Hello Fender Forums!
I am looking into getting a nylong/classical guitar and have found these two:
An Ibanez with a solid spruce top and laminated sides found here: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-G-Series-G100-Classical-Guitar?sku=515788
And a Manuel Rodriguez with a solid cedar top for $50 more found here: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Manuel-Rodriguez-Caballero-11-Cedar-Top-Classical-Guitar?sku=514319
The latter has absolutely amazing reviews and the brand seems to be of extreme quality... If it were you buying one, which would you buy, why, or would you get another all together, but please keep it under $250.
Right now I am leaning towards the Rodriguez just because it seems like an altogether better guitar, but I'm open to opions.
--Thanks!

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Playing your guitar is an addiction after your first riff you just can't stop. Kind of like raisins you taste one then eat them by the handful.
-Oldpat

definatley the Rodriguez Caballero. It sounds like it is made much better than the Ibanez. And I hate to say it, the more money, the better the product...usually. And if all the reviews say it is great, chances are it is, because if it wasn't...we would know about it.

Enjoy whichever one you buy. I have a Cordoba and LOVE IT!

Given those two choices, I'd pick the Rodriguez.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

The Rodriguez is good value at that price. Ibanez make some very good guitars, but not classical models. Check the intonation: the harmonics at the 12th fret of each string need to sound in tune with the open string. If they don't, it'll cost you more than the guitar's worth to rectify the problem. Check to make sure you can play whatever neck profile the Rodriguez has, as there's not much you can do about it if it's not to your taste.

If you have access to more than one of them, play all and choose your favourite. Variation can be very wide in this price bracket (around $400 retail), from acceptable to outstanding. You'll end up with a good guitar regardless, but may as well try for a great one if there are a few to test out. Of course they could all be much the same, but it's always worth checking.

wiiman8, found this one here, looks like there are a few of them, check it out you may find one that you like in your price range
http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 961000021#

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Hi, that's a nice looking guitar, I actually have the CD-60 by Fender, but it is not a Classical Guitar it is a steel string Acoustic guitar.

Here is a Classical made by Fender, only $10 above your range.
http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0960900021

Hi Mondo: yours is obviously one of the voices we highly respect on this stuff.

At the price mentioned would you have a top brand suggestion, these two to one side?

And price no object, would you name an "ultimate" Spanish guitar or two, please? Just for the fun of it?

Cheers - C

Why, thank you, Ceri... any knowledge I may have concerning nylon string guitars comes only from having owned and played the same one for the past twenty years or so, but that's not without value. In Fender terms it would be like a kid who bought an L-series Strat when they were relatively easy to come by and not particularly fashionable, then somehow hung onto it over the years resisting all offers until they became "that Strat guy" by default.

As a result, I know little of what's out there in price brackets other than that of '60s instruments of Spanish manufacture, which is about the same as Fenders of that era.

However, with nylon stringed instruments it's easy to find out most of what you need to know by looking at them, as their construction can't be hidden. Needless to say I'd never consider a painted acoustic guitar!

Very cheap classical instruments often have a one-piece top and/or back. When these warp, it's all over. Two pieces, bookmatched if possible on the back, with nice tight grain running straight down the pieces making up the front... sides that are made from the same piece of wood as the back so that you can tell that they're bent into shape, not pressed fibre of some kind... that's about it! As with electric guitars, the most lively ones will be surprisingly light.

My recommendation for a budget classical guitar would most likely be something from Yamaha. Long ago I kidded myself that I could be Joe Pass to my friend's Ella Fitzgerald, and I helped her choose a guitar so she could accompany herself. She was tired of The Search, so we picked a reputable store with a large range and worked our way through every classical under a thousand dollars. We ended up with a Yamaha for around $600 that was slightly over her budget, but was headstock and.. er...upper bouts above any guitar in the store. She got compliments about that guitar for many years until she sold all her stuff to move overseas.

If money were no object... hmm. My Condé Hermanos guitar is an old Model 19, which was the "journeyman" level just down from the concert Model 21 "mezza luna" (it had a crescent shape nipped out of the top of the headstock). The 21 was favoured by flamenco guitarists from Paco de Lucía on, so I'd love to try one of those.

If it were really no object, I'd want one made by Ignacio Fleta. Fleta was making guitars from the '30s to the mid-'70s, and is usually billed as the Stradivarius of the guitar world. If I had a lazy hundred grand...

Hi Mondo: that's a great informative post and very enjoyable too.

Many thanks for that!

- C

Mondo, have you ever tried a nylon stringer with a graph tech pickup for MIDI ?

Just curious...looking at a Godin and Carvin.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

That sounds very interesting, Miami Mike... but I've not played any nylon string but mine in many years. I've often wondered about those solid-body classical guitars, though. I don't know if it's someone's byline here or some other forum, but it applies to me: I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet!

*edit: it's Twelvebar's signature quote, of course

Okay and thanks mondo! This is the type that has piqued my interest :

http://www.carvinguitars.com/catalog/gu ... ?model=ns1

Check out all of Steve Oliver's demos!

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!