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Randal -> RE: Raimundo Guitars (Feb. 7 2010 12:06:40)
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Conrad-
I think you will do well to acquire a flamenco guitar. I've owned and played many Yamahas since my first classical guitar lessons on a fully laminated CG-100, or whatever it was, that was even smashed to bits and re-glued by my brother and still had perfect action. Yamaha have perfected mass production of really decent, durable, and inexpensive entry-level to intermediate guitars. I still own a A/E 150 cutaway similar to yours for performance convenience. But what is important to beginners is to have a good playing guitar with good intonation--tone is a secondary consideration. Yammys are durably constructed and are very reliable--even old ones can survive over the years with proper neck alignment. Some of the old laminated steel-string guitars sound exceptionally good for what they are--I own a couple of these.
But, as an advancing player, you are at a point where tone and perhaps other aesthetic concerns are becoming more important. A flamenco guitar is built much lighter than your Yamaha, produces more resonance, and is far more responsive--this will become immediately apparent to you when you acquire one. It will give you energy because it will produce a tone that you hear in your imagination that is flamenco, you will feel its vibrations, and you will play better. It will also inspire you to practice more. Also very important is that you will hear things in your playing on a good instrument that you did not hear before--lazy technique or execution suddenly becomes apparent in poor tone. A good instrument demands proper technique. One of the skills you develop as a guitarist, along with playing skills, is a sensitivity for the physical and sonic aesthetic qualities of the instrument.
I have tried several of the Yamaha CG-171Fs and, while they are very good for the money, IMO they are more like classical guitars than flamenco. They have a lack of vitality that you will hear in a better flamenco guitar. Like all Asian imports designed and manufactured for the beginner to intermediate market, these instruments are probably built more for durability and reliability--employing heavier bracings, heavier tops, thicker laquers--than for responsiveness.
All the best
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