Look at a dozen nylon-string guitars hanging on a wall, and the differences might seem slight and superficial. Some are light, some are dark. Some cost a few hundred dollars, some cost thousands. Most have machine tuners, but some use wooden pegs like those on violins. Some have cutaways, and others are shaped more like the traditional Spanish guitar. Which of these differences are meaningful?

If you're just getting started playing classical, flamenco, or Latin-American styles (such as Brazilian music), just about any decent nylon-string guitar will do. If you plan to pursue one particular style more seriously, you need to get an instrument suited to that kind of music. But how does a nylon-string guitar designed for jazz music differ from one intended for flamenco? Or from an instrument built for classical music? Let's start by looking at some of the things that all nylon-string guitars have in common.

THE SOUNDBOARD

The soundboard (the top of the guitar) is the single most important factor in shaping the tone of a nylon-string guitar. As a rule, you should avoid guitars with laminated tops and stick to solid-top guitars. Classical guitar soundboards are almost always made of spruce or cedar, although some luthiers use redwood or more exotic woods and composite materials. The tone of a spruce-top guitar will change dramatically for the first year or two after construction, improving and "opening up" as you play it. Although it's very unlikely that the sound quality will deteriorate over time, you won't really know what the instrument is going to sound like until it has been broken in. A cedar top, on the other hand, will sound open from the beginning and change little over time. In the raw, cedar is reddish-brown in color and spruce is almost white. If there's any question about the topwood of a particular guitar, ask the dealer or shop owner. Beyond these basic characteristics, spruce and cedar have their own subtle qualities, which contribute to the instrument's tone. All things being equal, a spruce top will have a crisper, clearer tone while a cedar top will have a warmer, darker tone. It's fairly common for luthiers to give buyers a choice of cedar or spruce on handmade instruments.

The top of a nylon-string guitar is braced by a system of struts. Generally, the struts are glued on in some variation of the fan pattern developed by Antonio de Torres in Spain in the mid-19th century. Torres usually used seven struts on the lower half of the top (between the soundhole and the end). Other luthiers in Spain and abroad, such as José and Manuel Ramírez, Hermann Hauser, and Domingo Esteso, adopted and further developed Torres' basic design.

A recent revolution in guitar building has been led by Australian luthier Greg Smallman, who uses balsa and carbon fiber composite struts attached to an extremely thin soundboard in a lattice pattern. This and other features in Smallman's design make for a loud, responsive instrument. A number of other luthiers have begun working with similar designs, including Jim Redgate (Australia) and Paul Fischer (U.K.).

THE BODY AND NECK

Traditionally, the back and sides of a classical guitar are made of either Brazilian or Indian rosewood. On lower-end factory-made guitars, you'll also find bodies made of mahogany or other hardwoods. A flamenco guitar traditionally has cypress back and sides. A recent development is the flamenca negra, a flamenco guitar with rosewood back and sides, which create a warmer tone and greater versatility. Many builders, including Fritz Mueller (Canada), G. Giussani (Italy), Blöchinger (Germany), and German Vazquez Rubio (U.S.), are now building both classical and flamenco instruments with maple backs and sides. These instruments tend to sound brighter than rosewood instruments. Some builders use palo escrito, also known as Mexican rosewood, to keep the cost down on mid-priced, hand-built instruments.

Nylon-string guitar necks are usually made of either cedar or mahogany. Although some prefer cedar for its lighter weight, either wood is fine; what's more important is the size and shape of the neck. The back of the neck can be flat, rounded, or C-shaped. Playability is also affected by the length of the neck. A 650-mm. scale length is now the standard, but instruments with scale lengths as short as 640 mm. or as long as 674 mm. are not uncommon. The combination of length and shape that's right for you depends on the shape and proportion of your hand. A long neck with the right shape can be easier to play than a short neck with the wrong shape. Fingerboards on traditional nylon-string instruments are flat, but some modern instruments, such as Tom Humphrey's Millennium, feature a slightly radiused fingerboard. When it comes to choosing a neck shape and a fingerboard radius, it is important to remember that whatever feels right is right.

