Need some guidance in my guitar journey

@domi7 Sorry for late reply, valuable resources and advice! Thank you for sharing.

@RadekSiechowicz I remembered one more question for you and others. So I play everything on steel string acoustic guitar and I heard that fingerstyle can be played on any guitar. Whilst that I do agree with, is it worth investing in classical guitar? Currently I’m on tight budget, but I was playing with idea of buying classic guitar. Generally I do not want to end up with 10s of guitars, as I try to live minimalist lifestyle (easier for mental health) and I generally do not like idea of having piece of equipment used rarely. Also, has anyone tried D’Addario Silk & Steel strings for acoustic guitar? It sounds like good middle ground. I do plan to buy small, travel, carbon fiber Enya guitar for camping and portability, so I will have my current LAG acoustic guitar open for some experimentation. I never tried Silk & Steel, and I got my callouses all developed together with finger strength so it’s not much for ease of playing although some very technical fingerstyle should be easier on such lighter strings. I currently use .11 gauge 80/20 bronze coated strings and whilst possible to play fingerstyle, I struggle with hammer-ons and especially flick-offs. What gauge do you use?

SkyBlue

I’d recommend against having a classical guitar: the different nut width, strings - nylon rather than steel -, string spacing and fret board length can make playing clumsy when switching to the guitar you play less often.

I use Thomastik-Infeld AC110 Plectrum Bronze 10-41 Acoustic Guitar Strings: for me, the best strings I’ve ever had. D’Addario strings have a good repurtation: I’ve used their XT Coated NY Steel .10 and .14 and Nickel Bronze Wound .20, .27, .39, .52; I play a lot of fingerpicked pieces and have got on well with those.

Brian

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It is more a question if the classical guitar will help you with your repertoire, does it fits better that type of music? Classical or stylised modern pieces do sound better on a classical guitar. These guitars come with a variety of neck widths, from 50 mm down to 46 mm so I wouldn’t worry much about it. It is rather a question that you need this kind of instrument. In my opinion it is always better to save more money for a better instrument then go with the first affordable option. I tasted a few crossover classical guitars and around the price of 500 EUR and they were just not worth it - poorly put together with disattaching pickups or random fret buzz.

I share your minimalist approach, I have 4 guitars but I really only use one.

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Dear SkyBlue,
before buying a new guitar - classical or the travel guitar you mentioned - I think it would be beneficial to try a bandwidth of parameters.
Could you maybe borrow a classical guitar from someone or switch guitars for a limited time?

I think that when testing a guitar in a shop, the times is too short to get used to it enough, although you can get an idea.
Me, for example, I prefer scale length lower than the standard 65cm, like between 60 and 63cm. Ath the same time, the usual 43mm nut width as on your guitar is too narrow for me to feel comfortable. There are acoustics between 43mm and 46mm (as far as I know) and classical guitar mostly 50 to 52mm, then there are those crossover guitars that Radek Siechowicz mentions.
It can make quite a difference in comfort if you find the right parameters for yourself.

And for the strings on your LAG, if you still feel your strings are a bit stiff, I would either try .10 strings or the type you mentioned (never tried that type myself but heard of it).

Best regards,
Dominique

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