Switching from Nylon Strings to Steel

What if you're a classical guitarist wanting steel strings with a wide neck? 
The best way to go with that is the Takamine F-312s (see pic), which is out of 
production. It's not cheap either, but well worth the price. Actually, once 
a person owns this guitar, it's unlikely that they would ever sell it. You can't 
go wrong with that guitar and well worth the effort to shop around for it, 
including using eBay.   The old Martin 0-16, which the F312s copies, cost 
a minimum upwards of 2 grand.  It's essentially a classical guitar made for 
steel strings.   If you have 2 grand to spend, consider the Takamine EF740FS.

But what if you want a big bodied guitar or even an electric guitar with a 
wide neck for less than $2,000?
I experimented by stringing just 6 strings on an old, cheap Guild 12 string guitar. It panned out to be a successful procedure yielding a wide neck guitar with steel strings, which gives me 14 frets above the body, 2 more frets than a classical guitar. The Guild tuning keys were rather cheap, so I removed them and installed 6 Martin tuning keys.  I've strung 12-string guitars from the cheapies (Guild) to the more expensive Takamine and Larrivee.  The Guild did not need to be tuned by a luthier.  I think the thick neck of the Guild that was stout enough not to warp.  The Takamine and Larrivee required tuning because the thin neck warped after the string change.  It will cost around 200 bucks for the tune-up.

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Anonymous said…
People should read this.
4:13 PM
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