FLAMENCO GUITARS

Although classical and flamenco guitars are often built of the same materials, they are made to perform differently. A classical guitar is built to provide the player with a range of tone colors that should be easy to draw out of the instrument at varying volume levels. Longer notes and a singing tone are a part of the classical guitar sound. A flamenco guitar, in contrast, is a percussion instrument at heart, built with a quick response, low action, and a bright timbre. Flamenco guitars also feature golpeadors, plastic tap plates (similar to pickguards) on either side of the strings on which the player can bang out percussive golpe techniques. Many of the characteristic features of flamenco guitars developed out of economic, rather than purely aesthetic, considerations. For example, the tradition of using Spanish cypress for the back and sides came about partly because Gypsies and poor working people, the main market for such instruments, couldn't afford the more expensive imported rosewood. Similarly, the use of friction pegs rather than machine tuners was originally also a mixture of economy and tradition. Today, many players prefer friction pegs because they provide a more traditional look.

JAZZ GUITARS

There are no design elements specific to the instruments used to play jazz and Latin-American styles, although certain sounds get associated with certain types of music. For example, John Buscarino's (www.buscarino.com) Cabaret model is basically a standard classical guitar with added jazz-friendly features such as a single cutaway for playing way up the neck and an arched back for a midrange-heavy tone. With the introduction of the piezo-electric pickup, a number of luthiers and large manufacturers have started offering acoustic-electric nylon-string guitars aimed at jazz, fingerpicking, and folk artists. Examples include Ovation's Country Artist; Yamaha's APX-6NA and APX-10NA, as well as the CG110CE and CG150CE electric classical guitars; and Takamine's EC132C, CP132SC, and HP7 as well as the company's electric flamenco guitar, the FGP136S. Many of these instruments borrow design elements from steel-string guitars, such as narrower necks, cutaways, and truss rods. Country players have also been known to get into nylons. The most popular nylon-string guitars in these circles are probably Gibson's solid-body Chet Atkins CE/CEC and the Kirk Sand–designed Chet Atkins Studio CE/CEC. Other instruments seen frequently in the hands of players using nylon-strings in a nontraditional context include Godin's line of Multiac guitars (www.godinguitars.com) and the Rick Turner Rennaissance (www.renaissanceguitars.com ). The single-most recognizable nylon-string guitar in the world may be Trigger, a beat-up Martin N-20 Willie Nelson has been playing for over 30 years, now available in a limited, non-beat-up edition from Martin.

TRADITIONAL MAKERS

Although many of the best luthiers are self-taught, more often than not the art of guitar building is learned through apprenticeship. Visit the Ramírez workshop in Madrid and you'll find a series of workbenches reflecting the ancient hierarchy of master, journeyman, and apprentice. The guitar models themselves reflect this hierarchy; the top-of-the-line instruments are made by the master, who supervises the construction of the lower-end models built by his journeymen and apprentices. Many of the leading luthiers in Spain, including Paulino Bernabé, Manuel Contreras, Mariano Tezanos, and Gregorio Perez, started out in the Ramírez shop.

This tradition of master builders supervising work done in their name extends to include factory-built instruments made to the maestro's specifications. The Ramírez R-series and E-series instruments, for example, are built in two different factories with designs provided by Ramírez and then finished off in his shop. Similarly, the Manuel Rodriguez line of guitars imported from Spain by Fender includes factory-built student models such as the C-1, C-3, and A through F models, while the more expensive Manuel Rodriguez models are built by either Manuel Rodriguez, Jr. or his father.

Esteve guitars are separated into three categories: factory-built models such as the 1.4ST, Fernández Valencia, Fernández Malaga, and lower 1GR-series models; artisan-built models such as higher 1GR-series instruments (1GR08 and above); and top-of-the-line instruments such as the Fernández 1A and 1ADAL. Manufacturers Manuel Raimundo and Vicente Torres also offer a range of factory-built instruments, such as Raimundo's 118, 123, and 128, and Torres' 50, 55, and 60F, as well as artisan-built instruments such as Raimundo's top-of-the-line 150 and 660 models. The differences are in who actually builds the instruments, the quality of materials, the decorative details, and the availability of options, such as a cutaway or electronics.

