Taylor Nylon-String Guitars

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 29 Jun 11 - 09:12 AM

The guitar that originally inspired this thread wound up being bought by a friend and occasional bandmate. I counted that as a bit of good fortune since it meant I'd get to play it pretty often without having to shell out the money to buy it. Shortly thereafter, the owner moved 2,000 miles away and I haven't seen her or the guitar since. So it goes.

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: GUEST,bigbobe
Date: 29 Jun 11 - 08:48 AM

I just lucked out and bought a used mint-condition Taylor NS34ce adn it is a dream. Fantastic action.Songs I wrote and have been playing for 30 years I can now play twice as fast as I could on the Takamine Classical I just sold. FYI: This is my 5th Taylor guitar, to go with an 855-12, 810ce, Dan Crary signature model and a Koa T-5.

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: GUEST,Annie
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 04:29 PM

The Taylor nylon I've tried is sheer heaven. A joy to play, listen to, create on.

I'm a steel string gal, but when I tried the Taylor, I almost wept with joy.

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: redsnapper
Date: 13 Apr 07 - 08:01 AM

Hi Phil,

At least on my Yamaha APX 10CN (not sure about the Taylor) the frets are slightly radiused. This, together, with the quite shallow neck, makes it a very comfortable and playable guitar. It is now the one I have to hand all the time for noodling and composing.

RS

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: Uncle Phil
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 11:33 PM

Are the fret boards on the Taylors (or Yamahas for that matter) radiused like a steel string guitar or are they flat like a classical guitar?
- Phil

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: redsnapper
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 05:13 PM

Exactly so Guest!

RS

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 12:19 PM

'Ow come someone starts a thread concerning Taylor guitars & someone revives it with a comment about a Yamaha guitar?
Does no-one bother about keeping to topic any more?

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: C-flat
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 10:57 AM

Being quite heavy handed I like to use high-tension strings with my APX (I wish I had the 10 like you RS), preferring the Daddario pack with a "composite" G string. It feels like a plastic string but works better through amplification than standard.
I'm sure some "techie" could explain that one for us. In the meantime I'll follow what my ears and fingers tell me.
I seem to get less unwanted string noise (pings and clicks from the bridge etc) with higher tension too.

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: redsnapper
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 10:07 AM

Reviving this old thread, I just procured a very nice Yamaha APX 10CN electro classic nylon strung guitar at a good price. Apparently, at one time the top-of-the-range model, it has a solid cedar top, bubinga sides and back, very nice neck and good stereo electronics. It works very well through my Yamaha Stagepas 300 PA which has a stereo instrument input and gives a lovely "wide" sound. It seems to be a rather rare model, the web being pretty devoid of any information other than that this rather good player uses one.

Having been used to steel strung guitars all my playing life, I am actually quite surprised how versatile this guitar is and the variety of sounds I can get from it in different styles. It isn't at all bad purely acoustically either.

After buying it I thought hard tension nylons woiuld work well and put on some D'Addario EJ46s. I wasn't happy with them and have reverted back to medium tensions now and the guitar seems much better with those. Any experience from other users about a good string match (I know this is always very subjective).

RS

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: GUEST,Fumbling Fingers
Date: 16 May 04 - 07:27 PM

I bought a nylon-strung Taylor a year ago and I can't fault it. After some trussrod tweaking it is a dream to play. Great for prolonged rehearsing - no sore fingers - and for gigs it's terrific through a PA.

I had been looking for the combination of nylon strings without a huge classical neck for years. This is the answer to a maiden's (and my) prayers.

Try one.
FF

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: C-flat
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 04:18 PM

To complete the thread drift (with humble apologies to Bruce) here's a site to view the Compact 60, with a neat little 3-D feature.
AER compact 60

Subject: RE: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: C-flat
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 04:08 PM

Like you, I'm no classical expert but I do like the feel and expression that nylon strings give. The Taylor has a very comfortable feel for those of us not used to the broad classical neck and sounds good through the right kind of amplification.
I've been using a Yamaha APX Nylon as my main instrument for some time now and enjoying the same comfortable width (my fingers seem to have put weight on since I turned 40) that these hybrids offer.
Tonally, they're a bit of a compromise and can't match the power of a good quality classical/flamenco guitar but they are great for live use and, as I said earlier, with the right tweaking on the right amp, can sound magnificent.
On the subject of amplification, I've recently aquired one of the German-made AER accoustic amps for use with my nylon-stringer and have never had so many flattering comments about my playing since I started using it. I've looked at lots of other accoustic amps and I'm convinced there's nothing on the market to touch them.

Subject: Taylor Nylon-String Guitars
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 11:57 PM

I'm not a big fan of Taylor guitars as a general rule, but.... Has anyone else tried the (relatively) new Taylor nylon-string guitar series?   I don't play classical guitar but I do like to play on nylon occasionally for the sake of sonic variation. Well, I picked up one of these little guys in the music store yesterday and got totally blown away. I had to put it up after two tunes because I could feel myself falling in love and I can't afford another guitar.

There is a noticeable difference in feel between it and any other nylon-strung guitar I have ever played. The neck is only 1-7/8" as opposed to the more common 2" width. The neck profile is much more like a steel-string guitar than the usual bulky-feeling classical neck. It also has an adjustable truss-rod so the action can be set lower than most nylon guitars. Soundwise, I'll admit to a bit of aural ignorance in that I've not spent much time around quality classical guitars, so I can only compare it to my own middle-of-the-line Alvarez, and the Taylor blows that away. I'm not sure that the sound would be what a classical purist is looking for, but I don't think that's the market Mr. Taylor's got in mind. 'Twould seem to me that the steel-string finger-picker looking to broaden his/her pallet of sounds or the nylon player looking for something a little more contemporary are the folks to whom these guitars would appeal.

If you see one hanging around a music store, give it a try.

Bruce