Interesting Facts

Reduce your string cost by half!

The bass strings on a classical guitar often go dead before the trebles. The strings are usually not worn out. The windings are dirty. Remove the bass strings only. Loosely coil them and place them in a large basin, bathroom sink or whatever. Submerge them in room temperature water. The water can be lukewarm but NEVER HOT. Hot water will cause nylon guitar strings to play out of tune.

Add about 1/4 cup of ammonia to the water and let the strings soak for about fifteen minutes. More time won't hurt them. The ammonia and water mixture breaks down crud that has built up between the windings on the strings. Put a washcloth in the water and pull each string through it a couple of times. Rinse the strings under cold water. Pull them through a dry towel and put them back on your guitar.

The cleaned basses often sound better than they did when new. They don't squeak as much and they don't need to stretch out like new strings. The washed strings also work well for recording because they are somewhat smoother since they have been played in and they have a lively, clear sound.

What are the differences between spruce and cedar tops on a classical guitar?

In general, the tone of spruce is brighter and cedar produces a darker warmer tone. Cedar is also more responsive than spruce at least initially, but it does not improve with age to the degree that spruce guitars do. Spruce, because it is a more resinous wood than cedar, takes more time to break in.

With age resins become increasingly brittle, and with play, as these resins are fractured by sound, the guitar becomes increasingly responsive and mellow. German spruce takes one to two years to open up, and will continue to improve through out its life. Sitka spruce takes more time to develop.

Appeal

The appeal of the classical guitar is relatively simple. It allows the guitarist to approach instrumental music in very much the same manner as a pianist. It doesn’t take to long for the beginner to lay down a simple bass, harmony, rhythm and melody line and the music available for the classical guitar covers music from Bach to Hendrix and beyond!

One of the best aspects of the classical guitar is its portability. Its quite easy to take away on a work trip or holiday and its soft mellow sound also makes it far less obtrusive if you play in close proximity to others and often the music is welcomed by many in various social settings.

Purchasing a guitar

Unlike other instruments such as the violin, its actually possible to purchase a top of the range professional concert guitar for a four figure sum (£ sterling) where as a similar quality concert violin may cost 5 and occasional 6 figures! However a good quality starter guitar can usually be purchased for around £300 with a solid top and a hard guitar case is better than a soft fabric case, as this affords the guitar a greater degree of protection.