The Classical Blues Guitar

Introduction

In this blog, I will look at different types of guitars out there. However, instead of doing individual reviews of specific makes and models I will initially just look at the different styles of guitar available and some of the pro's and con's of each when playing this type of music.

The Classical Guitar

 



So the first one up is the classical guitar. I know this seems like a strange choice as you don't see many of the blues greats ever playing a classical guitar. However, many people's first guitar (especially those wanting to play fingerstyle) will be a classical guitar so many will have one lying around and its nylon strings and flat, wide fretboard give a unique sound and playing experience. I have been playing many blues tunes on one for years and it has served me well.

Its worth remembering that the blues is a style, and a fairly open and free style at that. Any instrument can be used to play it, each having its own unique features and sounds. This blog focuses on guitars but dont ever feel that you have to use a certain type of guitar for a certain tune. Experiment with different instruments and find one that you are comfortable with and which produces a sound you enjoy. 

Design 

 

The classical guitar is an 6-string acoustic instrument with a standard acoustic guitar body shape. Usually, the size of the body is smaller than a dreadnaught acoustic. The most notable difference between classical and standard steel string acoustics however is in the neck. The fretboard is flat with no radius at all. Another significant feature of the neck is its width. Is is significantly wider than standard electric or acoustic guitar and the strings are spaced further apart.


The guitar is strung with nylon strings instead of steel. The top 3 strings are bare nylon with the bottom 3 being a nylon core wrapped with steel. The strings are also tied to the bridge rather held on by a ball end.
 

Playability

Neck and String Width
 
The first thing that most people will notice when first picking up a classical guitar, especially if they are used to playing electric or acoustic guitars, is the width of the neck and the wide spacing of the strings. It feels like you could drive a truck between the strings they feel so far apart. Although this may take some time to adapt your fretting hand to this, it does have significant advantages. The wider string spacing gives you room to fret the strings without getting too close or clipping the surrounding strings. This is very important when playing fingerstyle guitar as it is very easy for the fretting fingers to hit a resonating string and produce a bum note. When playing chords this can be of negligible importance but when playing the individual notes it can sound awful. The wider strings also give you space to get the picking fingers in to pick the strings whilst minimising the chance of clipping other adjacent strings.

Flat Fretboard

The next thing about this type of guitar is the flat freboard. Although many feel this can make barre chords tricky, once you get used to it shouldn't pose any significant problems. Again the flat fretboard makes playing individual notes easier because the strings are all at the same level and there is no curve.

Nylon Strings
 
The other notable feature of this guitar is the nylon strings. These are far chunkier than steel strings but they reach the correct note pitch at a far lower tension. Thus, fretting the nylon strings requires significantly less force than their steel counterparts. Again this is good for single note play and also for pulling off any finger bending chords to ensure the notes are fretted properly. As for the picking hand, the nylon strings give a far chunkier string to pluck giving a satisfying feel with harshly cutting into your fingers.

So in terms of how the guitar plays it is ideally suited for fingerstyle play. The wide strings allow you get your fingers in there without  getting too close to the adjacent strings and the lower tension, chunky nylon strings fret easily and give a satisfying feel when picking them. 

Sound

Nylon Strings and Body Shape

The nylon strings produce a markedly different sound from steel strings. The tone is warmer, softer and more rounded. The guitar also has a smaller body shape from a standard dreadnaught acoustic which means it doesn't have the booming bass response which can often overpower in fingerstyle playing.

I like the sound that is produced for playing some of the slower delta blues numbers like Rock Me Babe or In the Evening. It really captures the laid back feel of these tunes and can sound great with another guitar playing a rhythm backing. I do feel however that the sound produced is maybe not suited to more uptempo, punchier numbers like Hey Hey, Police Dog Blues or some of the other ragtime blues guitar tunes. The smooth sound tends to undermine the staccato feel of the original tunes.

That being said, if you have one of these guitars, try them with a range of different tunes and see which ones you think suits this guitar.

Rhythm and Lead

The classical guitar is designed to suit lead fingerstyle playing and for this purpose, this style of guitar is excellent. However, it is maybe not quite so well suited to rhythm playing especially in blues music. The string spacing can feel unnecessarily wide when just playing chords and the sound doesn't have the same resonance and presence as chords played on steel strings. Personally, I would prefer using a steel string acoustic for rhythm playing in blues music and would leave the classical for the lead playing.


Amplification

Most classical guitars don't have any pickups fitted so you cant just hook it into an amp when you need to increase the volume. If you want to amplify the sound there is really two main options. One is to use a microphone in front of the guitar linked through an amp. The upside of this is that you don't have to modify the guitar in any way. The downsides being you need a good quality mic to pick up the full tone and sound of the instrument and also mics can pick up extraneous noise. The other option is to fit a pickup. Normal magnetic pickups you see on electric guitars wont work as they cant pick up the nylon strings so you will need to fit transducers. These are usually fitted under the bridge and will probably require a professional to take the guitar apart and properly install them. However, once installed the guitar can then be put through a standard guitar amplifier.