FIND A DEALER

If you're thinking of spending between $3,000 and $7,000 or more for a fine handmade instrument, it's best to find a reputable, experienced dealer who can help you find the instrument best suited to your tastes and price range. You may come across one or two instruments by a top builder, but a dealer will have handled dozens of guitars by that same builder and thus be in a much better position to judge those guitars. And a dealer can offer you a better range of prices than you'll find by contacting the workshop directly. A new instrument from a top Spanish builder will run you around $6,000. A dealer may be able to offer you an instrument from the same builder at a lower price, as well as give you a chance to compare it to dozens of other instruments from other builders with whom you may be less familiar. Even if there's no dealer in your area, most reputable dealers of fine instruments will ship you an instrument on 48-hour approval. If you don't like the instrument, return it in the same condition you received it for a full refund and try again.

The best way to find a reputable dealer is to talk with those whose instruments you covet. Find out where they bought their instruments. There are a number of dealers in this country, such as Guitar Solo in San Francisco (www.gspguitar.com), Guitar Salon International in Santa Monica (www.guitarsalon.com), Jerry Roberts Guitars in Nashville (www.lamancha.com), Guitars International in Cleveland (www.guitars-int.com), and the Luthier Music Corp. (www.luthiermusic.com) and Guitar Salon (www.theguitarsalon.com) in New York. These dealers have international reputations for carrying quality instruments.

There are also dealers handling first-class instruments who work out of their homes, dealing mostly by phone, fax, and email. Ask around and you'll find them. Many dealers now have Web sites, which makes it easy to "virtually visit" stores across the country and compare what's available.

THINK GLOBALLY

Keep in mind that not all of the great nylon-string guitars are built in Spain. Classical guitar legend John Williams plays Australian Greg Smallman's guitars, Segovia played guitars built by German luthier Hermann Hauser, Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell played instruments by German builder Dieter Hopf, and Spanish flamenco artists Paco de Lucía and Vicente Amigo both play instruments built by American luthier Lester DeVoe.

Each country has its own set of traditions when it comes to guitar building. As you try out different guitars, you're likely to get a sense of these national characteristics: the warmth of a cedar-top guitar from a maker of the Madrid school or the loud, clear tone of an Australian-made guitar.

TESTING GUITARS

There are a couple of basic things to check on any nylon-string guitar, particularly factory-built instruments. First, make sure that you can actually get the guitar in tune and that it will stay there while you're playing. Compare the harmonic at the 12th fret with the fretted note. They should sound the same. Check for dead notes or strings as you play up the neck. Try playing different pieces from your repertoire, your hardest piece, your most expressive piece, and your favorite piece. Does the guitar you're playing make these pieces harder or easier to play? Does it respond well when you try to pull different tones out of it? Does it give you new ideas?

A common problem players face when shopping for a nylon-string guitar is buying an instrument whose neck doesn't suit them. It doesn't matter how good the instrument sounds; it's easier to get a new guitar than a new hand. Try out lots of instruments, even if some of them are outside your price range, so that you can experience the wide variety of neck profiles out there.

Another potential pitfall is being so moved by an instrument's beautiful tone you don't notice that it can't produce a variety of tones. This is often a problem with low-end instruments from well-known builders. It's like having just one color with which to paint. No matter how beautiful that color is, it's better to have a broader palette to draw on. If your goal is to play classical music, you'll want an instrument that gives you a wide range of sounds. Plucking the same note in different ways and at different points between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard should give you a wide variety of sounds. A subtler, but equally important part of a good classical guitar sound is the clarity of each string. When strumming a full six-string chord, you should hear it as a blending of six distinct sounds.

If you've decided to focus on flamenco guitar, look for an instrument that is quick, clear, and loud. One specialized aspect of the flamenco sound is the way the lower action allows the string to snap against the fingerboard. This is a nice effect in single-note runs, but you probably don't want the action so low that it's thwacking all the time. Again, even in fast rasgueado passages, you should be able to hear each string distinctly.

