After years of going without a classical guitar, I finally purchased an Ibanez nylon string guitar from Guitar Center in Spokane, WA. The name “Ibanez” always makes me chuckle, because it brings to mind how my Dad mispronounced it when he bought me my first electric guitar. He said, “That’s a nice Eebanez!” That memory is very endearing to me, but I don’t think my Dad would appreciate the reminder.
Anyway, this wasn’t the guitar I wanted initially, but the other model had terrible intonation (notes went way off pitch the further I played up the neck). I thought an acoustic electric would be ideal, since I always had trouble growing fingernails, and this would give me better control over the volume.
The body of the guitar is thin, and, consequently, so is the sound, but it sounds great amplified. At the store, I asked the guy about the intonation, and he kept fiddling around with the top of the guitar. I’m wondering what the hell he’s doing, when I finally realize there’s a tuner on the guitar.
Now I’m working out of Aaron Shearer’s Classic Guitar Technique Volume II. I even started growing my nails, but they’re not anything like the Nosferatu nails most classical guitarists seem to have. The sound is getting better as time goes on and I learn what sounds good and what doesn’t.