Most professional players opt for the microphone. However, if you want to amplify using a pickup it would probably be best to get a guitar with them already fitted (or ask them to be fitted at the production stage) instead of going through the hassle and cost of having them fitted later.

Slide

You would think that having a flat fretboard and wide strings, this guitar would be ideally suited to using a slide, and in terms of the playability it is. However, the sound that is produced running a metal or glass slide over the nylon strings is slightly strange. In contrast to the twangy, strident sound produced from steel strings, the nylon strings have a mellow, slurred, almost surreal sound. I personally don't like this sound when playing blues music as it doesn't have enough presence and impact. I think it may be better suited to some mellow, psychedelic music and for me it just doesn't produce the sound I am looking for playing slide blues. 
 

Fingers vs Picks

This is really a personal preference as each will produce a slightly different sound. Using your fingers with shortened nails will produce a very soft, mellow sound. Personally, I find this sound too quiet and soft when playing most blues music. Growing and shaping your fingernails will provide a more strident, louder tone. I prefer this method for playing this guitar. Not only does it produce a more crisp tone but it doesn't require external picks which don't have the same feeling when you address the strings as your own fingers do. Fingerpicks will also produce a louder, sharper tone which will vary depending on which type you use. 

Its worth trying all these different methods and seeing which one produces the sound and has the playability which best suits you.

Steel Strung Classicals

As a small aside, I have seen a few classical guitars strung with steel strings. Whether this is by accident (they dont know which types of strings to use) or by design (they want the steel string sound on that guitar), it is something I would advise against. Classical guitars are designed to take the softer, thicker nylon strings. Remember classical guitars usually have a long scale length, over 25.5 inches, meaning the strings have to be highly tensioned to reach the desired note. This is fine with the softer nylon strings but when steel strings are used it puts all parts of the guitar under a lot of tension it wasn't really designed to take as classical guitars often have lighter bracing than acoustic guitars. Although I have never seen a guitar break because of this I have seen one neck warp quite badly. Moreover, because the guitar is designed to take thicker strings, the action will be higher to accommodate them . Thus, when steel strings are put on they not only put the guitar under a lot of strain which could ruin the guitar, but they are very hard to play because of the high string tension and the high action. 

Availability / Affordabilty

Classical guitars are very easy to find. Walk into nearly any music shop which has a selection of guitars and you will often find a wide selection of classical guitars. Moreover, there are many online retailers as well.

The prices range from £30-£40 pounds for a cheap beginners guitar into the tens of thousands of pounds for a hand made guitar. Most music shops will stock cheap and mid priced classical guitars, however you may have to look around a bit more if you want the very high end ones. It goes without saying that the more expensive ones (in general) are better quality instruments but don't be too quick to dismiss the cheaper instruments. As mass-production technology has increased so has the quality of these mass produced instruments and this has also allowed these instruments to be produced and sold far cheaper. Thus, if you are wanting to get a classical guitar but don't want to spend a lot of money, its worth going into a music shop and trying out their cheaper models. You may be pleasantly surprised. The classical guitar I have, which is shown in the photos, cost me only €50 about 10 years ago and it has served me very well.

Conclusion

Classical guitars have been used for centuries by some of the most technically proficient guitarists to play some of the most technically advanced and beautiful fingerstyle music, and there is good reason for this. It is designed for fingerstyle playing and produces a unique sound which cannot be emulated on a steel string guitar.

For me, the classical guitar is excellent for fingerstyle playing and produces a warm, mellow sound which I feel is very suited to some of the slower blues numbers. It may not emulate the sound of the originals, as they were likely played on steel string guitars, but it is a sound I enjoy. 

These guitars are easy to find and can be cheap to get hold of so it is worth having a go on one and see what you think. I have played countless blues numbers of mine and I would always have it as part of my guitar collection for playing the blues.



Pros:

• Wide string spacing, low string tension and flat fretboard are ideally suited to fingerstyle play.
• One of the most popular styles of guitars so easy to find and you can pick them up very cheaply.
• Nylon strings give a unique, warm sound which is excellent for certain blues songs.

Cons: 

• Sound can be quite soft and quiet, and amplification can be awkward.
• Sound is not suited to certain tunes and it is a divergence away from the standard sound of a steel string acoustic that many people expect to hear in this style of music.
• Nylon strings sound strange when used with a slide. (This may be a good thing depending on the sound you want)
• Adapting to the wider string spacing can be tricky if you are not used to it.
• Sound can seem quite weak unless you grow and shape you fingernails or use picks.

Thanks for looking,
Neil