This new guitar has nylon strings. It just shook out that way. I vaguely remember that I chose my first guitar, a nylon-stringed Giannini, because it was said to be a good learner guitar, but also because it was Brazilian and I was (am) very fond of the sound of Brazilian music. I had bought the Black Orpheus soundtrack album at the same time. The new guitar sounds much like the Giannini.
--Linda