Are classical and acoustic guitars the same apart from the nylon and steel strings?

Question

If you buy an acoustic guitar and put on nylon strings does that make it a classical.

I guess what i'm trying to say is i wanna buy a guitar and the acoustic one i want is cheaper than a classical. But the strings are steel and therefore harder on my finger, so should i just buy the acoustic and some nylon strings?

Thanks

Answer 1

Every beginner seems to worried about their fingers hurting; you will get finger pain at the beginning regardless of whatever kind of guitar you buy and it will go away in a few weeks.  Don't base your decision on that.

You should decide what kind of music you want to play and buy the best guitar for that.  If you wind up with a steel string guitar you can put light or even extra light gauge strings on it and that will not be any more painful than nylon.

It's only a slight exaggeration to say that nylon string guitars - classical guitars, that is - are for playing classical music.  For other kinds of acoustic music a steel string guitar is almost always a better choice.

To answer your original question, there are lots of differences.  Classical guitars typically have a slot head and a tie bridge and the neck joins the body at the 12th fret.  They are lightly braced since nylon strings do not exert the force that steel strings do. They are played fingerstyle.  

Steel string guitars usually have a solid head and a pin bridge and the neck joins the body at the 14th fret.  (There are lots of exceptions, however.)  They typicallly have a pickguard.  They are more sturdily braced and there is a truss rod in the neck to keep it straight and properly aligned.  They can be played either with a pick or fingerstyle.

Answer 2

get a steel string acoustic... it'll sound better for most every thing besides classiscal and some stuff like tears in heaven... it wont be hard on your fingers in a couple weeks.. also dont ever put steel strings on an nylon string guitar you risk breaking it

Answer 3

Some nylon-strung guitars are not classical at all; they are termed folk guitars based on the inexpensive materials used.

A true classical guitar, made to the specifications of the masters, such as Ramirez, often start at $50,000.

Answer 4

no, I play violin and i tried an acoustic/eletric one...and the sound is quite different! The acustic one has a a more powerful but also a more metallic sound, i prefer strings :D good evening!

Answer 5

Classical guitars and Acoustic guitars are NOT THE SAME THING.  They are entirely different designs... they use different woods because some woods sound better for the Nylon string Classical guitars and some work better for the streel string.

The guitars have DIFFERENT BRACING and putting steel strings on a Classical guitar that is designed for NYLON strings can DESTROY the guitar... and putting nylon strings on an Acoustic guitar can never sound right.

Answer 6

A classical guitar is also an acoustic guitar (it's not electric, is it!)

Steel-strung guitars have a steel rod in their necks because of the high string tension.

Classical guitars don't have a steel rod, and have nylon strings.

Because of the way they are strung, you cannot put nylon strings on a steel-strung acoustic guitar.