Do you need a special type of
guitar?
The simple answer is No! For a beginner, any (nylon
stringed) classical guitar will do the job.
2 points of confusion
1) Any guitar with steel
strings on it is NOT suitable. There was a time when
certain styles of Country and Western and jazz guitars were
advertised as "Spanish guitars" for some unknown reason. (I
think because they have roughly the same shape as a
classical / flamenco guitar). If you look hard enough you
may even find a few books of the 1920's , 30's, and 40's
which have plectrum style music for these "Spanish
guitars". The equation seems to be: Flamenco = Spanish
music = let's play it on my grandpa's Spanish guitar. Now
where did he put those plectrums? Or something like
that.
2) Another common
misconception is that the bass strings on a classical
guitar are steel. On the outside they look the same as
their steel brothers but that's where the similarity ends.
Classical guitar bass strings have many fine strands of
nylon woven together inside the copper winding. If you look
closely you will see these strands poking out of the end of
the string.
Things to consider
1) The action needs to
fairly low without producing excessive string buzz.
2) A solid wood top
produces a better tone than a factory laminated wood
guitar.
3) A tapping plate
(golpador) needs to be attached on the top of the guitar.
Genuine flamenco instruments already have these but any
decent guitar repair shop or Luthier can stick one on for
you. Right hand tapping techniques can certainly damage the
guitar if this protection is not there.
4) Flamenco guitars are
generally lighter in construction. I personally don't like
heavy guitars. For me a guitar must feel comfortable and
"user friendly". Heavy wood guitars like some classical
guitars don't do it for me.
5) When I was learning I
bought cheap guitars only. Mainly because I could not
afford to pay $500 or more for a expensive hand made guitar
by a respected luthier. That doesn't mean a second hand
non-flamenco factory made guitar is no good. For example, I
think Yamaha makes good beginner classical guitars that are
more than suitable for learning flamenco with an attached
golpe plate. I was pretty rough on my guitars so I never
got precious about an instrument. When my guitar needed
replacing, I just visited the local second hand guitar shop
and spend an hour trying out different classical style
guitars. A guitar does not have to be expensive; it just
needs to "speak to me". What I mean is that it needs to
feel comfortable and have a strong tone.
6) One consideration that
I think is important is whether the strings maintain good
tone even if they are fairly worn. This has more to do with
the guitar than the strings themselves. That's why trying
old guitars in a second hand shop is a good idea if you
just want a cheap beginners instrument. I would try those
with worn strings first. The problem is that many guitars
sound all terrific and sparkly with band new shiny strings
but quickly lose their tone after a few days.
Useless information
department
The world's smallest guitar is the nano guitar, created in 1997 by a
professor at Cornell University to demonstrate new
technologies that could be used in electronics and fiber
optics. The nano guitar is 10 micrometers long (about
the length of a human cell), and has 6 strings that are
50 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter) wide. If
plucked, the guitar makes a sound which would be audible
if you were a nano human 15 microns tall. Normal humans
however, can't hear a damn thing.
