Marion, et al: I just discovered these threads, and have enjoyed all of your views. Not many places to converse with fellow acoustic guitarists. I've played for over 35 years, fingerpicked for most of them, and almost always have kept both a steel and a nylon string guitar handy. I have a Gibson Blue Ridge for steel and a vintage Ovation Classic for nylon. I do a couple of half-assed classical numbers, and believe me, you sometimes need the extra neck width to make it through some passages. I love the mellow sound of the one, and the sharper tones of the other. If volume (without flatpicks) is an issue for you, check out an Ovation Classic. Yes, I was more of a traditionalist, and I think I can hear some noises about 'plastic guitars', but look before you heap! My Ovation puts out more decibels without a pick than most steel strings with one! Really! And the quality of tone is excellent. (I don't happen to like the Ovation steel sound, so don't judge by that.) Agreed, there are string-bangin' songs that I wouldn't submit my nylon strings to, and for many effects and styles there is only steel (or phosphor bronze to be exact.) But as an acoustician, having experienced the joys of both, I will never limit myself to just one or the other. I do have to say, though, that if you don't fingerpick... if you only play using a flatpick, you won't appreciate the subtleties of nylon. By the way, I use extra high tension Savarez strings, which provide the G and B (2nd & 3rd) strings nylon wound on nylon, which is a clearer ring and handles a bit more like steel strings. More expensive, but nylon strings last about four times as long as steel. There is a new American set with nylon wound strings now if you look for them, a little cheaper. Bottom line: Marion, get your classic back and suppliment it with a steel guitar!