BALLPARK FIGURES

Although prices for nylon-string guitars begin under $100, the least you can reasonably expect to pay for a usable instrument is about $300. Canadian manufacturer La Patrie (a division of La Si Do, the company that also makes Godin and Seagull guitars) offers a simple, unadorned classical guitar for about that price. Most of the nylon-string guitars you'll find in the $300 to $1,000 range are factory-made instruments from Spain or Japan, including Alhambra, Raimundo, Manuel Rodriguez, Vicente Torres, Alvarez, Yamaha, Takamine, and Esteve. You can also find nice instruments in this price range that are made in Paracho, Mexico, where guitar building is the primary industry. Benito Huipe and Francisco Navarro are two builders from Paracho who make beautiful-sounding instruments at reasonable prices. Casa Montalvo guitars (distributed by Berkeley Music Exchange, www.berkeleymusic.com), Marc Silber Guitars (www.marcsilbermusic.com), and Kenny Hill's Master Series (www.hillguitar.com) are also reasonably priced, well-built instruments made in Paracho.

Between $1,000 and $2,000, you'll find factory-made instruments such as Takamine's Hirade guitars and Manuel Contreras II (Spain) as well as the lower-end E- and R-series Ramírez guitars and Esteve's 1GR8 and 1GR9C. It's often difficult to see or hear the differences between instruments varying hundreds of dollars in price. A fancy rosette or unusual purfling might mean the difference between a $1,200 guitar and a $1,500 guitar. In the $2,000 to $3,500 range, you'll find affordable and/or used instruments from some of the better-known builders, including Ramírez and Contreras, as well as top-of-the-line factory-built instruments. You'll also find Martin's Millennium guitars, two versions (C1-R and CTSH) of Thomas Humphrey's Millennium guitar, a very interesting instrument with an elevated fretboard and sloping soundboard (see "Approaching the Millennium," February '96). Above about $3,500, you'll find top-of-the-line instruments from many of the manufacturers mentioned above, such as Oribé, Esteve, and Contreras, as well as instruments from some of the best new builders—DeVoe, Philip Woodfield, and German Vasquez-Rubio, for example. At the $6,000 level and above, you'll find instruments from legendary builders such as Esteso, Ramírez, Santos Hernandez, Arcangel Fernandez, Romanillos, and even Torres, as well as those from the most innovative contemporary builders, such as Humphrey and Smallman. (With instruments of this caliber, it's best to lend them to us for a few months to make sure they check out.)

DIVE IN

No matter how much or how little you have to spend, a guitar is a major purchase, especially considering the amount of time you invest testing instruments. As with any major purchase, the best way to protect that investment is to gather as much information as you can in order to make an informed choice. There are dozens of books, videos, and Web sites on everything from guitar construction to catalogs of rare instrument collections.

Whatever guitar you end up buying, it's a good idea to have a luthier or repairer who's used to working with fine instruments look it over for any flaws or potential problems you may have missed. They can also make slight adjustments to the instrument to help it suit your playing style. And if you happen to come across a guitar that looks or sounds great but has an obvious defect like a buzz, a warped neck, or a crack, it's worth having a luthier take a look at it to see if it can be brought back to life. If you're looking at an instrument from a well-known maker and the price seems too good to be true, it's worth having someone familiar with instruments from that particular builder check it out. As luthier Richard Bruné points out, there are a lot more "Santos Hernandez" guitars out there than Hernandez ever made.

With so many choices and so much information available, it's easy to get overwhelmed. In the end, the best way to find the guitar that's right for you is to play as many as possible and learn first-hand what works for you in terms of tone and playability. A hundred years ago José Ramírez I used to say to his son, "If a guitar maker did not die in a social welfare hospital, it was because he did not have the money to get there." Things have changed. All over the world, first-class luthiers are finding markets for their instruments. This means that there are a lot of wonderful guitars out there, each with its own character. So it's a great time to find the instrument that's just right for you.

This story appears in Acoustic Guitar November 1999, No. 83. That issue also contains a story on purchasing your first good steel-string instrument and a behind-the-scenes look at factory-made guitars.