature any more than it already has. The saddle is unlikely to be causing any real problems and a replacement shouldn't cost very much.
Reviews here
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Yamaha/G55A/10/1
A :-)
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